Basics: 4 tips to get the spring back in your step! and beat Kapha-overdose

It's SPRING!! or at least we're close...

The weather is going back and forth between beautiful-hallelujah-Spring weather days and bone-chilling-Winter days, which must mean we've hit the ritu sandhi or seasonal junction between winter and spring. Ritu Sandhi is the space where it's most important to be on your game with your diet and lifestyle so that you beat any dosha accumulation.

All winter we've been eating heavy fattier meals to help us ground our minds and nourish our bodies, preventing Vata imbalance. Now Kapha (the watery-earthy dosha) is in the air and if we keep to a Vata-balancing routine we might find ourselves in what I call Kapha overdose: akin to a food coma and brain fog combined. The body and mind get too heavy and we find ourselves with congestion, lethargy, stagnancy of mind and body and excess weight retention. Going into a purely Kapha balancing diet can be good for some, but many of us have tendencies towards vata and pitta imbalance (anxiety, stress, insomnia, skin problems, bloating, heartburn) and it is important to not swing to an extreme that will send us off balance in another direction!

These four tips are great for anyone to integrate this time of year to reclaim the spark in your eye, the spring in your step and the freedom in your heart. Try them; you'll feel better in just a few days!

4 Tips to Balance Kapha Dosha

1. Wake up before sunrise. I'll be posting about suggestions for better sleep soon, but in the meantime get with the brahmamuhutra! (what's that?) Especially good for those with depression or hormonal imbalances. 5:45am is a good time to aim for. 
2. Eat a light & early dinner. Finish your meal by 7:30pm at the latest and make it your lightest/easiest-to-digest meal of the day. That way you'll be all fires burning come the morning so that you're hungry for breakfast and ready to gobble up an incredible day! 
3. Exercise! Improve your circulation by getting moving in the Kapha hours: between 6am and 10am. Be sure it's with a steady un-stressed breath pattern or you might disturb prana's natural flow and provoke Kapha to halt altogether.
4. Eat your vegetables. We're starting to see more than just root vegetables and kale at the farmer's market, so enjoy the plenty that spring is bringing! For those with lots of Vata imbalance roaming around, be sure to go easy on the cruciferous vegetables like (brocolli, kale, cabbage) or you'll wind up with a whole lot of gas (no fun!) due to their rough and drying nature. Everyone can gently reduce nuts, cheese and meat in their diet, especially if you're feeling the kapha coma coming on.

Hurray for Spring!