Ayurvedic Protocol for Ritu Sandhi Kal – Winter to Spring & Spring to Summer

Ayurveda offers comprehensive guidelines for navigating these seasonal transitions, emphasizing the significance of lifestyle adjustments, or Swasthavritta, to support our health. These guidelines are categorized into three main components:

• Dincharya: Daytime diet and regimen
• Ratricharya: Nighttime diet and regimen
• Ritucharya: Seasonal diet and regimen

Additionally, Ayurveda recognizes the significance of the transitional periods *in-between* seasons, known as Ritu Sandhi Kal or inter-seasonal periods. Sage Sharangdhar describes this transition as Yamadamstra Kala (mouth of Yama – God of Death), highlighting the importance of gradually adopting the seasonal regimen of the upcoming season while gradually letting go of the practices of the preceding one. These periods, spanning approximately the eight days before and the eight days after the change in season, serve as crucial junctures for adjusting our routines and habits to align with the upcoming season’s demands.

During Ritu Sandhi Kal, it’s recommended to focus on light, easily digestible foods, incorporating ingredients like fresh turmeric and ginger juice to aid digestion and support detoxification. Alongside dietary adjustments, incorporating blood-purifying Ayurvedic herbs can help facilitate the body’s natural detoxification process.

During springtime, the sun’s rays intensify, leading to reduced urine output and increased perspiration. As the pores of the skin open up, any moisture within them interacts with external allergens, such as pollen, triggering conditions like hay fever and other spring allergies. This interaction between water and allergens can result in a sticky reaction, leading to allergic responses as these external substances attempt to interact with the body’s water resources. 

Let’s delve into the specific dietary and lifestyle recommendations for transitioning from winter to spring and from spring to summer:

Winter to Spring: In this season, increased and hardened Kapha from Winter is liquefied by the heat of the sun which causes diminished Agni of digestive fire and digestive activity. 

• Diet: Emphasize easily digestible foods such as barley, honey, black millet, well-cooked meat, moong, *watery* kitchadi, and broths.
• Beverages: Include fermented infusions, decoctions, fermented sugarcane juice, and boiled water with ground cinnamon.
• Avoid: Hard-to-digest, cold, overly sweet, and fatty foods. Focus on salty, sour, and pungent tastes to counteract liquefied Kapha.
• Lifestyle: Engage in regular physical exercise, avoid daytime sleep, opt for dry massages (udhavartana), take warm baths, and protect yourself against direct air and wind exposure.
• Panchakarma (PK): Consider sharp vomiting (vamana) with licorice and warm water or salt water, sharp oil pulling with herbs like neem and nirgundi, and sharp nasya to cleanse and rejuvenate the body.

Spring to Summer: In this season, the days are long and the sunrays become powerful. Kapha decreases and Pitta and Rakta get vitiated so you need palliative measures. Due to the wind from the Nairutya (southwest), dryness increases and Vata also increases. 

• Diet: Choose light, easily digestible foods with a slight sweetness, including buttermilk, curd, boiled rice with meat, and cornflower.
• Beverages: Opt for room temperature water, fruit juices like mango juice with cardamom powder or mango juice with dried ginger powder, and sugarcane juice.
• Avoid: Pungent, sour, and salty foods, heavy and oily dishes, and excessive alcohol consumption.
• Lifestyle: Seek cool places, wear light-colored clothing, engage in water sports, stay near water fountains to beat the summer heat, and avoid overexertion and overexercising. 
• Panchakarma (PK): Consider purgation with haritaki and castor oil, anointing the body with sandalwood paste, and room temperature baths for detoxification and rejuvenation.

By incorporating these Ayurvedic principles into our daily lives, we can effectively navigate the transitional periods from Winter to Spring and Spring into Summer and support our overall well-being! 

Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti!!! Prayers for Mother Earth and Mother Nature!

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