March in Your Body
March is the real turn-of-the-leaf away from the dark time and into the light time. Once daylight savings Springs forward, the days get longer, the earth begins to thaw, and we’re drawn outward. You may notice that you crave less of the heavy sweetness that the Winter called for; you may even notice your appetite diminish just a bit. Embrace that. Just like the cold, hard, and heavy winter gives way for the light, energetic, clearness of Spring, this time of year the body readies itself to shed an refresh.
Key Take-Aways
Take advantage of the earlier sunrises and cooler air for immune and circadian regularity.
Increase circulation to improve blood health and lymphatic drainage after a winter of “hibernation”.
Movement is king. Dry brush, tongue scrape, irrigate your sinuses- encourage system-wide movement to increase conditions for regeneration.
Qualities of the Season
Spring is sprung at the heart of Kapha Season. It’s a biannual intersection between the dark time and light time. While the body reheats and re-energizes, it’s helpful to support the transition with easy to digest, light, simple foods. Wake with the sun and get outside. The blue light of the sunrise is a perfect way to get your systems energized in a nourishing way. Prioritize warm, light, dry, mobile, sharp, penetrating qualities and embrace bitter, stringent, and pungent tastes.
Daily/Practices
Like other animals, we too shed our winter layers in preparation for the upcoming warm season. In our case, it involves losing the insulating layers of fat beneath the skin, a natural process that differs from the modern concept of striving for a "summer body." Instead, this process aligns with the natural order, a delicate orchestra that changes seasonally to set us up for success.
Ayurvedically, this shedding can contribute to our blood and lymphatic systems experiencing congestion or sluggishness. This can lead to feelings of heaviness and lethargy. In addition, this congestion can contribute to mucous build-up, common during this time of year. Dry brushing remains a helpful practice to support the somewhat reluctant lymphatic system.
The idea of scraping, known as lekhana, can be applied in various ways throughout the season to introduce a rough and mobile quality when it's lacking. For example, tongue scraping is beneficial year-round but particularly useful now to clarify and assess the state of the digestive system through the purge.
While the body lightens up, there's an increased risk of irritants causing seasonal allergies due to changes in blood circulation. Regular Neti practice helps cleanse the sinuses, flushing out any trapped irritants and reducing immune responses.
Most importantly, spend time outdoors and stay active. Embracing our connection to nature on nice days allows us to return to its warm embrace, recalibrate our circadian rhythm, and positive impact our mental health. Engaging in activities like preparing spring gardens brings joy in witnessing new life. Our nervous systems greatly benefit from reconnecting with nature, aligning our vibes with the environment around us.
Diet Staples
March signifies the switch to bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes. Foods high in prana, or energy and life, are more easily accessible as farm stand season returns. Gone are the dark, cold months of root veggies and preserves- now is the time for fresh berries, cherries, greens, and grains!
Pungent and warming digestive herbs like ginger, black pepper, and turmeric assist the digestion, or agni, to brighten up and reinvigorate. It’s the perfect season to re-introduce all sorts of grains into the diet. Grains like barkley, buckwheat, and millet are light and mobile enough to give quick bursts of energy that will help keep the system running efficiently with the longer days.
Finally, beans and lean meats - particularly easy to digest beans and fish - nourish the system via their fiber, carb, and protein content. Because the light time encourages getting outside and getting mobile, it’s important to keep protein in a light and easily digestible form in order to ensure the body is supplied properly for regeneration.
What It All Means
The biggest takeaway is this: the sun is back, the body gets to movin in the Spring. Support your body's transition with easily digestible, light, and simple foods. As the body taps into its accumulated reserves for fuel, prioritize warm, light, dry, and mobile qualities, alongside bitter, stringent, and pungent tastes.
In daily practices, shed winter layers with dry brushing, scraping, and especially tongue scraping to assess digestive health. Combat potential seasonal allergies by incorporating regular Neti practice. Embrace outdoor activities for overall well-being, connecting with nature during this time of renewal. Circulation, metabolism, and circadian health are always primary- they are the inner clock and combustion systems that keep us regular!
