Over the last few years I’ve been working on making my body, mind and soul as healthy and balanced as possible. I like to think of the mind, body and soul as cyclical and flowing. That in supporting my mind, body and soul it keeps the energy moving. In that movement of supported energy – my mind starts to assist my body and soul, my body starts to assist my soul and mind and my soul starts to assist my mind and body. Similar to a “one hand washes the other” kind of deal.One thing that has massively assisted me in supporting my mental, physical and spiritual growth has been syncing my lifestyle up with the seasons. I wrote about the things I was doing to support my mind, body and soul for Autumn and Winter and now here are the things I’m doing this Spring to Support my Mind, Body and Soul.
As a reminder: I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be! Any claims in this article are based on my personal experience and research. Please read my full medical disclaimer before engaging with my content, suggestions or anecdotes. Also, as a reminder, this post may contain affiliate links to certain products and I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you!) if you make a purchase based off of my wonderful suggestions.
Things I’m Doing this Spring to Support my Mind
I’ve noticed that the more I take care of my mind, the more my mind takes care of me. I find that the practices that I do to support my mind (not only in Spring but also year-round) also support my soul as well as make it easier to make healthy decisions to support my body. Meaning: the things I’m doing this Spring to Support my mind are also things I’m doing this Spring to support my body and soul.
Meditating Daily
I’ve been meditating on and off for about five years now. Back in 2020, during the lockdowns, my meditations become more potent. In the last year, meditation has become one of my most grounding practices: helping me to get clear on situations, work through rough patches and move through difficult energies and harsh realities with myself.
Since December, I’ve been meditating daily and I’ve noticed a massive increase in my mental stamina and stability. I like to try to meditate first thing in the morning, before I do anything else, but I’ve also been really enjoying an afternoon “reset” meditation (in the sun!).
Taking Italian Lessons
While I’m far from, “old”, as I get, “older” I like to try to keep my mind sharp. Learning a new language has been particularly potent for sharpening my mind. I fell off of my Italian lessons in Autumn and Winter but I’m excited to pick them back up this Spring. I intend to utilize my Italian when I head back to Italy later in the year.
Slow, Mindful Mornings
I’ve been working on getting my sleep schedule to align with rising with the sun. I find that it’s a natural way to have a mindful morning. I don’t like to feel rushed in the morning and I really enjoy making my morning practices as leisurely and intentional as possible. Taking the time to make my morning tea, meditate, contemplate what I’m grateful for and set my intentions for the day. As the sun begins to rise earlier, I intend to rise with it!
Watching the Sun Set More Often
Watching the sunset just makes me feel good. I love watching the sun go down over the horizon, the sky turning different hues of pink and gold and the night start to set in. This Spring, I’m hoping to make more time to watch the sunset. I have a few really special places along the water that I love to watch the sun go down over and I’m making it a goal of mine to make it to the sunset at least two to three times a week.
Sitting in the Afternoon Sun
On the topic of the sun: I also plan to sit in the afternoon sun more often this Spring. After getting some sun: I feel better. My mood is lighter and brighter and it just overall makes me feel good. However, there are also heaps of medical benefits of getting some sun. The NIH calls the benefits of sunlight, “A Bright Spot for Human Health” specifically citing its ability to increase vitamin D absorption in the body.
Studies show a direct correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and depression: which would explain why I just feel good after sitting in the sun for a bit. As I mentioned earlier, the things I’m doing this Spring to support my mind, body and soul all seem to work cyclically, helping each other. This couldn’t be any more apparent than in the case of sitting in the afternoon sun for my mental health which also supports my bodily health. It’s been noted that Vitamin D can help our immune system fight off the flu, curbing our chances of certain cancers, build our bones and possibly even assist with weight loss.
Reading More “Self Help” + Productivity
During autumn and winter I dove deep into novels and fiction writing. I read about 20 different novels and fictitious stories (including the entire Harry Potter series!). But, as Spring rolls in I’m feeling more motivated and inspired to work on myself and *expand*. As such, I’m adding more books into my Spring repertoire that support productivity and bettering myself.
