Rooting down: Our favorite beneficial roots and the powers they provide

The practice of seasonal alignment in Ayurveda is called Ritucharya. As our body adjusts to the natural changes from season to season, such as temperature changes, extended daylight hours, and new foods in our diets, we can also put in place simple habits that help us align and relax into our new season of Spring. Rooting down, like our seedlings are doing, helps us to ground, find nourishment in our space, and draw strength and energy from the earth. This is a beautiful practice to include in your daily routine, and it’s very simple to do!

Rooting Down: The Practice of Spring Grounding 

Getting acquainted with spring can be such a tangible and rewarding experience. Spring allows us the grounding practices of seeing, doing, and feeling through a peaceful whole body experience. 

See: Take a few moments throughout the day to remove your eyes from the screen. Gaze outside for 2 minutes at a time, focusing your attention on a tree, the wind through the grass, a single growing flower, or the activity of the birds near you. Practice really seeing the natural world with soft eyes, and sink into the rhythms nature is showing you. 

Do: Spring is our time to plant seeds. Whether you have a tiny window sill garden, or an expansive backyard production, practicing planting your seed starts with mindful movement, feeling the dirt on your hands, or walking barefoot through the garden soil. Notice how your body feels after a day in the garden planting, bending, tilling, weeding, and tending. Our body may naturally feel like it’s “waking up” from the winter, and may need some extra recovery support (with turmeric - we’ll get there in a moment!). 

Feel: Do you feel your body becoming more awake and alive in the spring? Are you itching to get outdoors and exercise a bit more? Are you feeling slightly more energized, playful, or happy with the warmer, sunnier days? Take note of your senses during this season and how they are changing. In the morning or evening, take a seat outdoors in the yard, garden or porch with a cup of tea and feel the sensation of drinking a warming brew of grounding root herbs such as ginger, turmeric, or licorice. The practice of consciously sipping tea can help to ground you into a space, into your body, or into a shared conversation. 

Ayurveda Roots For Your Grounding Practice 

Ginger

In Ayurveda, ginger is an all season, tridoshic herbal hero. Being one of the most warming and stimulating herbal medicines, it can help to keep our body flexible and vibrant through the seasons. Try adding fresh ginger to your spring soups, morning smoothies, and vegetable stir-fry dishes this spring. This pungent, warming, and stimulating herb is a delight for the spring senses, keeping our body warm, our circulatory and lymphatic system moving, and supports our digestive system. Drinking ginger tea, like Three Ginger, before or after meals is an excellent way to imbibe ginger into our days, especially in the morning to spark our digestive fire. 

Turmeric

If you’re feeling the “waking up” stiffness or soreness of moving your body more through exercise, gardening, stretching or yoga practice, turmeric is an ideal herbal hero to consume daily. Turmeric is a member of the Ginger family (Zingiberaceae) and shares many similar properties, but is most famous for its effective antiinflammatory properties for pain and stiffness. Turmeric Active Tea is a wonderful addition to your spring day if you need support with active recovery, or supporting your joints and muscles from a day of extra movement. 

Licorice

Licorice is such a favorite Pukka herb that it is included in the majority of our teas! Sweet, earthy and delicious, licorice root harmonises the perfect cup of tea, and is renowned for its calming and soothing properties. It is traditionally used as a medicine in Ayurveda for rejuvenation. A bit like the effect of putting a pinch of salt in your food to bring out the best flavors, licorice also makes a formula more effective. Because of this unique quality, it’s considered to enhance the power of synergy between different herbs in a blend and is used in many classic formulas as a harmonizer. In our body, licorice is harmonizing and gently energizing. The perfect afternoon pick me up is a cup of Peppermint & Licorice Tea to sip on during a mindful work-from-home break. 

How are you aligning with the spring season this month? Can you incorporate one or two daily practices to feel more grounded and centered? We hope you can enjoy some of our favorite beneficial herbal roots with a warming cup of tea for spring to help settle you into a vibrant new season!