The Spring Cleaning—Written and Revised between April 30 and May 25, 2022
Stop whatever you are doing and find a place to sit. Close or half close your eyes and breathe 25 slow, deep breaths. Count them. Then sit for another five minutes. Time them. Just observe the breath/mind. Then continue reading below after you have determined just what action you personally are going to take to reduce gun violence around the world.*
First and foremost, the cleaning needs to be of our MINDS. Plan on a news and social media fast. Bullies will threaten, storms will rage and people will argue and even fight, but we have a supremely powerful tool to give us the power to clear/clean out our minds. This tool is called yoga PRACTICE. Practice not for itself alone but for the way it can lead to discerning action.
Therefore, the first building block of the spring cleanse is daily yoga asana, pranayama and meditation practice. Set your intention/sankalpa (peace in our time/peace in my life, for example) and stay with it, setting it at the beginning of every practice. Other possible sankalpas might be: may I be nourished in daily practice, may I find wisdom in practice, may my practice benefit all sentient beings.
Second building block as we are entering/deep within high kapha season, spring herself, is to SCHEDULE the cleanse. It could be a few days of a water-only fast (if we are kapha), a mono diet if we are more pitta (kichadee** anyone?) or something a little more substantial yet simple and nourishing (two meals a day of grains and fresh vegetables and fruits, no fats and no added sugar) if we are more vata and/or needing more variation. Also hydration will be important—no, more than important, essential.
Some research I’ve done over the last few years has taught me that water quality plays a role in health that’s been understated. When we had that boil water notice in Austin last winter (and winter storm Uri a year ago), red flags sprouted in my mind about water quality. An inexpensive countertop filter is available at Ecowise in Austin, or probably online somewhere too. I’ve been using one for years. It was today, in fact, that I learned that distilled water for cooking beans can improve the process. I look forward to trying this with my newfound love of the humble frijol (made from scratch, of course, not from a can).
The length of the fast is customizable. Important as well are the lead-in days to the fast (easing into the experience without coming off the extreme of indulgence, for example) and the days following. As Bertrand Russell said: Any person can fast. It takes a wise person to break one. I have found that my intuition has strengthened over the years of doing this, so I can FEEL whether it’s appropriate to eat nonfat kichadee only (with ghee at the beginning of the day) for three days or a full week.
Other important aspects of cleansing:
Showering and bathing rituals in ayurvedic ways will begin to balance that dry winter skin. Remember to pat dry with a towel after a shower or bath and then spray a good oil (almond, sesame or coconut depending on your dosha) in your hand to spread with long strokes over your long bones and in circular patterns over your joints. Give the skin 5-10 minutes to absorb/”eat” the oil before dressing, and never overdo. A little goes a long way.
Another option would be to connect with one of the many gifted massage therapists in your area and suggest that they use real oil instead of the creams that are sometimes used instead. It does make the sheets a bit oily, but a good detergent will take most of it out.
The scheduling of the cleanse plays a crucial role in your ability to stick to it. Really, it’s best to pick a time if possible when you will have more meditative time at your disposal, not the busiest time of the month.
I’m marking the next new moon (May 30—late for me this year for a multitude of reasons) as a beginning date for this spring’s clean-out/clear-up. It’s been a riotous six months for me with a move out of Texas, so I’m going easy on myself. It’s probably been a riotous six months for many human beings on the globe with the war in Ukraine, grocery store and school massacres, runaway inflation, impending impingement of reproductive rights and threats of food/infant formula shortages. You could take it easy on yourself, too. It’s not a sign of weakness. It can indicate high intelligence!
Most of you receiving this message have worked with me on determining your dominant dosha and subdoshas. Remember that thinking elementally is the bedrock of ayurvedic healing. Spring is a kapha season; the heavy wetness of kapha builds over the winter and can be out of balance in the spring. Therefore, treat yourself like a child and set some firm boundaries to blast that kapha couch potato into action. By contrast, pitta is building in the spring, so take care to keep your critical mind at bay and be truly and fundamentally kind to yourself and others, less critical, more accepting. The fire of pitta can indicate sharp intelligence, yet pitta out of balance can become impatient, angry or worse. Alcohol can be a definite source of imbalance for pitta.
I’m marking Monday May 30 through Sunday June 5 as my core cleanse days. Leading up to the process, I’ll be cycling out of dairy and added sugars (of course, no meat or fish during the week) to prepare for 3 to 5 to 7 days of a monodiet or simple eating. No fats, added sugars or dairy during the core days.
It does require self-discipline, self-awareness and self-knowledge to go through this process. Paradoxically, the experience of going through it will increase your self-discipline, self-awareness and self-knowledge. In my opinion, this makes it magnificently worthwhile.
The book I wrote a few years ago, Physical Poetry: Balancing Yoga and Ayurveda, is now available as a pdf. If you would like a copy and don’t have one yet, I can email the to you for a $15 suggested donation to my venmo account. Please just let me know you need it; as I said, $15 is a suggested donation. Anyone who desires the information but cannot afford it, speak up. The book has an appendix with more detail about spring/fall cleansing. The first edition has sold out and I am working on edits for the second print edition.
This essay will end with a prayer for wisdom. With our world so challenged by conflict, disease and dissension, we need all the help we can get.
Saha na vavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam
Karavavahai
Tejasvi tamastu ma
Hvidvishavahaii
Om shanti shanti shanti
May we be protected
May we be nourished
May we be strong for study and action
May our studies be brilliant
May we not argue with each other
*One place to start in the U.S. would be to check political candidates’ stance on gun regulation. The League of Women Voters will have information. See www.lwv.org
If you enter your address, you will find out your state’s senators and representatives. You can communicate directly with their offices to see how they stand on H.R. 8, for example, a bipartisan bill to require background checks on all gun sales.
There are also international associations dedicated to peace:
https://greatnonprofits.org/categories/view/international-peace-and-security
**Here is an interesting red lentil and quinoa kicharee:
https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Quinoa-and-Red-Lentil-Kitchari-1251871
You could follow the recipe as written for the pre-or post-cleanse. If using during the cleanse, just omit oil and lightly steam/boil the chopped onion in a bit of water instead.
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