Spring brings the Kapha season

The change is undeniable: the biting cold of winter gives way to warmer temperatures, and everywhere the first harbingers of spring awaken. After the snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, and tulips stretch their colorful splendor skyward, announcing the change of seasons.

All these are signs of the beginning of the Kapha season, which, from an Ayurvedic perspective, lasts from March to June. Stimulated by cold and heavy foods, Kapha has accumulated during the winter months. As a structure-giving principle, Kapha stands for qualities such as cold, liquid, heavy, and viscous. Some people now feel the Kapha dominance as the burden of extra pounds. In others, less noticeable metabolic toxins have accumulated during the winter. With rising temperatures, Kapha dissolves and liquefies in nature and in our bodies. From an Ayurvedic perspective, dampness and rain are indicative of this, as are runny noses, phlegmy coughs, or hay fever. The well-known spring fatigue, from which Kapha types particularly suffer, is also considered in Ayurveda to be a consequence of Kapha dominance. Accordingly, it is particularly important now in spring to maintain the Dosha balance amidst the changing seasons. How to do this is taught by the Ayurvedic seasonal routine "Ritucharya". So that you can enjoy spring fresh and full of energy, we have compiled the most important recommendations for the Kapha season.

Follow biological rhythms

We stay in balance particularly well if we follow the biological rhythms of the seasons and their corresponding Doshas. Light, day length, temperature, etc., are important pacemakers that help us keep mind and body in harmony with the rhythms of nature. This applies to the seasonal rhythm as well as the daily rhythm. Analogous to the transition from winter to spring, every morning at 6 am we experience a transition from Vata to Kapha. Seen this way, spring can also be considered the dawn of the year. In accordance with the freshly awakening day, Ayurveda recommends getting up by the end of the Vata period, around 6 am, without an alarm clock. Those who go to sleep as recommended by the end of the evening Kapha period – that is, before 10 pm – will also find it easier to get up early. With this daily rhythm, you support the internal rhythm of body and mind and contribute to coming into harmony with yourself and with nature. This support is particularly important during the Kapha season and helps you get through spring without excessive fatigue.

Time for inner cleansing

Use internal cleansing measures to support your body in eliminating accumulated Kapha.

• Take time regularly for cleansing measures as part of your Ayurvedic daily routine. This includes oil pulling with matured sesame oil as well as morning tongue cleaning with a tongue scraper.

• With "Garshan" dry massage, you can promote blood circulation in the connective tissue. This stimulates metabolism, activates your circulation, and reduces excess Kapha. Garshan massage gloves made of bourette silk, specially developed for this type of massage, are ideal for dry massage.
• Eat lighter meals and treat yourself to a relief day now and then, e.g., a rice or liquid day.
• You can experience a particularly intensive form of internal cleansing with a Panchakarma cure. There are also good options in Germany and Europe where you can pamper yourself without long travel.

No matter how many of these recommendations you implement: every single measure will help you to master the change of seasons more successfully.

Use products adapted for the Kapha season

Now, especially, use Ayurvedic products whose ingredients are precisely tailored to the special needs during the Kapha season. Each of them contains immense Ayurvedic knowledge that you can easily use for yourself thanks to modern manufacturing processes. Wonderful companions for the Kapha season are, for example,

• Kapha Tea: a spicy-aromatic pick-me-up, provides warmth from within, ideal for damp-cold spring days. Enjoy your Kapha tea preferably in organic quality!

• Kapha Balance: ideal dietary supplement for a lively start to the Kapha season. 2 tablets daily for your inner balance, the reduction of Ama and reduction of excess Kapha.
• Kapha Aroma Oil: warming and stimulating aroma blend for harmonizing Kapha dominance – during the Kapha season and for people of the Kapha type

Products for the Kapha type

Kapha types often suffer particularly from spring fatigue and other accompanying symptoms of the Kapha season. Are you a Kapha type? Then pamper yourself right now with care products specially composed for your Dosha type:

• Kapha Massage Oil: Awaken your spirits with a refreshing morning massage. The right massage oil for oily and impure skin with pure citronella aroma oil. Certified natural cosmetics (kNk).
• Kapha Hair Oil: Enjoy an invigorating head massage before washing your hair. The ideal hair oil for the Kapha type, Certified Natural Cosmetics (kNk).
• Kapha Shampoo: particularly gentle care for normal to thick and oily hair, with pure essential oils. Certified natural cosmetics (kNk).