I like to re-read books that have really helped me in the past when I’m at a new stage in my life and the books I’m planning to re-read this Spring are:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Element by Ken Robinson
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Rise Sister Rise by Rebecca Campbell
And I also have a few *new* books in my lineup including:
Manifest Now by Idil Ahmed
The Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein
The Gifts Of Imperfection by Brené Brown
Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness by Epictetus
The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life by Arthur Firstenberg
Things I’m Doing this Spring to Support my Body
After the slow, lazy, cold, dark months of Autumn and Winter – my body is *excited* to open up more with Spring. I’ve been feeling into the different ways I can support my body this Spring and am excited to move more. Here are the things I’m doing this Spring to support my body:
Walking (Outside) More
I braved the cold temps to walk outside a few times a week in Autumn and Winter so I’m definitely making it a habit to walk more this Spring. I always feel good after an afternoon walk. Making more time to get outside and move my body just feels right.
Eating a Big Lunch
I started switching up how I eat about two months ago having a moderate breakfast, a large lunch and a small dinner and I’ve really never felt better. Going into Spring I want to keep this cycle going and focus on making lunch my largest meal of the day.
Walking After Meals
Taking a stroll after a meal is something I adopted from my time in Italy. A passegiata (a leisurely walk or stroll, especially in the evening) is part of their culture. As the weather gets warmer I plan to take my passegiata after my big lunches. The New York Times says that just two minutes of walking after a meal is good for us! And that walking for about 15 minutes after a meal can reduce blood sugar levels, warding off complications such as type 2 diabetes.
Flow Yoga
I wrote about how much my physical yoga (asana) practice has helped me mentally, spiritually and physically in my round up of Things I loved: February. One thing that I picked up in February that I can’t wait to carry into Spring is flow yoga.
I, typically, like slower paced yoga that allows me to focus on deep, intentional breathing. But, I’ve been loving the way my body feels after a quick paced, heated, flow yoga. I get in a good sweat and it challenges my body’s strength as well as my mental stamina.
Circling back to the cyclicality of the things I’m doing this Spring to support my mind, body and soul… the practice of flow yoga, which on the surface supports my body, also in turn supports my mind and soul.
Dancing More
Dancing is something that I used to be very intimidated by and insecure about. However, in the last year or so I started feeling more comfortable in myself and my body and started to appreciate dancing for its benefits. This is also another physical practice that supports my mental and spiritual, as well.
Oprah Daily says, “Dance workouts are not only a great way to get moving and enhance flexibility, but they can boost your mental health and foster deep emotional healing, too.” The mental and emotional healing is something I’ve found to be so true!
This Spring I plan on working little dance parties into my work days. Pausing my work to take some time to dance it out – moving energy around, pumping myself up as well as supporting my overall health. The Australian government notes heaps of physical health benefits of dancing. Such as:
- improved condition of your heart and lungs
- increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness
- increased aerobic fitness
- improved muscle tone and strength
- weight management
- stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
- better coordination, agility and flexibility
- improved balance and spatial awareness
- increased physical confidence
- improved mental functioning
- improved general and psychological wellbeing
- greater self-confidence and self-esteem
- better social skills
Drinking Lemon Water + Green Tea
I ditched coffee a little more than a year ago and while I still enjoy making myself an occasional decaf cappuccino… for the most part, I’m so grateful I made the switch over to tea. Ginger tea was super supportive for my body throughout the Autumn and Winter seasons! But, as the season started to shift into Spring – my body started to crave lemon water and green tea in the morning, as opposed to the ginger tea I had gotten accustomed to.
Eating with my intuition has been lifechanging and just going with it, instead of questioning it, has been the greatest shift I could have made. So, moving forward for Spring – I plan to lean a bit more on lemon water and green tea (organic, of course!).
Eating with the Seasons
I started eating with the seasons when I was living in Italy, as that’s the natural way of life there, and I noticed an increase in my overall mental, physical and emotional health. When I lean into it, it just makes sense to eat the things that are in season. Going with the nutrients and foods that my body needs at this time of the year as opposed to what I think I want to eat.
