Yoga Detox, spring awakening
Yoga detox… After the long, cool winter nights, spring brings light and energy. It’s time to let go of everything we’ve accumulated over the winter: toxins, emotions and memories that weigh us down…
Spring clean our bodies and minds, so that we’re available for what’s essential, ready to welcome the light of spring, the blossoming of nature to come.
Through the prism of Ayurveda
The energy of spring
In Ayurveda, the energy associated with spring is that of Kapha (earth and water).
The dominant element is water. The earth liquefies under the effect of the emerging heat.
Imbalances
Kapha energy can cause congestion, stagnation and over-attachment, especially in people of this typology. Kapha creates mucus in the body. It’s not uncommon for Kapha energy to become unbalanced, causing ENT problems, water retention, weight gain and lethargy, as well as emotional problems such as melancholy, depression, susceptibility, stubbornness and possessiveness.
Pitta energy (fire and water) can also become unbalanced, leading to allergies, inflammation and, on an emotional level, irritability, anger, frustration, dissatisfaction and impatience.
Restoring harmony
Kapha energy must be channelled through movement. This will enable the body to accompany the circulation of fluids and thus promote their release. Basically, you need to get moving in spring: yoga, walking, swimming, dancing…
Spring routine
3 watchwords: Simplification, detoxification and mobility
Diet:
It must be simplified to support the liver’s action, help our body eliminate toxins and limit allergies:
- foods and dishes that are easy to digest
- once a week, do a mono-diet with a cooked food such as rice or cooked apples
- drink warm or hot water regularly
- reduce mucus-generating dairy products and gluten.
The mind:
Lighten up mentally too, to avoid being trapped by dissatisfaction, anger and resentment. Perhaps let go? Don’t take on too many tasks all at once, take things one step at a time… Meditation is a wonderful tool for keeping the clutter at bay!
Body:
Movement will be essential during this period: long walks to facilitate the elimination process, pranayamas (purifying breaths), yoga with twisting postures and flowing sequences such as sun salutations.
It’s also important to allow sufficient rest time for the body to regenerate.
Draining and lymphatic massages, in the form of spa treatments, are particularly welcome at this time of year.
The chakra in the spotlight:
Svadisthana, the second chakra, located 4 fingers below the navel, is the center of sexual energy and reproduction. Svadisthana is connected to our primordial waters, is the dwelling place of the self, and its energy brings creativity, desire and pleasure to the various fields of our lives.
When in balance, this chakra brings clarity and the development of an authentic, independent personality, serene enough to create lasting, healthy relationships.
- In excess, this chakra can lead to sexual bulimia, aggression, pride and excessive ambition.
- In deficiency, on the other hand, it leads to sexual blockages, frustration, withdrawal, shame and guilt.
Nyama (personal yogic observance) in the spotlight:
Tapas or the creative intensity that leads to inner transformation.
In Hinduism, Tapas, which in Sanskrit means “to burn”, corresponds to an inner sacrifice that results in “intense and continuous effort combined with various austerities.” (Hindu spirituality, its message / Jean Herbert.
Cultivating one’s tapas “means respecting the effort required to produce and maintain progress on the path of yoga”, says Clémentine Erpicum.
It means choosing a “yogic commitment”, such as doing a few asanas in the morning, breathing and/or meditating.
The notion of “ happy sobriety ” (vers la sobriété heureuse / Pierre Rhabi) echoes the asceticism and commitment that define tapas. This voluntary simplicity, which consists in adopting behaviors that do the least possible harm to the environment, is a powerful and responsible choice that each of us can make to preserve life and universal harmony. The transformation to which we are called could therefore be expressed through concrete acts that protect living things.
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world”. Ghandi
Source : Au fil des saisons / Sylvia Carretero – Geneviève Devinas – Christelle Simonet
