Spring – time of change

Spring, a new chance, a new life, a new beginning.

Vasant is the Sanskrit name for spring and stands for joy, freshness or new strength.

Many people perceive spring as a time of new beginnings and renewal, closely connected with the hope of brightness, warmth, bright colors and a blossoming joy of life.

The dawning of spring and the awakening of nature provide two things:

It seems paradoxical, on the one hand our sensory perception and mood are stimulated by the more intense sun rays and the urge for activity is strengthened and on the other hand the mind suffers from the symptoms of the well-known spring fatigue.

The long tradition of ridding oneself of internal and external ballast in spring is not only found in Ayurvedic medicine, but also Western naturopathy recommends various fasting cures and diets for purification, such as the Christian fasting period before Easter.

According to the Ayurvedic view, physical and mental balancing measures should be carried out at every transition from one season to the following season. In particular, adjusted diet, sleep duration, yoga exercises as well as mantras help with this seasonal transition. In Ayurveda, age, state of health and also the constitution determined by the individual distribution of our bioenergies (doshas) are taken into account.

Ayurvedic living with the seasons

Ritucharya, encompasses the ancient Ayurvedic knowledge of adapting the individual lifestyle to the seasons forms a fundamental contribution to the prevention of diseases.

The distribution of doshas (bio-energies) throughout the year follows a certain rhythm and is determined by the climatic conditions of each season accordingly, so that the dominance of the doshas is distributed differently:

• Spring – March 21 to June 20 – Kapha increases, Pitta increases, Vata decreases.

Over the winter, Kapha has accumulated in our body. In the Ayurvedic view, Kapha dosha plays a very special role in spring. “Ka” means water and “pha” means thriving. Kapha is the dosha that gives us physical strength, suppleness and memory. Due to heavy meals, too little exercise and too little sun, accumulations of ama (toxic substances) have usually built up: Slags that are not broken down by the metabolism. At the beginning of spring the temperatures rise and the Kapha-Dosha, which has increased over the winter, “liquefies” and makes us feel heavy – a typical symptom is the well-known spring tiredness. It is therefore necessary to get rid of both Kapha and Ama. In order to stay strong and healthy, our digestive fire (Agni) has to be strengthened and our metabolism has to get going. This is because when the digestive fire is burning strong, excess reserves are better eliminated, excess kapha or ama can be expelled, and we go through spring more easily.

A lifestyle and diet not adapted to the season can disrupt the quality and quantity of doshas in the human body and mind. Spring fatigue is not only annoying, but it creates a perfect breeding ground for flu-like infections, allergies such as hay fever, allergic asthma, rheumatic complaints, migraines and other unpleasant ailments.

Ayurvedic diet in spring

In Ayurveda, a diet and lifestyle adapted to the season is recommended.

The variable courses of spring require a specially adapted diet. The proportional parts of the tastes sweet, sour, salty, hot, bitter and tart have to be adjusted. The following are dietary recommendations for spring in terms of flavors and characteristics, related to the respective dosha constitutions.

• Vata – sweet, spicy, warm, a little fatty and a little sour.

Pitta – sweet, bitter, moderately pungent and moderately warm, astringent

Kapha – pungent, warm, dry, somewhat astringent

Supportive herbal powders or pressings can be taken, e.g:

• Triphala – balances all three doshas
• Trikatu – reduces Kapha, do not use in case of excessive Pitta
• Hingvashtaka – reduces Kapha and Vata, strengthens Agni (digestive fire)

In addition to fasting according to type, exercise in the outdoors, use of spices that stimulate digestion, good chewing and intake of hot water, and reducing the amount of food are true agni boosters in the spring. Eating and living in harmony with the natural seasonal changes ensure optimal immunity and sensual living.

Spring is the perfect season to reduce increased kapha. It is optimal to stimulate tissue metabolism and initiate weight reduction with a Panchakarma cure.

With this in mind, we wish you a beautiful and powerful spring!