Things I’m Doing this Spring to Support my Soul
Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini yoga is also something I wrote about in the Things I Loved: February 2023 because in just a few short weeks it has transformed my life. The Kundalini practice is more mantras and mudras as opposed to a physical asana practice which really helps me to fill my souls cup up. The first kundalini practice I participated in had me sobbing because I felt so deeply that this was something my soul had been needing. I can’t wait to keep up with Kundalini moving into Spring and seeing how it helps me cultivate the seeds I planted earlier in the calendar year.
Energy Focused Sunday
I used to use Sunday as my “get shit together” day. Where I would do laundry, clean up, change my bed sheets, organize, clean, and prepare for the week ahead. However, I’ve been slowly shifting chores into my Saturday routine and setting the weeks intentions into Monday. Leaving Sunday open to be a proper day of rest and restoration.
I’ve been really enjoying disconnecting from the outside world on Sunday to go inward and have an “energy focused” day. A day where I dedicate the day to practices that tend to my soul such as yoga, meditation, journaling, visualization, sitting in the sun, spending time in nature. Dedicating a whole day to tending my soul ensures that its needs are met. Whereas during the week those activities may get pushed to the back burner in favor of work or other worldly obligations.
Leaning Deeper into my Intuition
I believe that the more I lean into my intuition – the better and easier my life becomes. As Spring rolls around, I plan on leaning more into my intuition to help harness my creativity as well as boost my confidence. I find that my intuition is loudest when the rest of my world is quiet so I plan to nurture my intuition by spending more time outdoors as well as spending more time alone.
Spending More Time in Nature
If I found the time to be out in nature during the winter, when everything was grey and bare – you can guarantee that I’ll be spending more time in nature now that the days are longer and warmer. I plan to visit some beaches and parks that I haven’t been to in years, some in decades, and reacquaint myself with the island that I grew up on.
The American Psychological Association says that we’re ‘nurtured by nature’ and that, “spending time in nature is linked to both cognitive benefits and improvements in mood, mental health and emotional well-being. Feeling connected to nature can produce similar benefits to well-being, regardless of how much time one spends outdoors.”
The tangible benefits of spending time in nature are reason enough to fit it into my schedule. However, for me it’s also about a feeling connected to the earth. I spend so much time with technology, in buildings or cars and doing “modern things” that sometimes my soul feels disconnected from the earth. Disconnecting from modernity and getting back to nature helps to remind me that I am a part of this earth – which gives my soul a deep comfort and feeling of support.
Honoring the Moon Phases
I started working with the moon about two years ago when I started doing Chris Corsini’s bi-weekly new moon and full moon workshops. Moving forward into Spring I plan to connect with the moon even deeper by honoring her other phases, outside of the ever-so-popular new and full moons.
As a woman, I’m connected to the moon and her cycles and I believe that deepening my relationship with the moon will assist me in deepening my relationship to myself and my feminine. In the past, the link between nature and the moon cycles was honored, celebrated and part of different customs and ceremonies in various cultures. As we’ve shifted into “Western Culture” – there has become a disconnect from not only the moon but also our cycles. I wrote about how I synced my business to my cycle but moving into spring I hope to sync my life to my cycle and ultimately: the moon.
Singing More
Singing is something I’ve always loved. I sang “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt in my third-grade talent show – LOL. Last year when I was in Italy, after shit had fallen apart with my business partner, I realized that singing is also good for my soul. I sang out my feelings instead of holding them in.
Somehow, I managed to forget that during the autumn and winter season. However, after a particularly cathartic drive recently where my shuffle played banger after banger to sing along to, I realized that moving forward into Spring – I need to make more time to sing!
Playing with Flowers
I love flowers! And Spring coming along makes me so happy because the flowers that are starting to bloom already. Connecting with flowers is something that has been so soul soothing for me the last few years and moving into Spring – I plan on playing with as many flowers as I can find. Instead of sticking to the flowers I’m familiar with – I’m planning on tapping into new flowers that haven’t been a part of my floral repertoire as of yet.
Things I’m Doing this Spring to Support my Mind, Body and Soul
The various things that I’m doing this Spring to support my mind, body and soul all feel really good and even just writing them down in this article makes me enthusiastic to dive deeper into Spring. I’m excited to see how these practices, rituals and habits cultivate as the season progresses! What are some of the things that you’re doing to support your mind, body and soul this Spring?
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