Three ways to prepare your body and soul for spring

The end of winter is near. The dead leaves on the ground have almost disappeared, spring is in the air and evokes a desire in us. Open the windows, sweep it all clean: not just your house and garden, but your body and soul also long for cleansing, for a new start.

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The smell of clean sheets on a freshly made bed. A tidy closet. The relief after a good cry. The light feeling in your body after fasting. Out with the old, in with the new. It makes us happy!

Trick 1: Ice cold and clean

Ever tried one of these ice cold baths in the spa? For a moment, it feels like your heart stops, but immediately after, your skin starts glowing. It shows that your blood vessels are wide open, ready to warm up your body. Immediately, it starts burning fat. But cold water does so much more for us. It improves the immune system and helps the muscles to recover after exercising.

In order to master ice baths, you need to get some training. It teaches you to breathe in a way that stokes up the fire in your body (the fire breath). According to the yoga philosophy, this way of breathing contributes to a cleansing of the body. But you might as well start with a cold shower after your daily shower or bath. It takes some time to get used to it, but soon enough, you’ll get hooked, because afterwards you’ll feel fit as a fiddle.

Trick 2: The fresh smile

Oil pulling is a self-care tradition from the Ayurveda. The idea is that oil doesn’t just cleanse your teeth, but also improves your health as a whole. It makes sense, because oil helps to prevent bacteria and has a good effect on the condition of your gums. Healthy gums have an influence on your defence against cardiovascular diseases. People who do oil pulling regularly, often have white teeth, pink gums and a fresh breath.

This is how it works: you take a tablespoon of coconut oil (or sesame oil), you let it melt in your mouth and use your cheeks to push the oil from left to right and from the front to the back. Let the oil swirl around everywhere in your mouth, in all the little nooks between your teeth. Do this daily for a while and experience how it affects your mouth’s condition.

Trick 3: Let it all out

If you keep repressing your emotions, it affects your system. You may even get ill, because body and soul are inevitably connected. So if you feel like you can’t take it anymore: yell, scream, cry! For instance during a walk on the beach on a stormy day. You can yell as loudly as you want to, nobody will hear you, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. We guarantee: you’ll feel better afterwards.

Photo: Larm Rmah