10 Best Ayurveda Tips for Detoxification in Spring Season
Spring and fall are important times of the year to detoxify, according to Ayurveda. A spring detox is especially important as an antidote to the slower season of winter.
As we come into spring and witness the annual thaw the ice and snow around us melts and temperatures rise, encouraging life to spring from the earth once again. Toxins, known in ayurveda as ama, negatively affect all aspects of our body. The build up of ama can lead to seasonal imbalance causing excess Kapha in ayurveda known as the earth element. Signs of excess kapha include allergies, mucus build up, a thickly coated tongue, lethargy, stiff muscles and hay fever.
A healthy diet, with the addition of these simple ayurvedic tips can help you get that spring back in your step, with the added bonus of regular digestion, bright eyes and glowing skin.
1. Rise and shine
Start each morning by brushing your teeth and scraping your tongue. This helps remove Ama( toxins) buildup from the previous night. Before or after bathing, do some Abhyanga ( Oil massage) by massaging your skin with warm organic sesame oil. This helps to lubricate and tone skin, muscles, and joints, as well as improving circulation and calming the mind. It’s a great start to the day!
2. Bitter is better
Enjoy and embrace bitter tastes in spring. Add a dash of bitter to your diet to stimulate the release of bile, to help move those toxins out of the body. Drink hot lemon water each morning to help promote cleansing. To stimulate sluggish digestion, add a little cayenne pepper. Add tumeric to your food. It cleanses the blood, improves circulation, aids in liver cleansing, reduces inflammation, and helps ignite sluggish metabolism.
3. Skip the sticky and sweet
Gluten, dairy and sugars will hinder the cleansing process, helping toxins literally stick around. Opt for grapefruit or ginger tea as a snack or to help curb cravings, and your body will thank you when you find that extra energy to make it to yoga or Pilates class after work.
4. Work out and sweat
To balance the heaviness of kapha and encourage elimination of toxins through our skin, we have to work up a little sweat. This is the perfect time of year to run, enjoy a nice sweaty yoga session, dance, or take a lovely hot bath with a little essential oil. Physical workouts coupled with steam saunas and hot baths flush out the stored toxins. Glowing skin and eyes are not far behind. Sleeping in late also aggravates kapha, so try to get up early to match the seasonal rhythm.
5. Cut down on fatty, oily foods, dairy and meats
Add cleansing green foods, and increase alkaline foods in your diet and sip water throughout the day to keep you hydrated and to carry the toxins away. Grapefruit is a winner this time of year. Add a little to your breakfast or your salad at night and you will feel cleansed and energized. Pulses are a good replacement for meats and fish and add cleansing astringent element to your diet. Try and have a larger lunch and a light dinner to coincide with the times our agni, or digestive fires, are naturally stronger and weaker, respectively.
6. Breathe it out well
Sitting all day restricts our bodies ability to breathe deeply, and fully. This prevents us from getting rid of all the air from the lungs, which means we are missing an opportunity to give the lungs a good old cleanse.
We need to consciously work to exhale to cleanse the lungs from the stale gases. Count to 5 as you inhale, take a short pause, then count to 5 as you exhale, pausing again. If you are at work and feeling a little overwhelmed or stressed, lengthen the exhale to 8 counts to release anxiety and encourage that cleansing and space.
7. Turn it upside down
Gravity causes toxins from our foods and the environment settle deep into our tissues and organs. Inversions and twists in our yoga or Pilates practice help unsettle then squeeze out the toxins moving them out and away.
8. Add honey to your lukewarm water.
When used properly, honey scrapes ama (toxins) from the inside of the body, according to Ayurveda. Local raw honey can offer great natural allergy relief, as it delivers allergens in a small dose over time and can create natural immunity. Add 1/2 tablespoon to warm (not hot) water in the morning between 6–10 am and drink.
9. Increase herb intake.
Use spices like coriander, fennel, turmeric, cumin, and fresh mint. You can add powdered spices directly to your veggies in the steamer. Suggested fruits include cooked prunes, figs, apples, pears, pineapples and papayas. Detoxifying cooked vegetables include leafy greens, Brussels sprouts, and crucifers such as cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.
10. Drink hot liquids.
Drink only hot liquids during the day to aid in the burning off of kapha, starting with hot water in the morning. Best herbal teas are nettle, dandelion, fennel, and mint. If you run colder, you can make ginger tea by steeping fresh ginger in water for 20 minutes, draining, and drinking.
Eat warm, light, cooked foods such as soup.
Cooking your food with immune-supporting spices such as cumin, fennel, coriander, turmeric, ginger and black pepper is also an important way to enhance agni and reduce ama.
How will I feel after an Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse?
After detox, your body will feel lighter, you will feel more relaxed, your mind will be clearer, and you will enjoy the freshness of Spring and its energy of renewal! Your doshas will be balanced, and you will be set up for the year, having optimized your health and well-being.