Spring It On

This Ayurvedic prescription for springtime health will help you leap from winter to spring with grace and ease.

By Scott Blossom

This may seem to be rather overwhelming at first, but you can begin to integrate change anywhere you're most comfortable—maybe you will choose to begin with your hatha practice or with your diet. Whatever changes you decide to make, even if they're small, commit to sticking with them. Successful transformation rarely happens with a quick fix or a brief burst of dedication, especially when you're dealing with the kapha dosha. Because of its earthy-watery nature, it's very dense and heavy, and it can stick like mud.

Make Space
Ease the transition to spring by creating sukha, which means "good space" or a general state of health and happiness. You can do this by eating wholesome food and practicing asana and pranayama. Creating sukha is especially important when you're trying to wring out excess kapha, because it enables prana (vital energy) to move freely through your body. Like wind moving clouds through the sky, prana propels kapha, so that fluids and phlegm move easily through the body. If you don't create sukha, the flow of prana is restricted and contributes to dukha (bad space), sukha's evil twin. Dukha represents misery of any kind and restricts or confuses the flow of kapha.

To increase sukha and prana in your practice, add squats, which free up "good space" in the densest part of the body: the pelvis and legs. The pelvis and legs represent the earthy-watery part of the body and are prone to retaining fat and water.

Poses like Utkatasana (Chair Pose), Malasana (Garland Pose), and their lesser-known cousins Simhasana (Lion Pose) and Khanjanasana (Tail-Wagging Pose) create heat, improve joint mobility, aid digestion and elimination, and increase circulation. Of course, these poses are also physically challenging. You might feel your legs quiver, as if someone were pouring cement instead of prana into them. During these intense moments, remember to preserve sukha. Don't overcontract your muscles or compromise your breath by transferring tension into your chest, shoulders, or neck—or you'll risk creating even more kapha, which the body produces as an antidote to excessive muscular and nervous tension.

Breathe Easy
Once you've created good space in the lower half of your body, you are ready to increase sukha in the upper half. The stomach, chest, throat, and head are the energetic seat of kapha, because all of these areas produce and tend to accumulate mucus. Practicing deep, rhythmic Ujjayi Pranayama (Victorious Breath) in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I Pose), Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation), Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), and seated twists helps circulate kapha by alternately compressing the abdomen and expanding the chest.

Similarly, inverted forward bends such as Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), standing forward bends, and Halasana (Plow Pose) all strengthen the diaphragm and encourage excess mucus to be excreted through the mouth and nose. Kapalabhati Pranayama (Skull Shining Breath) is excellent for strengthening your lungs and clearing your head and sense organs.

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