One of the most important shifts you can make in your thinking about your home is this:
Going from the idea that it's a one time set-up of a place to live —to— it's an ever-evolving environment that supports my health, growth and evolving needs of daily life.
Seasonal living helps you stay on track to embrace change and not get stuck with old habits and routines by guiding you to adjust your home, lifestyle and kitchen every quarter.
The foundation for the shifts I recommend come from Ayruveda.
Ayurveda is a healing system that originated in India about 5,000 years ago. In Sanskrit, the word means the “science of life”—essentially, it’s a system that believes true health is a thriving mind, body, and spirit. It says each season carries a specific balance of the five elements (air, water, space, fire, and earth).
By understanding the elements that dominate each season, we can aim to adjust our home, kitchen and lifestyle accordingly to maintain health in our mind, body and spirit.
If that explanation feels a little confusing, the more simple answer is that Ayurveda helps us harmonize with nature. When we are in harmony with nature we experience more health and vitality.
Today I'm going to share how you can put this wisdom into action this spring in your home.
Your keywords to remember all spring are:
Light, dry, warm and refreshing.
For colors, textures, fabrics, food, cocktails, activities and overall vibes — light, dry, warm and refreshing are the way to go.
By looking out to nature, we see what qualities are naturally occurring. Temperatures are still cool, but we see winter’s accumulated snow and ice beginning to melt and gentle rains continuing to soak the land. The ground is heavy with moisture and the landscape is becoming a wellspring of life.
We create balance by bringing in opposing qualities to the weather — lightness, dryness, warmth and a sense of refresh. It's a simple rule of thumb that comes from Ayurveda, that opposites harmonize.
Spring is a season of birth, new beginnings, renewal, and growth — a time to manifest the latent potential within all things. Seeds are germinating, flowers budding, insects buzzing, leaves unfurling.
Knowing all of this, when it comes to your home there are certain things you can do to harmonize with the season.
- Bring in bright, warming colors like reds, yellows and oranges in early spring, while the weather is cool and wet. As the weather heats up, gradually shift toward cooling blues, greens, purples and whites.
- Rotate in new bed linens, table linens, throw pillows and blankets with warm, but breathable materials like cotton, linen, cashmere and velvet, mohair and wool.
- Rotate in new art and accessories that align with the season, your goals or that simply bring a refreshed sense of joy and inspiration.
- Revisit the books you have out on display and gather the cookbooks you want to use.
- Re-style your shelves and surfaces, perhaps lightening them up a bit from winter by using less things.
- Scents like grapefruit, rosemary, geranium, eucalyptus, orange, thyme, cinnamon, clove and ginger help warm, refresh and ease spring congestion. Burn, diffuse or add to a bath.
- Add new plants or flowers. Daffodils, iris, tulip, pussy willow, peonies and lilac are in bloom.
- Deep clean and give away the things you no longer need.
I hope you enjoyed these Ayurvedic tips for your spring season at home. I've created a free Spring Guide that goes into more depth and covers tips and recipes for your home, lifestyle and kitchen. Download it HERE.
