By Tiziana Boccaletti
Spring is a time of renewal! Nature, with her generous abundance, is inviting us to simply start anew. Many of us feel this spirit of rebirth.
Look around. What do you see?
Here in Southern California, after much needed rain, everything is in bloom. Explosions of colors, sweet aromas and birdsongs fill the air, deeply nourishing all our senses and our Soul. Signs of new life are everywhere. Driving on our busy freeways, we are greeted by luminous patches of blossoming petals that make this springtime scenery look like an Impressionists’ painting.
Let’s heed the calling and support our body/mind/spirit through this process of renewal. This process is timed and orchestrated to perfection at this time of the year.
How can we do this?
It is easier than you might think. In fact, with Her universal and unifying intelligence, Nature provides a clear blueprint for all of us to follow in order to find harmony, health, happiness through ALL the seasons. Through primordial engineering, Nature provides exactly what we need at the perfect time.
If you think that bitter bright green Dandelions, orange lymph-loving Calendulas, dark red liver friendly beets and purple astringent Berries pop up at our Farmers’ Markets in Springtime just by chance, think again! We are witnessing displays of powerful medicine lovingly offered by Mother Nature for us to restore balance. All we have to do is align ourselves with this wisdom by following these ayurvedic beauty tips for glowing skin.
What’s happening as Winter turns into Spring?
In Springtime our body/mind/spirit are primed to detoxify all that has been accumulated during Winter. In Nature, snow is melting, rivers are flowing after much stagnation and new life is popping up everywhere. This process of letting go and renewal is mirrored within our bodies at this time of the year!
In Ayurveda, the science of renewal and rejuvenation is called Rasayana. Rasa means life giving lymph. Rasa is also the tissue layer that nourishes every single tissue in the body. Ayurvedic medicine counts 7 tissue layers making up our physical body. Lymph carries out the dual function of both nourishing every single cell and detoxifying the body. Therefore, when Rasa is healthy, our bodies are more likely to be functioning optimally.
What happens when lymph gets congested?
The lymphatic system is an exquisitely complex network of vessels that transport lymph, a fluid that contains crucial infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body supporting the health of our immune system. These tiny vessels are connected to lymph nodes, where the lymph is filtered. Important glands such as our tonsils, adenoids, spleen and thymus are also part of the lymphatic system.
Just like a river whose waters aren’t flowing freely, when lymph becomes congested, we might feel tired, with aches and pains that move around while lacking a zest for life. We might also notice that we are more prone to catching colds. Also, symptoms of allergies might appear as toxins accumulate.
The ancient alchemical traditions teach that “as above, so below and as within so without.” This is a time to take a deeper look at our skin and do a little checking in.
Go ahead. Take a look at yourself in the mirror.
At the beginning of Spring, signs of stagnation might appear as lackluster complexion, impurities and general dullness. This potential accumulation of Kapha, the Earth and Water element, can set the stage for deeper imbalances if not dealt properly.
We have heard this before. Our skin is our largest organ. It literally holds us together with love while helping us digest our life as impressions coming from both our inner and outer world. Many of us might now also be familiar with the term “microbiome” thanks to the widely available information about gut health and its connection to emotional and mental health. Did you know that your skin has its own unique and distinctive microbiome that greatly contributes to your overall health? Our skin mirrors our internal environment and shows us where attention might be needed on the inside. Everything we apply on the skin goes quickly into our circulatory system.
Many species in the animal kingdom literally shed their skin in Springtime. Through a proper Ayurvedic skincare routine, we can also renew our largest organ and allow our natural Beauty to be expressed outwardly more authentically. Yes, we are designed to bloom and blossom just like flowers!
Would you like to know HOW?
Remember that Ayurveda face care is a system of “opposites”. Where there is heaviness, we offer lightness, where there is oiliness, we invite a little dryness, and where there is congestion, we stimulate flow.
Thinking of the image of the flowing river and the melting snow in Springtime as the owner and Ayurveda skin care formulator at Aromavedic Healing with Nature, I will select herbs that gently warm, decongest and detoxify, nourish and support lymph flow while tonifying tissues.
Wait a second, are we going to apply herbs on the skin or ingest them? BOTH!
Our lovely skin breathes and eats, so, let’s feed it properly while we also sip a lovely lymph moving tea!
As Ayurveda teaches, transdermal delivery is a great opportunity to take “medicine” into the body via the skin without overburdening the digestive system. I only have one very simple rule for you. On your skin, use only what you would ingest.
It is my pleasure to share with all of you an Ayurvedic face mask and cleanser recipe for glowing skin that includes ingredients from your kitchen cupboard, plus a few Ayurvedic herbs and spices.
This combination of powdered herbs features “Shilajit Tea” as the wet medium adding and extra antioxidant boost to the formula. Shilajit has many benefits for the skin as it contains minerals and trace elements that the human body needs to function optimally as well as fulvic acid to help the body absorb these minerals at a cellular level.
You can even sip Shilajit as tea while you sit back and enjoy a moment of relaxation in your own home spa.
3 IN 1 AYURVEDIC FACE MASK, CLEANSER, AND SPOT TREATMENT RECIPE FOR GLOWING SKIN
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Manjistha Powder
- 1 Tbsp Amla Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- a pinch of freshly grated Ginger
- ½ tsp Fenugreek
- 2-4 tsp Multani Mitti (Fuller’s Earth Clay)
- 2 tsp Honey Shilajit Tea (rice grain size portion of Shilajit dissolved in 4oz water)
Instructions:
Add enough Shilajit Tea to make a paste.
Use this paste in 3 convenient ways: As a quick cleanser, a mask (5-7 minutes) or a spot treatment if there are small areas (did I say pimples?) that need more attention.
NOTE: For Vata skin, add warm cream or full fat milk because it is much easier to get than GF Oat flour. For Kapha skin type add a little honey. For Vata skin type, add warm cream or full fat milk. For Pitta skin type, add Aloe Juice.
