Related Posts
Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, a nature-based medical system, is one of the world’s oldest systems of healing. Its integral approach, based on the truth of our interconnection with the natural world, stresses the importance of synchronizing our personal rhythms with the rhythms of Nature for promoting true wellness.
As we begin to awaken from the slumber of winter and take notice of longer daylight, cherry blossoms, and mixed showers, we see the beginning of spring and rejoice! The spring buzz is all around. Can you feel it in your body and mind? Signs that you might be waking up from the winter slumber include: clear mind upon awakening, stable energy throughout the day, excitement to make future plans, and an abundance of creativity.
When it’s feels like spring where you live, pay attention to your intuition and its instinctive response to want to cleanse, re-boot, purge, and rejuvenate. Spring is really a time to thrive and it’s difficult to soar if you’re weighted down by your life and surroundings. A cleanse will help get rid of accumulated weight, clutter, and allow you to benefit from “what’s not there”.
Consider the following practices to feel your best at the start of this fertile new season.
• Drink hot lemon water with a pinch of sea salt in the morning to wake up your digestive fire and prepare for a.m. elimination. Continue drinking hot water throughout the day to clear congestion (ama).
• Meditate: focus on what you wish for more of. “The grass is greener where you water it” Neil Barringham
• Exercise outdoors and do dynamic yoga practices that help you break a sweat.
• Take a steam sauna or hot soak in a bath or tub, to help you sweat and cleanse the largest organ of your body – the skin.
• Decrease foods that are slow to digest or make you feel heavy. Often we decrease or eliminate: meat, dairy products, and foods cooked in oil at the start of spring. Increase your intake of foods that are bitter (like arugula/sprouts/kale), spicy (like radish/daikon/mustard greens/ginger), and astringent (like grapefruit/chickpea/turmeric).
• Inversions in your yoga practice for a new perspective on the world.
With “spring fever” in the air, it’s a great time to start new projects, take classes, plant seeds, and take action on what you’ve been dreaming about all winter.
The yogis and nutritionist both agree that it is never too late, or too early, to consider sequencing your life today for a healthier tomorrow. I think of sequencing as both an art form and a science that anyone can master. All you need is sincere focus and attention from the beginning to the end of your vision, and trust in your body’s innate wisdom to guide you through the beautiful moment-to-moment discovery of presence—of the now—which leads to the spontaneous, blissful experience we call yoga.
I believe the more you practice adapting to new routines and seasonally breaking the momentum of habits, the stronger, healthier, and more open you become as a person. Instead of your world feeling boxed in by your routine, the seasonal changes help you widen your gaze so you experience more in life, seeing new potentials and possibilities in your work, family, diet, adventures, and exercise routines that connect to the revolving world around you.
In the end, the practice of yoga—on the mat and off the mat—is really all about practice. Practice will lead you to your truth, to the essence of who you are.
If you’d like more support this spring or wish to learn about Seasonal Yoga and Ayurveda, please consider:
a) Spring Seasonal Health and Wellness Program – March 18-April 27
https://www.melinameza.com/product/seasonal-health-and-wellness-program
b) Seasonal Health and Wellness – Change Your Life One Week At A Time Book
https://www.melinameza.com/product/seasonal-health-and-wellness-change-your-life-one-week-at-a-time/
c) Art of Sequencing – Volume Two – Seasonal Vinyasa Practice Manual to grow your home practice or find inspiration as a teacher. https://www.melinameza.com/product/art-of-sequencing-vol-2/
