Ayurveda for Spring: Kapha Season
Ayurveda is a holistic science of health and longevity that originated in India over 2000 years ago. Translated as ‘the science or wisdom of life,’ Ayurveda embodies Ancient mind-body practices that promote integration and wholeness - both within each individual and in the greater web of existence. Its philosophy is rooted in the laws of nature, and sees cultivating balance as an ongoing process, a practice in dialogue with our environment.
If there is one prevailing lesson that Nature continues to teach, it is the law of impermanence.
Change is inevitable. We move through cycles of creation, preservation and destruction; we travel through seasons of life as it ebbs and flows. In the continually shifting tides, Ayurveda offers an ecosystem of self-care practices that can bolster our immunity, enhance physical and emotional resilience and support deep self-awareness in the process of change and growth.
The following is a brief guide of Ayurvedic wisdom to align with the energetics of Spring - also known as Kapha Season.
A glimpse of Kapha
Kapha is one of three Doshas or energetic forces that exist (Vata and Pitta being the other two). Kapha consists of Earth element and Water element.
When Kapha is in excess, we may dwell on heavy emotions, cling to the past, feel heavy sadness, lethargic, stuck, stubborn or uninspired. When Kapha is in balance, we can feel grounded, calm, patient, steady and enduring, secure and stable.
Energetics of Spring
Symbolically, Spring is the season of potential, beginnings, birth, regeneration and renewal. It is the time of planting seeds - metaphorically and physically. It is a period of weeding out the stagnant, old and no longer needed, and preparing our environments for our visions to take root. Spring can be a good time to cleanse, initiate a new project and inspire change.
Ayurveda is a qualitative science with principle that opposites balance each other out. The qualities of Kapha season are found in Earth and Water Element. These are:
Heavy
Cold
Stable
Gross or Dense
Viscous
Smooth
Oily
When it comes to balancing excess in mind and body, we add the opposite quality to the mix. For example, adding a warming tonic to a state of excess cold will be a helpful remedy.
How Kapha imbalances appear in the body and mind
When excess kapha appears, we can feel heavy, lethargic and sluggish. Digestion may be slow with common symptoms like fatigue after eating, weight gain. Other signs of excess kapha include lack of circulation, swelling, excess mucus and nausea.
When excess kapha appears in the mind we can feel foggy, resistant to change, uninspired, lacking motivation, melancholic or down, stuck in a rut. Attachment issues may rise.
Rituals & Tips for Kapha Spring Season
The following are rituals and routines you can incorporate into your daily rhythm to balance excess Kapha. Remember these are simply suggestions: Ayurveda offers an individualized approach to wellness, which means each practice will effect each person differently.
Best advice? Notice how your mind and body respond to each practice. Check in with how a ritual makes you feel. Are you feeling more regulated? Calm? Resilient? Are there no symptoms? Your awareness and intuition will tell you far more about whether a practice is creating harmony in your unique constitution.
Rise early.
Ayurveda texts will recommend awakening before 6am or sunrise. The Kapha time of day is 6am to 10am (and 6pm to 10pm). Once we enter the Kapha time of day, the qualities of Kapha increase; we may feel heavy, groggy, sluggish, slow to awaken. Rising early and setting an intention can be a motivating force for Kapha.
Drink warm water when you awaken, and throughout the day.
A glass of warm water first thing in the morning stimulates peristalsis and prompts morning bowel movement. Healthy elimination is an integral part of an Ayurvedic routine. Keep drinking warm water throughout the day, as this helps flush toxins through the body and keep you hydrated.
TIP: Add lemon or lime to kindle more agni, digestive fire.
Cleanse your nasal passageways with Neti.
Neti is the practice of nasal irrigation, often using a pot to rinse the passageways with warm salt water. The neti pot has long been used in yoga and ayurveda to purify the nasal passages and facilitate deep breathing. Your nasal passages are one of your body’s filtration systems, in fact the nose filters 7-8 liters of air that we breathe, each minute (statistic via Banyan Botanicals). When we don’t clean the filter, it works less efficiently. This practice is particularly good when spring allergies are in the air. It reduces accumulation of airborne toxins and pollens and clear excess mucous often associated with Kapha.
Practice warming pranayama - breathwork.
Breathing is a miraculous function that is responsible for 70% of the toxins released. Conscious breathwork has tremendous benefits.
Kapalbhati or Skull Shining Breath is an energizing practice that can improve digestion, enhance blood circulation, strengthen the function of the lungs, remove blockages of the subtle body and much more. Bhastrika or Bellows Breath is another warming and energizing breathwork that has similar benefits to Kapalbhati. Incorporate this on an empty stomach.
