Each spring we have a new opportunity to get ourselves in synch with nature. So much pain and suffering has come from viewing ourselves as separate from the natural world, and each year a cleansing season offers us the perfect opportunity to realign!
Our bodies are always striving to keep us as safe and healthy as possible. In the winter, they slow down and store fat to insulate us against colder temperatures. Mucous production increases to combat the germs that can challenge respiratory health.
As spring begins, we naturally begin to detox, shedding the extra weight, mucous, and lethargy of winter while striving to feel lighter in all ways. Our energy levels begin to increase as sunlight becomes more available, which helps us to accomplish more each day.
Because we are one with nature, what’s happening outside of us is also happening on the inside. The changes in the weather are being echoed by changes within our own bodies—like increasing warmth, cold, dryness, or moisture.
While completing a formal, structured cleanse can have immense value, it is not for everyone, nor is it always possible or recommended based on what’s going on in our lives.
Fortunately, nature provides exactly what we need to balance ourselves in any given season, including springtime. This means that we can very effectively cleanse and detox the winter yuck from our bodies simply by leveraging the world around us, we just need to know how.
Here are five highly effective things that everyone can do to detox and cleanse this spring:
- Eat seasonally. Ingesting more of what grows naturally where you live at any given time of year helps you to counterbalance the energies of the weather. You don’t need to eat only these foods, just more of them! Not sure what they are? Ask a local farmer!
- Eat foods that are vibrant and alive. These are fresh, brightly colored, pleasant-smelling, unpackaged, whole foods. We bring in nutrients from as well as energetic qualities of everything we ingest, so by choosing wisely we can nourish ourselves more thoroughly by indulging all of our senses, not just taste!
Our cells are, quite literally, built from the foods we eat. Those cells are the foundation for everything else in our lives. Choosing the foods that give us the strongest foundation will give us most energy and stamina.
- Move your body. It doesn’t need to be a formal workout. Just move.
The lymphatic system accumulates all kinds of toxins, but doesn’t have its own pump, which makes it easy for lymph to become stuck. This creates cellulite and lots of opportunities for dis-ease in the body. Getting our hearts pumping through movement is the way to keep the lymphatic waste traveling and the toxins releasing. Simply put, the more we move, the more we detox.
- The breath is a built-in detoxification system. For it to work efficiently, we need to be taking full, deep breaths through the nose. However, most of us spend our days taking short, shallow breaths based in the chest or breathing through the mouth. This can result in up to 23,000 missed opportunities to detox our bodies each day! Breathing better oxygenates the blood, clears stagnant air from deep in the lungs, and releases toxins of all kinds (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual).
- Ingest well in all areas.We feed ourselves through each of our senses all day, every day. Who are we engaging with? What are we watching, listening to, reading, smelling, etc.? Are these things nourishing us in the ways we want order to reach our goals? What needs to change? Cleansing the experiences that are no longer sustaining us gives the space to bring in new ones that are more aligned.
How do we know it’s working?
We feel lighter—physically, mentally, and emotionally. We have more energy and begin to experience changes in the way our bodies and skin look and feel, and maybe even some relief from seasonal allergies!
Is spring the only time to cleanse?
Not necessarily, but it is the best time. Nature supports the process by providing foods and weather that are naturally conducive to detox—like berries and greens! Why fight it? Ride the wave!
Fall cleansing is also a possibility, but is not recommended to detox or cleanse in the summer or winter. When weather is at its most extreme, you will be thrown too far off balance to create positive change.
These tips can realign you with nature and help you to jumpstart or deepen your wellness journey in an ease-filled way. Happy detoxing!
Theresa Vee is a certified holistic wellness professional and speaker specializing in nutrition and Ayurveda. She helps spiritually-driven people to become more balanced, create peace and purpose in their lives (and she cleanses every spring!) Find out more about her work at TheresaVee.com.
