Ayurvedic Tips for Kapha Season
Rejuvenate your calm, loving, supportive nature this Spring!
KAPHA DOSHA | Earth + Water
SEASON | Late winter to late spring
TIME OF DAY | 6:00 - 10:00 am/pm
TIME OF LIFE | Age birth - 20 years
The common translation of Kapha is “that which binds things” or “that which holds things together.” Kapha is heavy, cold, dull, oily, smooth, dense, soft, static, liquid, cloudy, hard, and gross (in the sense of dense or thick). According to Ayurveda, this is the dosha responsible for the stability, lubrication, substance, and support of our physical body. Kapha supports our emotional calm and mental and physical endurance, allowing us to feel deeply, empathize, and be patient and compassionate. During the late winter to the end of spring, Kapha can manifest in the body as excessive phlegm in the lungs or sinuses, nausea, weight gain, fluid retention, and allergies. The key to pacifying Kapha is to seek stimulation of new sights, sounds, and experiences. When out of balance emotionally, the earthy-watery quality of Kapha types may become overweight, sleep excessively, and suffer from asthma, diabetes, and depression. When Kapha is in balance, the Kapha person is calm, loving, strong, loyal, patient, steady, and supportive.
Healing Therapies for Pacifying Kapha
Here are some practical suggestions for balancing the Kapha dosha during the seasonal changes that occur in late winter to late spring:
PRANAYAMA | Practice Solar Pranayama and Kapalabhati Pranayama (Skull Shining Breath) to activate your Agni fire. Then cultivate a continuous Ujjayi Pranayama while focusing on the exhalation to move the breath upwards (Udana Vayu) from the stomach to the chest, lungs, throat, and sinuses to promote warmth, stimulation, circulation and to energize you in the poses.
YOGA ASANA | Upon awakening, practice yoga poses that are stimulating and heating to open up the stomach and chest where Kapha accumulates as mucous. Focus on invigorating standing poses and backbends - try maintaining your asanas for up to 20 breaths. Move through your flow sequences quickly (though always with conscious awareness) to lighten and warm your body.
VAYUS | Samana Vayu, Vyana Vayu, Udana Vayu
CHAKRAS | Manipura - Fire, Anahata - Air, Vishudha - Ether
BIJA MANTRAS | Ram, Yam, Ham
MUDRAS | Agni Mudra - Fire, Vayu Mudra - Air, Akasa Mudra - Ether
MEDITATION | A daily walking meditation practice helps to remove mental and emotional obstacles - promoting a sense of lightness, aliveness, and energized.
SELF-MASSAGE | Perform a daily garshan (dry massage) on your body to stimulate the skin and the lymphatic system, improves circulation and reduces the appearance of cellulite.
TEA | Drink a warm tea of fresh ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon to warm the body and enhance circulation and digestion.
FOODS | Eat freshly cooked, whole foods that are light, dry, warming, well-spiced, and relatively easy to digest—ideally served warm or hot. Increase foods that are pungent, astringent, and bitter. These foods calm Kapha by balancing mucous production, regulating moisture levels, maintaining adequate heat, and by supporting proper digestion and elimination. Kapha thrives on a fairly minimalistic diet with smaller meals, little to no snacking, fewer sweets, an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, a variety of legumes, minimal alcohol, and lighter fare all around.
Begin your self-healing journey today!
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