When spring comes and life begins to return, we experience a little more mucus, we feel a little heavier, almost as if winter is still lingering in the system. It is very similar to nature. When the snow melts, water sits on the land before it fully clears. In the same way, our bodies hold on to what has accumulated over the colder months.
Spring and autumn are traditionally considered the best times for a cleanse. Everything is warming up and beginning to move. We naturally feel the urge to declutter our homes, to open windows, to clear space. Spring cleaning is not just a phrase, it reflects what is happening in nature and within us. Our bodies and minds also need renewal, a movement away from heaviness and accumulation towards lightness and outward expression. This season is also linked with fertility, not only of the body but of ideas and direction.
Ayurveda suggests simple, steady steps as follows:
- If possible, eat two meals a day and finish dinner around 6pm. If breakfast is at 9 or 10 am, this gives you a 14 – 16-hr break. This supports digestion and helps reduce visceral fat, which is harder to shift.
- Have a ginger tea before meals to stimulate agni, the digestive fire. When agni is strong, we have more clarity.
- Before you begin, check your mindset and make sure you are choosing to cleanse from a place of self-respect and care, not from self-criticism or punishment. That intention changes the whole experience.
- Reduce sugar and alcohol, which create a high followed by a crash and can leave us feeling low. Choosing between 7 – 21 days without them can create a noticeable shift.
- Keep food simple. Stews, warming spices, and easy to digest meals are ideal. A mono diet of kitchari, mung dal and rice with spices and ghee, taken twice daily, is a traditional Ayurvedic reset.
- The body detoxifies naturally each night, especially between 10pm and 2am. Finish eating early and aim to sleep before 10pm. Warm water with ginger in the morning helps flush what the body has processed overnight.
Rina Golan is a certified Ayurvedic Coach & Detox Practitioner located in Buckinghamshire. You can download her structured five-day cleanse with meal plans, yoga and guidance, or work with her 1:1 for a bespoke detox you can integrate into your daily life.
Rina is hosting two upcoming Spring Cleanse residential retreats if you prefer deeper support in person – March 5-10 days near London or April 3-6 near Oxford.
For more information or to book, email info@rinagolan.co