Move with an energizing Yoga Asana practice.
A more vigorous practice, such as Vinyasa, will help strengthen, build heat and move stagnant energy through the body. Invite heart opener poses to increase circulation. Add twisting postures to kindle the fire, warm and detox the body. Inversions offer a shift in perspective and play.
Eat foods that are bitter, pungent, warming and light.
It’s best to incorporate simple, clean and seasonal foods. Bitter foods (such as dark leafy greens) can offer a detoxifying effect on the body and can help clear ama or toxins. Pungent foods (such as mustard greens, cayenne, radishes) kindle the digestive fire or agni, helping kapha assimilate and clear what is necessary. This taste can break up stagnation, increase circulation and cleanse the blood.
Incorporate warming spices.
Think such as cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, mustard, ginger and garlic. These spices enhance the fire element into the diet which aid in strengthening agni.
Enjoy digestive teas & herbal allies for Kapha
Sip on digestive teas throughout the day and after meals. Digestive Tea such as ginger or CCF (Cumin, coriander and fennel) can enhance agni or fire. To aid in morning bowel movements, Triphala is a gentle digestive supplement you can take to help regulate elimination.
Relish in an invigorating abhyanga self-massage.
This self-care practice helps build what Ayurveda calls “ojas” or our immunity essence. It improves circulation, calms the nervous system and promotes longevity. This slow and deliberate technique is tremendously beneficial for our lymphatic system, which is responsible for removing waste and toxins from our bodily tissue - a part of the body that practices the art of release quite regularly. Abhyanga is also understood as a powerful ritual in self-love. In fact, the word ‘sneha’ in Sanskrit not only means ‘oil’ but also ‘love.’ Here is a how to guide for performing abhyanga as well as creating your own oil blend.
Try Garshana: dry brushing ritual.
Garshana translates to ‘friction by rubbing.’ For Kapha types, dry brushing can be a particularly beneficial practice. It stimulates the lymphatic system, removes ama or toxins, encourages cellular renewal of the skin and clarifies the mind amidst many other benefits. (For an in-depth explanation on how-to, read this Paavani article).
Experiment with a gentle cleanse.
As a way to reset and kindle the digestive fire or ‘agni’ you can experiment with a mono diet. For example you may try eating kitchari for 1-3 days to allow your digestive forces rest and reset.
Clear the clutter, clean your space.
Excess kapha can often result in over-attachment: to things, possessions, people and more. Spring cleaning is a practice that offers catharsis and release. Material goods hold energetic weight. Clean your closet, remove, recycle. Letting go allows Kapha to feel lighter and helps refine the practice of non-attachment. You may include purification ceremonies (as long as they are meaningful and personal to you) such as smudging, burning sage or incense, ringing a singing bowl, gong or tingsha or simply imagining clearing any accumulated energy you picked up in the recent months.
Meditation to digest your thoughts
Similar to how fasting is a reset for the body, meditation is a way we allow our mind to digest. A daily meditation practice helps widen perspective, deepen flow states, improve emotional regulation and build physiological resilience amongst many other benefits. Kapha may benefit from more activating meditations such as chanting mantra, walking meditation or visualizations. Chanting offers the body a way of re-attuning.
Trataka Candle Gazing Ritual
This ritual cleanses your sight and kindles your agni or fire. Find a comfortable meditation seat and place a candle approximately an arm length away, at eye level. Settle your gaze on the candle. If possible, try to keep from blinking. Tears will likely form and this is part of the eye's natural cleansing. Close your eyes if needed and let your gaze settle on the internal flame.
Incorporate citrus aromatherapy and energize & uplift.
Aromatic molecules bind to nerve receptors in the passages and sinuses and directly affect neural pathways. Aromatherapy is a powerful ritual that affects the limbic part of the brain: responsible for emotional regulation. Add a few drops of essential oil into a diffuser or incorporate aromatherapy into your abhyanga oil massage.
Kapha balancing scents include: Juniper, Sage, Eucalyptus, Chamomile, Orange, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Camphor
Invite spontaneity, adventure and play into your routine.
While routines are important for mental and physical resilience, excess kapha can become stuck in the same way of doing. To invoke inspiration, do something new. Travel, explore, beckon the unknown. See what happens when you create unplanned space in the schedule for mystery to unfold.
The above are just a few ways to help balance excess Kapha. Ayurveda involves a wide array of sensory modalities that invite healing into our lives. You can also create your own rituals simply by recognizing your relationship to your senses and what you do. Ayurveda is a practice of being in right relationship, avoiding excess indulgences and maintaining a balance with our desires. Try these rituals out and see how they make you feel or how they shift your relationships!