636: Spring self-care and anxiety support
This week on the Anxiety Slayer Podcast we’re sharing things to watch out for in Springtime when you’re living with anxiety along with our favorite herbs and spices to support you on your healing journey.
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Notes from this week’s episode:
What to watch out for in Springtime when you’re living with anxiety along with our favorite herbal support.
Changeable weather
Change can provoke anxiety.
Any change increases vata - the Ayurvedic mind and body type most prone to anxiety.
Keep warm, keep a steady routine as best you can, and use oil massage to nourish your skin, mind and immune system.
Castor oil is a good oil for massage in the spring.
A season of transition
Spring is, by its nature, a season of change. So again, keep steady what you can. Meal times, sleep times, and some morning yoga or stretching and a calming practice in the evening for support.
Increased pressure or expectations
The Spring months can bring increased pressure to mix socially, get outside more and start taking care of things that are dormant over Winter.
There’s a sense of more expected engagement and that comes with Spring that can feel overwhelming.
Habits that help:
Eat regular meals, don’t skip
Relax and eat mindfully
Favor foods that are warm, soupy, heavy and oily with warming spices
Increase your intake of natural oils
Reduce foods that are cold and dry
Avoid refined and processed foods
Avoid stimulants
For anxiety sufferers, this is a great time to reconsider self-care and practice alternate nostril breathing, gentle yoga, and relaxation techniques in general.
Spring is a time that encourages reflection on our personal growth, and aspirations. It’s the perfect time to start the things we thought we should begin in the New Year!
Spring is the season for cleansing
Good herbs and spices for spring cleansing and detoxification include:
Ginger - is known in Ayurveda as a Universal medicine because of its wide range of uses.
Ginger is especially helpful for clearing the lungs, and boosting digestion and circulation. Its warming nature is helpful to anyone of a vata nature and it can help ease anxiety.
Use fresh ginger in cooking and herbal teas (try adding a couple of slices of ginger root to your favorite herbal blend) or mix one tablespoonful of ground (powdered) ginger with 1-2 cups of Epsom Salts under hot running water and run yourself a cold easing, muscle soothing bath.
Turmeric - is good for cleansing the liver, clearing damp congestion from the body and clearing stagnant blood. Ayurvedic expert Dr David Frawley once said that if he could only take one herb on a desert island, he would choose turmeric.
Mint - is one of the beautiful green fragrant herbs that makes an appearance in Spring. It is calming to all three Ayurvedic types (though vata types shouldn’t overdo it), it is good for clearing congestion from the lungs, soothing coughs, promoting sweating and opening the pores to help clear colds and Spring fevers.
Mint is believed to lift “heaviness” from the mind and to calm the nerves by balancing the flow of prana throughout the body. It soothes nausea, nervous stomach and intestinal cramps, and increases appetite.
Cinnamon - is a potent healer for Spring coughs and colds, it clears congestion and keeps the chest clear and open, and improves circulation. Cinnamon clears toxins, calms vata and gives strength to the body. Vata types can benefit greatly from taking cinnamon and cloves with baked apples or adding cinnamon to teas.
Cardamom - is good for coughs, and calms hiccoughs and nausea, it clears the nose and ears and helps soothe intestinal cramps. It clears accumulated kapha from the stomach and balances vata.
Hot drinks for cleansing
Dandelion or Burdock root tea
Hot Lemon and Ginger water with freshly squeezed lemon and a few slices of ginger if you have any congestion first thing in the morning.
Chamomile Tea - will help calm your mind and help you fall asleep
Golden Milk - A cleansing turmeric evening drink made with:
Almond milk
Ground turmeric
Cardamom
a pinch of black pepper
Optional additions:
a pinch of nutmeg to add for sleep
Add a bit of saffron to calm the heart
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