First Day of Spring

There's still a lot of snow on the ground here in the Hudson River Valley, but today is the official First Day of Spring! It's a fantastic time to think about renewal, to focus on your body, and turn over new leaves of nutrition and self-care.

Personally, I've been feeling congested internally...physically and emotionally. I tend to pull into myself during the winter months, craving heavy and warm foods and my down comforter, not getting enough sunshine. As soon as we hit the time change and start getting that extra hour of light at the end of the day, I start to feel a shift. The birds are chirping in the morning and the smells change. By the time the trees start blooming, I feel like a whole new person.

A book that made a profound impact on me is Staying Healthy with the Seasons by Dr. Elson Haas. It explains the connection and impact of the cycle of nature and external climates with our internal health and mental well-being, and is filled with seasonal nutrition, herbology, and exercise practices to follow that cycle. My favorite part of the book is definitely the chapter on Spring Renewal.


Here are the Ten Tips on Staying Healthy in Spring from Dr. Elson. Click here to read the full explanations of each of these tips:

1. Feel the new energy of Spring.
This is the season of re-birth. Take a deep look at where you are and feel what you no longer need in your life, what no longer serves who you want to be. This is the season to plan your new year, for the new YOU.

2. Commit to cleansing your life and your home.
Think Purification. Avoid drugs and excesses. Protect your liver. Take a break from alcohol and avoid chemical exposures wherever possible. What type of Spring Cleansing is right for you—a juice cleanse, a detox diet, two weeks off sugar and caffeine, conquering your nicotine habit?

3. Update or begin an exercise program.
First, stretch out; awaken your body. Yoga stretching and Chi-gung are great for maintaining your youthfulness and flexibility. Then, tone up with some weights, and do some aerobic activity for heart strength and for building endurance. The entire program helps to relax and revitalize you, as well as providing a rush of those feel good brain endorphins.

4. Enjoy nature's bounty—fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables at their organic best.

5. Spring is the season of the liver and gall bladder.
If you have any weakness in these organs, they may be stressed in this season.

6. Eat Sprouts!
Sprouts are likely the highest quality and most vital foods we can eat in that they contain high amounts of many vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

7. Nutritional Supplements can support you with a greater amount of physical energy, enhancing your spring and summer activities.

8. Many herbs are useful during the spring season because they aid detoxification.
Bowel cleansing herbs include senna leaf, cascara sagrada, and slippery elm bark. Dandelion and milk thistle leaves strengthen and protect the liver and help its healing. Licorice root will help energy balance and digestion, as well as support the adrenals for stress.

9. Use the spring months to clarify your plans and deepen the potential spiritual awakening or progress.
Keep a journal to create the reflection and clarity that will serve your spring enlightenment. Where and how are you now? Where do you wish to be in a couple months? What will it take for you to move in that direction?

10. Above all, give yourself the time to truly experience Nature.
Get outside!!!


This really is the game plan I'm going to try to enlist and follow in the next couple of months. And I'm going to get a lot of bodywork!