Mental Health, Self-Care, and Nutrition: Spring

Shifts in Transitions: Mental Health and Self-Care

Mental health and self-care are essential during seasonal transitions, as Mother Nature guides us through a gentle process of renewal and revitalization. Aligning with the natural rhythms around us can help restore balance in both body and mind. Whether energized by longer days and sunshine or still holding onto winter’s slower pace, the key is to embrace the shift openly.

With a bit of Spring cleaning and a new routine, you’ll feel mentally & physically ready for the demands of summer. To bring your visions to life, ensure you’re setting the stage for success.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is a vital necessity to stay ahead of the curve and maintain balance while keeping up with everything. It’s about clearing clutter, releasing stagnant energy, and making room for what’s coming next. It’s in these fresh spaces that new or expansive opportunities can bloom.

If you feel mentally ready for change, show that outwardly by caring for the living spaces that support your creativity, growth, and nourishment. You don’t have to go overboard when organizing or cleaning if your life isn’t calling for a purge. Start small and manage your wallet, purse, email, desk, or car.

Focus on one manageable area that will give you a sense of accomplishment. If you want to take on something requiring a lot of attention, set a timer/playlist and get after it, or make it part of your weekly routine and finish it over time. You might find that this process of cleansing your environment naturally guides your attention to your mental organization and your body’s need for the same sort of rejuvenation.

Helpful Tips for Mental Health and Self-Care

Find a Home for Things

I’m big on this one. Everything should have its place and be openly displayed if possible. When everything has found its way back to its home, it’s easier to feel like you’ve concluded cleaning.

Integrate Feng Shui

Feng Shui is a Chinese practice of organizing spaces. It focuses on how humans interact with their environment and its energies. It offers guidance on how to design your surroundings best to influence the harmony of natural energies. There are various ways to incorporate Feng Shui principles into your living spaces. One of the simplest ways to breathe or purify the Qi is with plants.

I can tell you from experience that the aloe will be easier than the orchid, but here are a few options to see what fits right with you and your space. Here is a great list of resources related to Feng Shui if you’d like to go a little deeper.

Stop Procrastinating Already

While procrastination means you’ll always have something to look forward to, it’s not your mental health friend. Procrastination is often self-defeating and associated with avoidance, anxiety, and depression (Good Therapy). If you find it difficult to ‘just do it,’ take the time to address what’s triggering your procrastination. If you’re looking for a few insights on how to stop procrastination, click here.

Spring Cleaning & Nutrition

Our metabolism tends to slow down during this seasonal change, and you might notice a natural shift in your cravings from heavier foods to lighter fare, which is our body’s way of signaling that it’s time for some internal spring cleaning. In Ayurveda, a holistic system of Indian medicine, spring is considered the ideal time to detox and build up our immunity against illnesses that can be onset by internal & external changes in moisture and temperature as we move into the next season.

Spring doesn’t come without challenges to our health, but as we move through it, we can promote optimal wellness through adjustments in movement and diet. Seek out light foods that are easy to digest, with bitter & astringent tastes, which will help balance internal moisture levels and mucus production (Maharishi).

Structure your diet around warm foods, steamed vegetables, legumes, and spices, avoiding anything fried or greasy. Also, embrace the greens! Chlorophyll has strong antioxidant properties and helps to fight harmful toxins in the body.

To release blockages and enhance the liver’s function, take a break from processed foods, chemicals, saturated fats, and alcohol, one of my favorite detoxing beverages is a simple apple cider vinegar with honey and warm water, which helps to stabilize my internal pH and regulate my blood sugar (use soda water if you’re one for the fizz).

Spring Into Conscious Cooking

If there is any springtime-specific activity to engage in, it’s conscious cooking. See, conscious cooking is more than just the meal; it’s about the alchemy of cooking, and recognizing that you & your body are a part of the seasonal shifts. This process asks you to be present in your meal prep, mindfully nourishing yourself on all levels, just as you need to have focused intentions to nurture your seeds & goals to cultivate a successful harvest.

If you’re always on the go or eating out often, you need this. Set aside the time to shop, cook, and enjoy your meal. Start at the local farmers market and see if you can find something you’ve never tried or maybe haven’t cooked yourself. Don’t always have time to shop? Have you considered a local Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA)?

How to Truly Enjoy a Meal

On a primal level, gathering, preparing, and consuming food is a source of joy & pleasure. Too often, food is eaten on the go, while scrolling on a phone, or devoured between activities. I mean, it keeps us functioning, growing, strong against disease, essentially keeping us alive. Yet, it’s not always given the attention it deserves or respected as medicine for our mind & body. Where did the joy and pleasure go?!

To grasp your health via nutrition, become familiar with the plants, fruits, and veggies that will take you far – and let cooking be the expression of gratitude for the nourishment delivered to your mind & body. At its basic level, conscious cooking is a recognition of the amazing gift it life itself! You have to eat anyway; why not see how much you can engage with the vitality of seasonal rhythms through conscious cooking?

Sources

Acupuncture and Herbal Therapies: Spring, the Liver and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Good Therapy: Procrastination
Maharishi Ayurveda Blog: Top Ayurveda Diet & Lifestyle Tips for Springtime