Posts In: Spring

Take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy this healing sound bath offered by Yoga One teacher Amy Freeman and her son. They play chakra tuned crystal bowls, hand pan and tongue drums, and a rainstick in the beautiful San Diego, California sunshine. Please also enjoy the unscripted bird calls. 🙂

by Sharyn Greenberg

Spring is a time of flowers, sunshine, love and picnics! After the long, dark, chilly winter days and nights, it’s nice to find ourselves finally emerging from hibernation. Even in San Diego, rain showers, cloudy days and the occasional hail storm kept us indoors. But spring is a time of rejuvenation when nature is reborn and the excitement of a warm breeze makes life seem a bit lighter.

As we set out to face the sun of this new season, the practice of Ayurveda can help put a spring in your step by bringing your body in balance with the rhythm of nature.

During winter and early spring, the elements of water and earth (kapha dosha) are dominant yet as the earth transitions into late spring there is an onset of fire (pitta). These elements are present in both our external and internal environments. An accumulation of too much kapha within a person may lead to sleepiness, depression, weight gain or phlegm – all of which may have been noticed in the winter. Now that spring is here, it’s time to reign in kapha so we can remain in step with nature, which is moving towards light and warmth.

1. Embrace routine to combat any lingering lethargy from winter. Ideally you should wake up with the sun, around 7am, and go for a brisk walk outside first thing. If you don’t have time for a walk, just pop outside to feel the air against your skin.
2. Lighten up your diet. There’s no more need to store up fat for the winter – it’s time to eat lighter, incorporating herbs and spices into your diet. Avoid heavy, oily foods. Enjoy bitter, pungent and astringent foods such as apples, asparagus, okra, leafy greens, beets, legumes and dark grapes.
3. Herbs are nature’s pharmacy. Triphala is good for detoxifying the body (take 1/2 teaspoon at night.) Ginger gets the digestive system going and warms the body; try drinking ginger tea 30 minutes before every meal. Turmeric dries mucus and aids allergy symptoms (mix 1/4 teaspoon with 1 teaspoon raw honey a few times per day).
4. Get moving! Yoga asana that soothes kapha include sun salutations to get the heart rate up, back bending to energize and spinal twists to detoxify. Daily yoga practice is encouraged but equally so are outdoor activities like hiking, jogging and bike riding.
5. Don’t Forget to Breathe. Kapalabhati is the recommended pranayam to do daily in the spring as it promotes detoxification, healthy digestion and a lighter state of mind. Go here for a tutorial.

Sloughing off the heaviness of winter is the main guide to health in the spring. The goal is not only to lighten up the physical body but also the mental and emotional bodies which are also affected by the seasons. Naps are not advisable during spring as they slow digestion and aggravate kapha. Try to stay up and enjoy the daytime. If you feel tired or restless, enjoy some restorative yoga!

Birds migrate, snows melt, green sprouts poke their courageous heads out of the earth, ready to live. It’s time to shrug off those winter blues and embrace warmer weather and a fresh start. While the San Diegan climate doesn’t allow for a lot of seasonal variation when it comes to temperature or rainfall, it’s hard to miss all the trees and flowers in bloom and the lengthening hours of daylight. With the official start of Spring right around the corner, the vernal equinox on March 20th, perhaps some yogic spring cleaning is in order. Here are five ways to re-center, re-invest and re-vitalize your commitment to your yoga practice!

1. Change it up! If you regularly go to the same class with the same instructor, try mixing up your schedule. Don’t worry about abandoning your favorite instructor, there’s a reason you love their teaching style and you’ll definitely be back. All it takes are a few words from a new teacher that strike you personally or the way your body feels doing a different type of yoga to renew your energy and passion.
2. Take the reins and actively direct your study of yoga. Re-invest in your education by signing up for a workshop, a private lesson or even making the leap to join the next Yoga One Teacher Training. Purchase or check out from the library a new book on yoga, read or re-read the Sutras. When you open the door to knowledge, you get to form new connections with yourself and the world around you.
3. Lighten up your diet. Don’t worry, this isn’t an injunction saying you must eat this and never eat that and so on. From a purely health-oriented perspective, I think we can all agree that more fruits and veggies are the way to go. Bonus points if they’re raw. When you eat healthy food, your body gets the nutrients it needs to help you feel lighter and more alert both on and off your mat.
4. Get a change of scenery, starting with your wardrobe. It’s no secret that we’re drawn to certain colors and assign them emotional meanings; so choose to wear colors that inspire you and represent the energy you’d like to have and project to others. Ditch the black and try out a fresh green, exuberant white or daring hot pink and notice the difference in your warrior two.
5. Break out of old habits by experiencing each pose as if you were brand new to yoga. We’ve said it before, begin again. When in doubt, focus on the breath. Take a few minutes each day to sit with yourself in silent meditation. By increasing your mindfulness, you welcome a heightened awareness into your everyday life which can lead to less anxiety and a clearer sense of purpose.