Spring Movement

We’re continuing our series on news you can use from Yoga and Ayurveda to have a healthy Spring. This is part two on movement. Movement is SO important in the Spring because Spring is the slowest and heaviest season of the year. It makes sense, right? Just like when we are first waking up in the morning, moving slowly, wiping the goop from our eyes, Spring is also taking its time to yawn and stretch and get going.

According to Ayurveda, the two main elements that make up Spring (or kapha dosha) are earth and water. When we mix earth and water in Nature we get mud; when we mix these elements in our body we get sticky and dense. If we don’t shake off that mud, we’re going to gain weight, get congested in our head or gut, and probably feel sad or depressed.

Exercise to the rescue! The best part about our body’s need for exercise is that we don’t need a lot to get health benefits. 30 minutes a day of moving around burns calories and boosts the mood. Heck, you can even get your exercise in 3 10-minute segments and get similar results! Here are some suggestions:

Walk for 10 minutes after meals. You’ll get the calorie burn and an aid for digestion.

Work in your garden. Carrying rocks and pushing wheelbarrows, getting up and down from the ground, bending over and reaching provide a full-body workout. Plus you’ll be out in Nature which helps you attune to the circadian rhythms so you can adjust to Daylight Saving Time.

Yoga should be practiced every day too. Even if you can’t get to a 75-minute class each day, 15 minutes a day will keep you flexible in body and mind. The best yoga in the Spring includes
● Sun Salutations to break a sweat (to alleviate the water element)
● Back bends to open the chest and abdomen (these are the places where kapha dosha “live” in the body)
● Twists to stimulate digestion (which gets sluggish in the Spring), and
● Inversions to increase immune function (the lymphatic system benefits from headstand, shoulderstand and legs up the wall)

Add these movement ideas to the guidelines for eating from our last post so you can have a happy, healthy Spring.