The cold winds are finally dying down and the flowers are starting to show their colors. Spring is here and the change of season seems to be all around us. But what does this mean for you? So the skies are a little bluer and the grass is a little greener… how does that affect your yoga practice? Other than not having to zip your coat up before leaving the studio, does the coming of Spring mean anything for you and your yoga practice?

Seasonal shifts and the body’s natural rhythm

For years yogis have been arguing that seasonal shifts affect the body on a deeper level than whether we’re cold or not. Recently, modern science has started to agree. In fact, a study done last year found that our DNA actually changes alongside the seasons. There’s no denying it any longer: our bodies are extremely responsive to our environment, and the seasons are part of that relationship.

Yogic wisdom along with traditional medicinal practices such as Ayurveda teach that each season has a unique influence on your body. Summer is a time of high energy and growth, autumn a time of cooling down and moving inwards. Winter is all about hibernation, self-reflection, and low-energy. As for spring, spring is a time for shaking off the old, stale leftovers from winter and bringing yourself back to life, building the energy you’ll be burning off in summer. Scheduling a spring wellness retreat is one way to kick-start this process, but it’s not the only way.

How to embrace spring in your yoga practice

So now you know what spring is all about, but what are you supposed to do with that knowledge? Here are some spring yoga tips for how you can change your yoga practice and daily life to reflect the changing seasons:

• Change your eating—Spring is a time to eat less heavy, rich, and oily foods. Instead, focus on filling your diet with fresh foods that are bitter, spicy, and astringent. These types of foods encourage cleansing of your digestive organs, blood, and liver. If you’ve ever wanted to do a juice cleanse, spring is the time to give it a try.
• Wake up with the sun—Try going to bed a little earlier and waking up a little earlier. It may be hard to get out of bed, but our bodies are naturally more energetic and alive early in the morning. Late at night out bodies get lethargic and fall back into the hibernating habits of winter. By waking up early, we can burn that laziness out of us and train our bodies to love the energizing thrill of spring.
• Get outside more—Tis the season for blooming flowers and warm sunshine! Spending time outdoors has been proven to improve mood, brain function, and more. Exercising outside is known to have all sorts of benefits. Your body is tired and heavy from spending so much time indoors during winter. Get outside and that heavy feeling will disappear in no time.
• Sweat more—Sweating detoxes the body and builds heat inside that can burn away the stale energy leftover from winter. Spring is the perfect time to swap a few of your winter restorative yoga classes for a more vigorous practice. Now is the ideal time to try out that new vinyasa class at your studio and get your body moving and sweating.
• Practice the poses you avoid—Spring is a time of growth. Just as budding flowers are starting to blossom, now is the perfect time for you to blossom as well. We all have our nemesis poses and spring is the time to challenge yourself to practice them more. Who knows, by the time summer comes around those old poses you used to avoid may be some of your favorites!

We’ve all heard the term ‘spring cleaning’. There’s a reason this is such a common thing and it doesn’t stop at your closet. These spring yoga tips will help you spring clean inside and out so that you can make the most of this energetic season. Need a little help getting the process started? Why not attend a spring yoga retreat? It’s a guaranteed way to kick your system into gear and detox anything left over from winter.