The arrival of spring is upon us in the southern parts of Australia.  The long winter slumber is over.  We wave goodbye to the cool months, and begin to dream of long, sunlight filled summer days.  All around us nature is waking up again. The birds are singing early and there is much excitement about nest building!  Flowers are blooming, and trees are in bud.  Humans are intrinsically linked to nature, so it makes sense that we too are waking up again. Our whole being has gone through a period of rest and hibernation over winter.  It can be easy to overlook this process when we are entrenched in the busyness of daily life.  I see spring as an opportunity to awaken our senses and become more attuned to the rhythms of ourselves, and of course, the rhythms of nature.

As we prepare for the season of warmth and light, I would like to share some ideas with you for this special time of year.

Cleanse

Spring is known as the season of cleansing.  The word cleanse is defined as “a process or period of time during which a person attempts to rid the body of substances regarded as toxic or unhealthy”.  I feel this conjures up images of harsh scrubbing and cleaning, as though we have to rid ourselves of our own dirt and toxicity.  When it comes to our health and self-care,  I encourage you to embrace the season of cleansing by being gentle on yourself.  I believe self-care is about becoming better versions of ourselves, so that we can be of service to others, and keep our journey light, fun and creative. You can use your intuition to tune into the parts of yourself which you would like to cleanse.  If you need advice on how you can strengthen your intuition via meditation, you can contact me here , and you may also like to read my post about meditation.

Herbal cleansers

There is a high chance that many cleansing spring herbs are growing close to your home.  Many medicinal herbs grow abundantly in rural areas along laneways, hedgerows, creeks and rivers. In urban areas there is an abundance of herbal growth on waysides, nearby railway lines, rivers, and of course in gardens.  Look around and you are likely to see cleavers (galium aparine), chickweed (stellaria media), nettles (urtica dioca) and dandelion (taraxacum officinalis).  Young spring plants are high in nutrients and are full of energy.  They can be added to salads, juices, teas, or nibbled on straight from the earth.  If you are not sure about the identity of a plant, then don’t eat it! I highly recommend the book The Weed Forager’s Handbook: a guide to edible and medicinal weeds in Australia – which is an invaluable companion for foraging enthusiasts. If you would like to learn more about herbs and foods to assist your cleanse, you can contact me here.

Water

Water refreshes, calms, cleans and hydrates.  As part of your springtime awakening, spend time in water. Run yourself a warm bath; kick your shoes off and walk barefoot along the beach; swim in the ocean, sea, lake or river.  And have a little read of my blog post.

Digital detox

Another idea you might like to embrace on your cleanse is reducing screen time. Idle googling, instagramming and facebooking distract us from reality. Excess screen time causes procrastination, lethargy, comparing ourselves to others, and can generally make us feel blah! On my recent holiday, I made a concerted effort to stay away from social media. I turned the pages of some great books. I also tuned into the sounds and sights of nature, and I noticed that I felt much clearer and calmer.  Give it a try, even if you reduce your screen time by 15 minutes a day.

Sit by candlelight

In a world of screens and bright lights, it is such a wonderful contrast to turn off the screens and lights and relax by soft candlelight.  You may like to incorporate this into your night time routine.  It is such a relaxing way to end the day, especially with some calming music and a cup of your favourite herbal tea.

I wish you all a happy and energy filled spring, and would love to hear your thoughts below on what spring means to you.

Best wishes,

Gabriella

References:

Image via Instagram: @katiemarxflowers

Oxford dictionary

Grubb, A & Raser-Rowland, A : The Weed Forager’s Handbook : A guide to edible and medicinal weeds in Australia.