Spring is Here and With it Comes an Array of New EmotionsSome people love this time of year, but others feel overwhelmed or even depressed by the changes that occur in their body and mind as spring turns into summer. You might be just the type that dread the transition from winter to spring, don’t worry! We’re here to help you understand your body and mind and guide you a ultimate spring cleaning so that you can better cope with any emotional challenges you may face.
Why We Feel More Irritable in Spring?
Chinese medicine associates spring with the element of wood, which is associated with the liver. As you may have guessed, the negative emotion associated with the liver is anger. When the Wood element is balanced, it is associated with creativity, vision, flexibility and resilience; when it is imbalanced, it is associated with irritability, anger, inflexibility and feeling stuck. If that’s the case, then it’s time for us to spring clean emotionally.
Why Do We Need an Emotional Spring Cleaning?
Spring is a time of moving from one mode to another. During the colder months of the year you may have been spending more time indoors. Perhaps you were less active and contemplative, less proactive and reflective. Now it’s time for inspired action, movement, and a focus on the outside world.
One of the best ways to take advantage of the change of season is to do a little spring cleaning. You’re probably familiar with spring cleaning your home, but have you ever considered spring cleaning your mental and emotional space? The transitional time of spring is perfect for a total refresh, not only of our homes, but of our whole beings.
This may look like a complete cleaning and decluttering of the house, reorganizing the closet, washing the windows, rearranging and refreshing the furniture, changing our winter habits and routines to embrace the changing season and feel more energized and inspired.
Spring is the perfect time to do a gentle cleansing or spring cleaning of the body and mind; a gentle detoxification and spring cleaning of the home to eliminate clutter from your life can be refreshing, cleansing and invigorating.
Spring is associated with a time of growth and renewed energy, so it’s the perfect time to adopt health and wellness practices that complement the new season. If you’ve been in more of an introspective, hibernating mode for the past few months and are ready to jump into the new energy of the season, here are eight ways to give your body a holistic spring clean.
The Ultimate Guide to Spring Cleaning
1. Begin with Hydration
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), spring is associated with the liver and requires drinking more water. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to water for liver stimulation. If you would like to add a little flavor to your daily hydration routine, you can opt for a cup of herbal tea. Here are some of the teas that are perfect for the spring season:
- Burdock
- Cardamom
- Dandelion
- Fennel
- Ginger Root
- Licorice Root
- Peppermint
- Nettle
2. Let Mother Nature Create the Menu
As winter gives way to spring, it’s time to swap out warming foods and winter produce for fresh spring foods. In the spring, the body is emerging from the cold, dry months of winter and is using the spring season to prepare for warmer weather and more activity, making it a great time to eat greener, lighter, and more.
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Beets
- Cherries
- Carrot
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Dandelion
- Green Garlic
- Green Tea
- Green Kale
- Leeks
- Lemons
- Green Onion
- Radishes
- Courgettes
During the winter months, you may have filled your plate with a variety of spicy flavors to heat things up. In spring, take a step back from the spices and opt for more neutral and peaceful foods. Include more fresh vegetables and fruits to replenish your water levels, like carrots, yams, strawberries, snow pears, cane, and so on.
3. Reinvigorate Your Daily Routine
As the mornings become brighter, we will naturally begin to wake up earlier and find that we have more energy as our bodies adjust to the changing seasons.
If you’ve always wanted to try a new habit, use the opportunity of a new season as a new beginning to ease in some new ritual or habit. Creating a routine that is calming and supportive of your nervous system and feels genuinely joyful can help during times of stress and uncertainty.
This could be getting up and going for a walk to start the day, or reading a book instead of screen time at night.
4. Explore a Variety of Therapies
Acknowledge and explore the various methods that people use to reset their bodies, such as juice cleanses, water fasts, and the adoption of a plant-based diet for a period of time. These practices can help to rid your body of toxins and improve the overall health of your body.
Get Acupuncture
In the spring, we often add more acupuncture points to help keep your Qi moving smoothly, to help resolve and avoid the irritability and anxiety that comes with this time of year (and acupuncture is also great for seasonal allergies!).
Acupuncture is very good at moving the Qi and soothing the mind, allowing people to let go of tension, irritability and anger. If there are signs of heat (such as obvious anger or headaches), points can be added to the treatment to clear heat; sticking a point on the leg with a tiny lancet to release a few drops of blood can work wonders.
Detoxify with PHYMAT Infrared Mat
Sweat with PHYMAT. Add our infrared heating mat to your daily routine. These products use infrared technology to promote detoxification, increase relaxation, improve circulation, and stimulate the production of heat shock proteins for a deeper level of detoxification.
PEMF for Cell Detoxification
The PHYMAT Infrared PEMF Mat not only aids in the detoxification process, but also helps to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow at the cellular level. It mimics the earth’s magnetic field to provide a reset for the entire body, making it an essential part of your detoxification ritual.
5. Going Outside
In TCM therapy, it is believed that Yang energy develops gradually as the weather changes from cold to warm in the spring. People should get up earlier in the morning and spend more time exercising outdoors, following the trends of nature. You can go for a walk with your friends and family or on your own. You can even take your daily exercise outdoors. Not only will you get fresh air and sunshine, but immersing yourself in Mother Nature is one of the best ways to feel the change of seasons on every level. Ultimately, this will help you get used to a new season sooner.
6. Focusing on Gentle Movement
Make time for physical exercise. Not only can regular exercise help to reduce stress and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, but it can also help you to get a better night’s sleep. To stay cool while exercising, try swimming, exercising in an air-conditioned facility, or stick to early morning and evening workouts if you’re able.
Your lymphatic system needs to exercise to pump. Get it flowing. Exercise also releases tension, stress, and anxiety while making your heart and lungs work better. It all adds up to a cleaner mind and body.
7. Deep Breathing and Meditation
Deep breathing helps oxygenate your cells and has been shown to increase energy levels while helping to manage stress. Deep abdominal breathing, such as Yogic Breathing, helps to reduce your heart rate, blood pressure, and stress response, and is a wonderful thing to incorporate into your daily life.
Another way to reduce stress and anxiety in this hectic modern world with too much of both. Take a few minutes to sit in a quiet place, breathe deeply, and focus on yourself. Your mind needs a break from all the stuff you keep accumulating.
8. Focus on Happy and Let Go of Anger, Sadness…
It rarely helps in the long run to hold on to resentment, anger, bitterness, doubt, remorse, worry, and other such emotions. Just another evolutionary process that served us better when daily life was more about life and death than it does now. They accumulate, contribute to stress, and can adversely affect your genes, leading to illness. Let it go and move on.
- Relax for a while, give yourself as much space to think as possible, and cool down your impatience when you encounter a problem;
- Learn to talk. When you run into trouble, you can tell your friends about the problems you are facing and let your friends act as your audience to lighten your burden and reduce your stress;
- Know how to reflect. When you are about to lose your temper, you should always ask yourself if it is worth it or if it is the right thing to do. You have to handle things with the right mentality.