Do you know that feeling that creeps in around February or March? A slight sluggishness, a desire for change, sometimes a kind of heaviness you have accumulated throughout the winter. Perhaps you slept more than usual, craved sweets, had less energy for sport or social activity. I hear this every year from my clients in Cologne — and I tell them the same thing each time: this is not your failure. This is Kapha.
The Ayurvedic concept of Ritucharya — seasonal living — describes precisely how the seasons manifest in the body and how we should respond. Winter is Vata and Kapha time: the body collects, stores, turns inward. This is biologically sensible — every organism in nature does the same. But when spring arrives and the sun returns, Kapha begins to soften. What was accumulated in winter — mucus buildup, emotional heaviness, water retention — wants to come out.
What Kapha Season Means for Your Body
In spring, when temperatures rise, accumulated Kapha begins to melt — like snow. This process can manifest as colds and mucus buildup (not coincidental that spring catarrh is so common), as fatigue and lack of drive, as a feeling of heaviness or a bloated abdomen. This is not a sign of illness — it is a cleansing process. But we can support it or hinder it.
Spring Nutrition: Light, Warm, Spiced
Spring is not the time for heavy meals. Digestive fire — Agni — is naturally somewhat dampened in spring because the body is occupied with the cleansing process. I recommend: more bitter vegetables — chicory, rocket, radicchio. More ginger, turmeric, black pepper. Less dairy, less sweet, less wheat flour. Not because these foods are generally bad, but because they strengthen Kapha — and Kapha in spring does not need strengthening, it needs movement.
A simple home remedy I take every morning in spring: a glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of ginger powder. This is not a trend — it is old Kapha therapy. It awakens Agni, stimulates the liver, and supports lymphatic cleansing.
Massage and Movement: Spring Needs More Activity
In spring I recommend a somewhat more vigorous massage than in winter. Instead of the deep, nourishing Abhyanga with sesame oil, Garshana is now more appropriate — the dry massage with raw silk gloves that stimulates circulation and activates the lymphatic system. Alternatively: Abhyanga with lighter oil, more movement in the treatment, less stillness.
Regarding yoga practice: spring is the time for activating asanas. Surya Namaskar — the sun salutation — is ideal, preferably performed with vigor in the morning. Twists open the abdominal organs and support liver function. Backbends expand the chest and help release the stagnation of winter.
If you feel that spring is not bringing you the lightness it should — if you are still heavy, sleepy, unmotivated after winter — then a seasonal consultation and treatment at my practice in Cologne could be exactly the right impulse. Sometimes the body just needs someone to help it open the doors again.