Why Cleanse this Spring?

I have participated in cleanses before where the requirements were to eat a bland mono diet, drink only juices for a week, or take a powder that tasted chalky and made me go to the bathroom so much that I felt like I could not leave home.  If this is your experience with cleansing, you are in luck, because this is not what I will be offering during my spring cleanse this April 11-18!

Yoga is a practice of being in touch with, observing, and shifting patterns in our lives, so that we can find and live the practices that will bring us to the vibrancy of health and well-being that we all are searching for and deserve.  There are foods and behaviors or practices that bring us into better alignment with our health and those that do not.  There are also seasonal practices that help us through the qualities of each season.  It is common to hunker down, eat heavier, warming comfort foods and add a few extra pounds in the winter.  A spring cleanse is a great way to break this pattern. Spring is the time that life is regenerated all around us, nature comes to life, so why would you not want to take time and make this same shift in yourself?  In America, we tend to keep the natural tendencies from winter all year long, not adjusting our diets, mindsets, and activity level with each season.  When we do this, we add extra weight that does not come off: leaving us feeling and being heavier, more lethargic and even a bit depressed.

Spring is the time of year to birth the ideas we contemplate all winter long.  A cleanse will offer a fresh approach to how you eat, think, move, and behave; all that adds up to making small, incremental adjustments to bring you into better alignment with a healthier lifestyle that will help you live life in a more vibrant way.  I suggest looking at the foods that cause inflammation, nervous reactivity, and depressive tendencies in the body and either eliminate or cut back on these foods for a week to give your body a break, utilizing its natural ability to detox, and giving you time to see how these foods effect your energy level and mood.  I also suggest taking a look at how well you care for yourself.  Practicing cleansing Ayurvedic techniques that you can utilize all year long, and practicing self-care for a week can be quite effective at bringing you back to your natural state of happy and healthy.  Ayurvedic practices include tongue scraping, using a netti pot, dry brushing, and body oiling for your specific constitution.  Self-care practices include participating in physical activity that brings you joy, finding good quality rest and relaxation, sleeping well in a soothing environment, and cultivating a healthy relationship with yourself, your body, and friends who honor and support you.  Taking a week to reboot can be a highly effective way to help you make the changes you already desire into your life so that you make find better balance, vitality, and happiness.  I hope you join us this season and align to a happier, healthier you!