• Ayurveda Shower Kapha (kNk): Experience the refreshing scent of pure orange and geranium oil with this shower gel for the Kapha type. Feel the gentle cleansing and care of your skin.

An overview of the Kapha products recommended by Maharishi Ayurveda^® can be found here.

Invigorating Head Massage for the "Crown of Personality"

Especially during the Kapha season, when much is to be released and moved, many people appreciate an invigorating head massage. According to Ayurveda, regular oil massages before washing the hair improve blood circulation in the scalp and strengthen the hair roots. Already in Charaka-Samhita, Sutr. V 81-83, the Ayurvedic head massage is praised as follows: "He who regularly oils his head with sesame oil suffers neither from headache, baldness, graying of hair, nor does his hair fall out. Head and forehead are strengthened in a special way. The hair becomes black, long, and has a deep root. The senses work well, and the complexion becomes radiant. Applying oil to the head promotes deep sleep and happiness." So take care of your "crown of personality" – as hair is considered in Ayurveda – twice a week before washing your hair with a gentle massage. First, warm a little oil gently in your hand, then gently massage the scalp. Always put a little oil on your fingers. Let the oil act for 1–2 hours and then wash it out with a gentle shampoo. A wonderfully invigorating feeling for hair and senses!

You should choose the massage oil itself to suit your hair or Dosha type:

• Vata Hair Oil for normal to dry and brittle hair
• Pitta Hair Oil for thin, fine, and reddish hair as well as sensitive scalp
• Kapha Hair Oil for thick, slightly oily hair

Based on ancient Ayurvedic original recipes, each of these hair oils contains, in addition to nourishing sesame oil, Ayurvedic herbal blends specially adapted to the respective Dosha type.

Warmth

Do not succumb to the temptation to wear overly airy clothing at the first warming sunbeams. During the Kapha season, warmth promotes our well-being. This applies equally to clothing and food (e.g., as Kapha Tea).

The right diet for the Kapha season

Kapha types in particular should pay attention to their diet now. It should be light, dry, and warm. Ideal for light spring cuisine are fresh green vegetables such as various types of cabbage, spinach, chard, arugula, and chicory. Steamed or gently braised, your dishes become even more digestible. Long-chain fatty acids and animal protein, however, are hard to digest and should rarely appear on your plate. Ginger and black pepper stimulate your digestive fire Agni and provide inner warmth. Both also reduce Kapha – as do asafoetida, turmeric, and cumin, making them particularly suitable for spring dishes. Accordingly, Kapha Tea with ginger, cloves, black pepper, turmeric, and saffron is an excellent source of warmth for this season. Cooling and Kapha-promoting foods such as dairy products, however, should be consumed sparingly in spring. Since our digestive fire is weakened in spring by excess Kapha, it is particularly important now to eat our main meal at a time when our Agni is strongest. So eat your main meal at noon and, for example, only soup in the evening. Suitable for the season, there are some interesting dietary supplements that are specially tailored to the needs during the Kapha season. These include, for example, the aforementioned Kapha Balance, Meda I for people with normal appetite, Meda II for those with increased appetite, and Prana-Rasayana for cold-stressed respiratory tracts. Kapha tea (1-2 cups per day) is particularly suitable for drinking. A 2 to 3-week hot water drinking cure is also highly recommended. You can find more about diet during the Kapha season in our article "Fit through Spring".

Further tips against spring fatigue

Vaidya Palakurthi Manohar has summarized more about the origins of spring fatigue for you. You can find this and other tips from the Ayurveda expert against spring fatigue here.