Tuesday Morning

Anne and Ispent the afternoon at Lifetime Fitness. We did a great asana practice and followed it up with a soak and steam which was quite lovely. She went to go get Milo from puppy daycare and I went home to make dinner. We had a lovely meal of veggies and rice featuring dandelion greens per Craig's recommendation. You see, it is spring cleanse time of year in Ayurveda-Influenced Land. What does this mean for me specifically? Well- 3 apples a day, a handful of different herbs than usual to assist with cleansing (as though 3 apples day is not enough for that...you get the picture...), lots of bitter greens (dandelion greens are supposedly best), no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no white flour, and lots of fiber (As though 3 apples a day is not enough fiber... you get the picture...)

One of the things I love about Ayurveda- specifically Craig's approach to the principles of it- is that it is based in such a deep reverence for the cycles of nature and in our bodies natural wisdom and innate capacity for self-healing. Spring is a time where the winter snows are melting and often the time when spring rains come. It is a season of water. If we can minimize the extra water our body is holding this time of year then we eliminate a lot of the mucus and so forth that contributes to allergies and to summer colds. So as the season is wet, we need to make sure that we are not too wet. In the winter-- (the cold and dry season)- having some extra water in the body is a good plan, but taking that extra water into spring and summer can set us up for certain problems. (Problems that stymie Western medicine but make perfect sense to the Ayurvedic practitioner who sees the situation seasonally and constitutionally...but I digress.)

When I first started incorporating some of the principles into my life- and anyone who knows me knows that I am far from a purist in these matters- I was astounded at the immediate benefits and positive outcomes of the protocols Craig recommended to me. One day he and I got to talking about my feelings and thoughts about how life-affirming this approach to health is. He said, "You know, people will take all kinds of drastic measures regarding cleansing and diet and yet they will refuse to believe that if they eat a few apples a day and refrain from bogging their system down with crap on a regular basis, that their bodies have the innate capacity to cleanse themselves."

I said, "Yeah, I think it must have to do with the whole idea of Original Sin and so forth. You know, the body is bad, and we must have dominion over nature and subdue it and it cannot be trusted and so forth."

So he then told me that actually some of the first naturopathic doctors were staunch Protestants from Germany and this was exactly their viewpoint.

Anyway, spring cleanse time is great because it is actually not so different from normal but with a few tweaks and it gives me a very tangible way to enter into the cycles of nature and to align with these larger flows. Oh wait... that sounds like ANUSARA!! Aligning with the flow of grace as it manifests in nature, in our bodies and in our life circumstances and trusting in our innate capcity to heal and live vibrantly... Oh, and in asana, we might benefit from a lot of focus on twists this time of year to help with the detox process. Also extra heat in practice would be good this time of year to stir up and then burn away the toxins that are released. Hmmm... now that gives me some ideas for classes tonight.

SO PLEASE COME TO CLASS tonight. I have missed you while I was gone and I cannot wait for us all to be together again.