April Showers Bring a Kapha Imbalance
In Ayurveda, each season is dominated by a dosha. In winter, we're inundated with the cold, dry and dark of vata. Moving into spring, kapha takes over as a transitional period from the thawing of the earth into the wet warmness of May and June. These transitions can be hard on the body in different ways.
The kapha "type" is located in the chest, and associated with mucus (maybe unsurprisingly the word cough comes from kapha). In springtime, kapha imbalances can manifest as allergies, asthma, etc - excess phlegm and mucus in short.
From a mind and body perspective, an excess of kapha can make us feel resistant to change, or in creative ruts. It can be hard--especially as a stereotypical kapha!--to stay focused on the renewal part of the season. With some modifications, it's possible to manage kapha effectively and routing the excess toward productivity.
Managing an Excess of Kapha
Eat lighter Focus on eating lighter, more drying foods to balance the wet nature of spring. Bring more pungent and astringent flavors into your menus to make your meals more vibrant and exciting, as well as seasonal vegetables and fruits. But if you're in Minnesota and enduring this thousand year winter as well, stay away from too raw of a diet. And consider making your lunch your biggest meal of the day for a month or two. Eating in the middle of the day, when the digestive fires are burning hottest, can help balance things as well.
Meditate Tune in with the world around you and bring it in harmony with yourself. I use Insight Timer as a way to keep my practice regular (look me up as 'megtalla'!).
Rise earlier Part of the kapha constitution is an aversion to early mornings. We find it hard to get out of bed when we're warm and cozy, and a kapha imbalance definitely exacerbates that. But mornings are full of vibrant energy; try to get up before 6am to ward off the sluggishness that accompanies too late of a lie in.
Exercise
Find ways to bring more exercise into your life. Use this kapha excess to embark on new fitness goals--maybe to run a 5K, or start a daily yoga practice--which in turn helps to ignite kapha's internal strength and stamina.
Kapha excess can feel like a heavy stone on your chest. But for me, focusing on the season and coming out of the vata imbalance throughout winter can be liberating. Take the steps you need to feel better, and celebrate the positivity that comes with it.