Got a runny nose? Well, apparently you aren't alone. Late Winter to early Spring is referred to as Kapha Season in Ayurveda. It's when the water and earth elements begin to increase in nature and in our bodies. You may find yourself becoming extra drippy in the nose, and if this is you, then good luck when Spring allergy season hits! Why is it that two bodies can come in contact with the same exact substance or environmental stimulus and yet their bodies will have two different reactions? This is where Ayurveda comes in. If you have a body that has been accumulating lots of the water element from a seasonal diet too high in sweet, salty and sour tastes, and hot high enough in the pungent, bitter and astringent tastes, then of course your body will react more drippily when you come in contact with something that sets your immune system off - like an allergen or a pathogen! There's more water to throw at it!
There are other ways the water element increases too. You can overwater and overnourish just like a plant. Eating too much and too frequently can be a factor too. And certain emotional states will play with the water element in your body. Attachment and love, for example, can raise the water element.
Just ask any woman who has ever been attracted to someone (wink, wink).
Sleeping too much? Hello drippy.
Eating too many almond croissants? Tissues, please.
If your water element is starting to get too high, as it can as Spring approaches, here are six things you can do to reduce it.
1. Reduce consumption of creamy foods, including dairy, as they can increase mucus production in the body.
2. Avoid eating lots of cold foods, such as ice cream, yogurt, cold sushi and raw vegetables, as these also have a cooling effect on the body and can worsen mucus and kapha production.
3. Reduce sweet, salty and sour-tasting foods. Examples of sour foods are things that taste tart, like yogurt. (Sorry to pick on yogurt again.)
4. Incorporate warming spices into your diet, such as black pepper, ginger, cumin, garlic, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and fennel. These spices are known to reduce excess mucus and kapha in the body.
5. Eat light popcorn or dry toast. Eating dry grains like this pulls the water element from the periphery of the body into the gut to moisten and aid in the digestion of these dry foods.
6. Exercise to the point of sweating regularly and/or practice dry brushing to ensure you are getting proper movement and excretion of fluids in the body.
Send me a DM on Instagram if you try any of these!