Ayurvedic Insight

Issue #42, May 2005

Publisher: Banyan Botanicals

In This Issue

“Spring Cleaning From the Inside – Out” by Shannon Mooney
Benefits of Tongue Cleaning
Recipe: Carrot Raisin Salad

Spring Cleaning From the Inside – Out

by Shannon Mooney

Spring is a time of renewal. Our bodies are constantly changing in dynamic response to our environment and are affected by many factors including our daily work and activities, diet and seasonal changes. The three doshas, vata, pitta, kapha, are the bodily humors that reflect shifts or changes in our environment. Ayurveda teaches that we must always look to nature for guidance, particularly during the change of seasons when our bodies are most susceptible to illness.

Our bodies are a microcosm of the universe around us. Just as the snow melts and earth thaws, rivers run and water pools, the heavy, dense kapha that has accumulated in the body over the winter months begins to liquefy. The fluids become more free-flowing. Common symptoms of this process include post-nasal drip, colds, congestion, bronchial conditions and lung problems.

Spring is considered the best time to cleanse and rejuvenate the body, mind and senses. In order to maintain harmony and balance during this time, Ayurveda suggests adopting a seasonal regime. Diet and lifestyle habits should include substances and practices that contain the opposite qualities of the season. Since the spring weather is wet, we should take more drying foods and herbs and add cleansing habits to our lifestyles.

Within your morning routine, aside from brushing and flossing the teeth, gently scrape the tongue. This practice helps to remove bacteria and toxins, improves digestion and provides a gentle massage to the internal organs. Gargling is also an excellent practice to help strengthen teeth and gums, provide clear sense of taste and protect the voice. Try gargling with cup warm water mixed with a little sesame oil to help nourish the throat and mouth. Finally, placing a couple drops of Banyan Botanicals nasya oil in each nostril helps relieve congestion in the nasal passages and sinuses.

When kapha begins to liquefy, it can be distributed throughout the body and begin to disturb agni, or digestive fire. Particularly during the morning when agni is weakest, heavy foods should be avoided as they can burden the digestive system. Instead, it is important to begin to eat lighter foods to help strengthen digestive capabilities. Favor foods that have a drying quality, avoiding heavy, dense and cold foods.

While Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of the six tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent – being represented in our diets, we also need to support our bodies through favoring certain tastes according to our prakritis (constitutions) and according to the seasons. During the spring season, favor the astringent taste to help dry and balance the excess liquid generally aggravated at this time.

Some perfect seasonal spring vegetables that contain these qualities are arugula, mustard greens, fiddleheads, parsley, celery, chard, kale, dandelions and asparagus. Grains with a more drying quality are barley, rye, millet, basmati rice and corn. Reduce fats, oils and limit dairy during this time. To help promote digestion and detoxification, include spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, cinnamon and ginger. Ideally, these spices should be tempered in warm ghee to bring out their medicinal qualities before adding to vegetables.

Drinking hot ginger tea or tulsi-ginger tea throughout the day and before meals helps to stimulate agni and assist in cleansing excess kapha and toxins from the body. This is a simple, but most effective practice to add to your daily health regime.

Traditionally in Ayurveda, Sitopaladi is a formula that assists in drying up excess mucus particularly within the respiratory channels. Banyan Botanicals Lung Formula is a synergistic blend of herbs promoting healthy respiration and is commonly indicated for allergies, asthma, bronchitis, chest congestion and lung disorders. It is extremely useful for kapha imbalances.

Our bodies naturally want to cleanse at this time. Proper elimination is very important particularly during the cleansing process. When there is undigested matter, toxins can accumulate in the body causing disease. Taking Triphala on a daily basis can help ensure proper elimination while cleansing the entire digestive tract and tonifying the colon. Triphala can be taken as a tea or in tablet form a half hour before bedtime.

We naturally have the urge to be more active and alert in the warm weather months. This tendency helps to compensate for the slow and dull qualities of kapha. Exercise in moderation daily. The warming and mobile qualities of exercise help to liquefy and move excess kapha in the body. With more daylight hours available, consider getting outside and exploring the wonders of nature. Find inspiration in the rebirth you witness, as nature reawakens after the dormancy of winter.

Within your yoga practice, asanas should be invigorating, inviting an upward movement of energy. Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskara) invoke this quality when practiced rapidly. Fish pose (Matsyasana) is especially good for removing excess kapha from the lungs and stimulating the thyroid gland. Also include standing postures, such as Warrior (Virabhadrasana) that open the chest with arm extensions, either out to the sides or overhead. All standing postures are beneficial to kapha along with any pose that works the thighs and stomach area. Breathe deeply, filling the body with prana with each inhalation. Release old holding patterns with each exhalation.

Bhastrika pranayama is an active breath practice that helps to create more heat in the body and improve digestion by increasing agni. It can also alleviate sinus congestion and create a feeling of exhilaration. Skull-Shining Breath (Kapalabhati) is a similar, more gentle pranayama offering many of the same benefits.

Meditating daily is an important cleansing process for the mind. This may be the most effective way to combat stress and allow ourselves to release all that does not serve us in the present moment. When kapha is imbalanced, there is an emotional tendency towards attachment. Meditation is a practice of letting go. Each moment serves as an opportunity to begin again.

Spring is an opportune time to cleanse from the inside, out. Making seasonal adjustments to your daily routine is a way of inviting flexibility and harmony into your body, mind and spirit. By strengthening digestion and cleansing toxins from the body this spring, we can renew our sense of self just like the new supple green shoot emerging from the rich, moist earth.

Benefits of Tongue Cleaning

Reduces the toxins and bacteria on the tongue that cause bad breath
Enhances the sense of taste
Improves digestion
Gently stimulates the internal organs
Helps eliminate unattractive coating on the tongue (ama)

According to Ayurveda, cleaning the tongue is an important part of the daily oral hygiene routine, along with regular brushing and flossing of the teeth. Gently scraping the tongue with a tongue cleaner, a traditional design made in the U.S.A., can effectively reduce the bacteria in the mouth that cause bad breath.