10 Tips To Rewrite Your Wellness Story This Spring
/A cleanse can mean different things to different people. A gentle cleanse for a two week period, or longer in some cases once a year can help give your digestive system the much needed break. Over the winter period, we usually eat heavy and difficult to digest foods. These generate digestive toxins (ama). Over the Spring, we want to remove these toxins and stimulate our digestive fire. An Ayurvedic cleanse is designed to support the natural function of our gut microbiome. Something that might suprise you is - An Ayurvedic cleanse is not about green juices and eating raw vegetables. So try to refrain from raw foods during this period.
An Ayurvedic home detox is a gentle way to prevent digestive conditions from arising. It is a perfect annual reset for your entire system. This is preventative healthcare! Here are my 10 tips to get you set for an Ayurvedic home Spring cleanse when the weather eventually supports it. Timing is everything.
- Clear out your kitchen from all temptations – I find if it’s not there you won’t succumb to have it. This can be my biggest downfall, so I know how important this first step is – these include all ama-producing foods. For me this means no chocolate! This also refers to all processed foods, leftovers, cheese, yoghurt, meat, eggs, refined sugars, sweets desserts, fried food and yeasted bread. Avoid dried, canned and frozen foods for the entire duration of your cleanse.
- Stock up on the essential ingredients:
Grains: basmati rice, quinoa, amaranth, barley
Lentils: mung beans
Spices and herbs: ginger, lemon, lime, turmeric, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander leaves, parsley
Fats & Oils: Ghee, sunflower seeds, mustard oil, flax seed oil
Vegetables: Plenty of green vegetables that have a bitter taste, for example - leafy green, spinach, kale, bitter gourd
Fruits: all ripe seasonal fruits – eaten cooked. Apples, pears, prunes, figs - Once you know your Ayurvedic body type you can tailor your cleanse even further to support this
- Stock up on herbal teas. I usually make my own using the spices and herbs – fill up a flask and keep sipping
- Detox mean scaling back from all unnecessary information, this means food, sensory stimulants, environmental triggers and emotional attachments. More on this in the forthcoming blog posts – watch out for more tips
- Get enough sleep during your cleansing period. While you scale down your diet and lifestyle, allow your body rest. This allows rejuvenation and cleansing of all the cells of your body. Follow your intuition of how much rest your body needs.
- Gentle exercise can support your home cleanse, but do not push your body to do strenuous routines. Remember your system is cleansing, be gentle with yourself
- Engage in more breathing and meditation. I find pranayama breathing exercises super supportive in a cleansing process. We can expel so many subtle toxins through out respiratory tract
- Indulge in self care! We must get it out of our mind that self care rituals are selfish or a treat, they are not. They are an important aspect of self nurturing and cleansing. Morning rituals include brushing the teeth, scraping the tongue, oil pulling, self massage (with a warm cured sesame oil), hot shower, breathing, meditation, and a hot lemon and ginger tea. These practices can be the best way to get an early start to your Spring days. It also enables you to set a routine that will support your health.
- Stock up on some a brilliant herbal compound called triphala to aid your cleanse. You can buy these at Triveda: Buy Triphala enter code: GEETAVARA5OFF for a 5% discount.
You are all set now for your Ayurvedic cleanse. I'll be posting more guidance, tips and rituals to support your cleanse in my blog and Instagram.