Seasonal Guide: Spring Wellness Tips
Spring has slowly sprung - in the Western hemisphere, and here in Turkiye.
The Unani-Tibb system of medicine provides a theoretical framework of health and healing centered around the principle of integrated energetic balance. Energetic medicine identifies certain primordial, ever present forces (air, earth, water, fire, spirit) that influence the balance of life in all that exists. The Unani-Tibb view of that natural world and all it contains looks at the universe and at ourselves and sees an ever-present drive towards external and internal harmony.
In concert with the shifting time, seasons, and ages we experience, there are periods of transition that allow us to ease into and out of new phases of living. These concepts of balance and shift allow us to proactively improve our well-being by building habits and routines that we can turn to for support. What can a healthy daily routine consist of?
Sacred Morning
Rising at dawn – for us Muslims that’s the fajr prayer, timed before sunrise. Taking care of our elimination needs as our body has been busily doing reparative and detoxing work during our sleeping hours. Washing ourselves including our mouths, which can be at a minimum the wudhu Muslims perform; or we go ahead and bathe. After this sacred cleansing wash, we perform a spiritual cleanse by offering a prescribed prayer, directing our faces to the spiritual center and the Sacred House. To start the day with sacred prayer is to, with intention, humbly organize our day in harmony with the mandates set by our Creator. Being awake at sunrise, according to some experts in current times, is the way to reset our circadian rhythms and our melatonin production so that we can achieve restful sleep at night.
PowerFull Days
And now, having cleansed our bodies, minds, and souls at the very start of our day, we set about our active pursuits- work, exercise, education, etc.
We eat, what should be a moderate and vibrantly healthy meal. We know-again from ancient traditions and from Islamic medicine-that foods are understood to possess certain energetic and therapeutic qualities. Sacred guidance instructs us to eat the halal wa tayyiban – the permissible and wholesome; and the tayyib aspect should not be overlooked. Food traditionally is consumed according to seasonality and individual need (according to one’s age, temperament, and cultural custom).
We exercise, to promote immune, cardiovascular, digestive, and mood health. Importance of physical exercise: “effective prophylactic against various diseases, as well as strengthening the body.” Active physical movement improves our breathing, our heart health, our muscles and bones, and, it is the only way to circulate the body’s lymphatic fluids, keeping our immune health strong and supporting fat cell metabolism. Swimming is one of the few kinds of exercise that target all muscle groups in the body.
We connect socially, maintaining positive and constructive relationships throughout the day. Purposeful meaningful interactions centered in joy and love light up our lives. Human connection supports our mental health, our heart health, our immune health, and our emotional well-being. Call your parents, reach out to siblings, have tea with friends, spend time with loved ones.
We connect spiritually, refreshing and reinforcing a strong relationship with the Divine through prescribed prayers throughout the rest of the day at noon, late afternoon, evening, and night. And we capitalize on any and every opportunity to call on the Creator for each and everything, mindfully and full of hope.
Evenings at Rest
We balance periods of activity with moments of rest, especially getting good rest at night. At night, we sleep with one last call to our Creator, mindful of our bodies and our spirits at rest. Sleeping between six and seven hours is advised to give our system ample time to cleanse and repair. But, rest is more than sleeping at night. It’s also about quiet reflection and stillness. Or, it’s even the time of the mid-day nap, so typically occurring near lunchtime in many parts of the world.
These are the daily habits according to long-standing tradition: maintaining a healthy balance in our diet | elimination; activity | rest; and social | spiritual connection. These are the 6 Keys of Wellness distilled from long-standing healing practices and traditions and centered around the sacred principle of mizaan, or balance {As for the earth, We spread it out and placed upon it firm mountains, and caused everything to grow there in perfect balance. (Surah Al-Hijr:19}.
Seasonal Regimen: Warm & Moist Spring
Seasonally, this means a few specific things for a harmonizing routine
In Spring – which is a season of growth and newness, transitioning from winter’s damp cold into the warmth of spring, the subtle warmth and moisture aggravates the skin, the blood, and the digestive, and nervous systems. In response to a tendency towards warmth and damp imbalance, those considered to have a phlegmatic temperament should be particularly vigilant in balancing their health in Spring. We should be trying to maintain coolness and some dryness – generally.
What does the transition to Spring mean for movement and activity? Moving from a time when we received less sunshine, and it was weaker, from late in the morning through short days of positive ion energy into early evenings, we were more inclined towards rest rather than activity paralleling the season of dormancy. Now, as we witness incrementally earlier sunrises and later sunsets, what happens from an Unani-Tibb standpoint is the Air activates the humours as the energy level begins to rise and the blood starts to thin. Moderate exercise is best, as it is not too warming. Enjoy observing the advent of Spring, the sounds , the breeze, the scents, the sights on a mild morning walk, each day, is very beneficial.
What does the transition to Spring mean for emotional/mental shifts? Mood health reflects the gut, mental, and emotional processes of our being. In Unani-Tibb tradition our health is still susceptible to the influence of negative or excessive mood imbalances in Spring, including melancholia and rage. Bearing this in mind, we should be vigilant about positive and supportive self-care to manage stress and encourage the balanced production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, tryptophan and dopamine..
What does the transition to Spring mean for dietary shifts? In this season, look to moving away from excessively warming foods and drinks, and moist stews and dishes in favor of cool or room temperature drinks, smoothies, and dry curries, stir fries, sautees, and roasted dishes, and bitter or sweet flavors like green tea, nettles, parsley, dandelion, mint, barberries, ginseng, licorice, anise, fennel, marshmallow.
Vibrantly Healthy in Spring
Spices: anise, fennel, licorice, chicory, fresh green herbs
COLD-supportive diet (raw foods, stir fry, steam; bitters, plant acids; sweet, fermented foods) &
Hepatics [dandelion and yellow dock]
Cathartics [cascara sagrada]
Cooling alteratives [pine & chickweed]
DRY-supportive diet (cooked dry vegetable curries with 50% grains, 10% meat) spicy, sour, sweet, oily sautees, roasting/grilling) &
Tonics [dandelion]
Astringents [quince, sage, sumac]
Alteratives [red clover]
Antipyretics [elder]
Carminatives [anise, fennel, dill, caraway]
Diaphoretics [yarrow]
Nervine, carminative, and antispasmodic herbs, including lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and saffron (Crocus sativus) also help support a balanced system during this season.
Taking inspiration from the wise ways of long-standing healing traditions has enormous potential benefits for your health. Learn how to walk this path and take charge of your health with smart changes to your current diet and lifestyle habits. Try a new recipe, an herbal remedy, or even a cleanse. For more information on how to put this into practice for you, contact Rihla Wellness to discover comprehensive diet, herb, and lifestyle shifts for all natural health.
References
Ibn Sina Institute of Tibb (2014)
Khan, M.S. An Introduction to Islamic Medicine (2016)
Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum in Cummins, P.W. A Critical Edition of Le Regime Tresutile et Tresproufitable pour Conserver et Garder la Santé du Corps Humain (1976)
Spring Health Frequently Asked Questions
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Herbs like sage, mullein, dead nettle, and chickweed are some of the medical plants traditionally used by herbalists to support respiratory health in the spring. These can be paired with immunomodulating herbs like astragalus and devil’s claw for even more support.
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Herbs like bayberry, cayenne, and yarrow are some of the medical plants traditionally used by herbalists to support nasal health.
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Herbs like burdock, yellow dock, fumitory, chickweed, and lavender are some of the medical plants traditionally used by herbalists to support skin health. These can be paired with hepatic herbs like barberry for even more support.