April in Your Body
April showers bring May flowers, and this month ushers in a cool and damp climate to prepare us for the upcoming Summer. By now, our bodies sense the approaching lighter season, keeping us alert and energized for longer days. Known as "Spring Fever," we embrace the season of outdoor activities and warmth.
Similar to a lake thawing and coming back to life, our body's fluids are still recovering from the Winter. After months of consuming nourishing, grounding foods, our circulation may still be sluggish, which can heighten feelings of frustration and tension.
The liver, considered a "heat" organ in both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is responsible for cleansing the blood and promoting circulation. By incorporating bitter greens and astringent tastes into our diet, we can help clear Winter stagnation and invigorate our tissues.
Qualities of the Season
Spring is Kapha Season, characterized by qualities such as murkiness, moisture, and warmth. To maintain balance, we focus on consuming foods and practicing habits that counter these qualities, such as favoring clear, light, and dry foods, as well as incorporating astringent, sour, and bitter tastes.
Daily/Practices
Where we spent the darker season nourishing and massaging our bodies, Spring- in particular April- becomes a season of Dry Brushing. Dry brushing helps to stimulate the circulation of the lymphatic system and support healthy blood flow.
After being pent up in the Winter time, the season is finally ripe to get outside! We are of nature, so opportunities to return to nature come with so many benefits. Earthing, for example, is a wonderful opportunity to quite literally reconnect with mother earth. The practice of being bare-foot and connected to dirt has shown value in immune and mental health. Additionally, in being outside, we have a unique opportunity to give our eyes a rest, to focus on a distant point, and find space to meditate and be mindful.
In the season of being outside, returning to activity, and cultivating heat in the body, it’s important to remember routine, to again keep your feet on the ground. While the initial vibrancy of the season is compelling, we perform our best when consistency remains a central tenet.
Diet Staples
Bitter greens help drain the heat from the body- though April can still be quite biting and cold, our bodies know as nature knows. Too much heat build up can lead to rashes, anger, irritability, and other liver conditions. Clarity can be supported by incorporating diuretics like corn, kale, celery, cabbages, and collard greens. Dandelion, radish, mustard greens, and arugula are all helpful in releasing stored fat and liquids from the winter season.
Sweet and astringent fruits can continue to support healthy blood like apricot, cherries, oranges, and other citrus fruits. While the seasons shift, all tastes and all qualities can and should remain present in different ratios.
Other astringency can be added into the fold via grains like buckwheat and millet as well as beans, raw veggies, and sprouts.
Nature provides what our bodies need each season and in a time where we’re so disconnected from nature, it’s easy to miss out on important signals.
What’s it all Mean?
We are of the earth around us and each season offers new opportunity to continue to practice the art of being a subtle and persistently evolving piece of the puzzle of life. Each day- each moment- brings forth a chance to be better and do better for our self and our legacy. Bad days can come, but our awareness and self acuity offer evergreen chances to show up for ourselves and our communities. When in doubt, resources abound— reach out to (me!) your friendly neighborhood Ayurvedic Nutrition Coach.
