Welcome Spring With These 8 Wellness Practices

There’s something extra magical about the advent of springtime. The breeze begins to warm, flowers burst from the soil, and the trees don their greenery again. To me, spring has always symbolized a hope for new beginnings, a reminder that the gloom of winter doesn’t last forever. It’s an opportunity for us to invite more movement to our lives (especially if you’ve been prioritizing rest during winter), to say yes to new creative endeavors, and to plant the seeds for goals we hope to achieve in the coming months.
Photo by Le Petale Studio

 Spring is also the time for us to dust off our winter cobwebs — physically and mentally — and what better way to do that than with intentional wellness? As the days become warmer and longer, you can start to invite more energy and movement into your life with these eight simple and effective wellness practices.

1. Take your workout outside

Springtime is an excellent excuse to get outside as often as possible, especially if you live in an area that has harsh winters.
Get your workout in while enjoying the warm spring air! Grab your weights, yoga mat, or your running shoes and take to the outdoors. No matter your preferred workout method, exercising outside has a host of benefits, including stress relief and a mental health boost. According to some research, exercising outside for as little as five minutes can also improve your self-esteem.

2. Eat the season’s harvest

We’ve talked about the benefits of eating seasonally before — not only is it the environmentally-friendly way to go, but it’s also a wise decision for your health and wellbeing! Spring is ripe with delicious seasonal produce and fruits, including asparagus, kiwi fruit, mushrooms, strawberries, Swiss chard, peas, kale, and avocado, to name a few.

3. Try a detox

Whether you feel your body, mind, or even your living space could use a detox, spring is a great time to start with a clean slate. To clarify, I’m not recommending the “detoxes” like juice cleanses that are overly restrictive and could potentially be harmful to your health — but there are other ways to flush toxins from your body, like lymphatic brushing, gua sha, infusing more veggies and fruits into your diet, and reducing your alcohol and caffeine consumption.

You can also try including meditation, yoga, or a journaling practice into your end-of-day routine to cleanse negative thoughts and energy. And if your living space needs a spruce up, cleansing with herbs like juniper and cedar can do the trick to banish stale energy.

4. Clean your living space

This wouldn’t be a “welcome spring” article without the mentioning of some good old spring cleaning! Declutter, haul your old clothes to a thrift store, and give your space a nice scrub down. Bonus points if you clean your space using non-toxic cleaning materials!

5. Get enough sleep

This might be tough in the first few days of spring, given that we lose an hour of sleep to daylight savings time. However, it’s important to remember that getting good sleep is vital to maintaining optimal health and energy levels through springtime and beyond.
If you’re finding that sleep is hard to come by, try using an eye mask or spritzing your pillow with lavender-scented linen spray — lavender has been found to help people relax naturally thanks to its chemical composition.

6. Garden

Starting your own garden, whether it’s a small plot of flowers or rows and rows of veggies, can be a meditative and grounding experience. Gardening connects us to the earth and brings us closer to all that spring has to offer: the blooms of new life as they poke through the ground. Try it out! It just might work wonders for your mental health.

7. Participate in a community cleanup

Enhancing collective wellness is a fantastic way to welcome springtime. Find out if there are opportunities for you to volunteer to help clean up your local community, whether it’s in a public park, beach, or a local hiking trail.

8. Bask in the sun

Now that there’s more sunshine to go around, soak it all in — those heightened levels of vitamin D will improve your mood, regulate your sleep cycle, strengthen your bones, and even boost your immune system.

Cecilia Seiter

Cecilia is a freelance writer and contributor to Slow North. She writes largely about sustainability, especially as it applies to beauty, wellness, and the future of technology. She is a graduate of the journalism department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is based in Oakland , CA.