Mini Shastri's self-care for changing seasons
I wrote about Mini Shastri a couple of years ago, and the words I wrote then still hold true: ‘Mini is a living, breathing, walking, talking testimonial to the powers of a yogic practice. Slight, soft-spoken, and with a clear, level gaze, Mini has a great, girly laugh that belies the strength you’ll witness in her petite form. She is also, I kid you not, luminous. I mean, incandescent. If she were a My Little Pony she’d be one of the glow-in the-dark ones.’
If you follow her on Instagram you’ll already know that Mini holds a wealth of knowledge about seasonal ebb and flow and how to adapt and modify your daily rituals to suit the changing world and weather outside. And if you don’t, well, you’re missing out.
We spoke with Mini about springtime, about Vasant, and while we’ve hot-footed into warmer weather earlier than anticipated this year, all her wisdom still holds true.
“Vasant is a time to melt the Winter freeze,” she said. “All that you accumulate in winter, when, due to that season’s igniting ability or agni that has us reaching for richer, heavier foods… the result of any excesses will start to show in our bodies during Vasant. If you’ve eaten judiciously and exercised well over Shishir and Hemant (the winter seasons), you will not feel heavy or bogged down in the spring.”
Our focus then is to clear out congestion and begin on a blank slate so that you don’t end up with ‘perennial Kapha disorders’ like sinusitis, allergies, or lung conditions. It is also to boost our digestive fire, our agni, so that we’re able to digest and assimilate what we ingest.
“Vasant, then, is a time for short, strong, invigorating morning exercise, or an early Pranayama if you prefer.” Ayurveda and yoga have a unique 'more is not necessarily better ' view of Vyayam (exercise), but it is recommended to rise early and take advantage of the natural Kapha energy of the morning hours. This season you want something that draws a little sweat, but not like the winter, when you can really go at 100% of your energy. Winter is when you’re strongest, but in the spring you want to go 25% less, okay? You carry on, your exercise stays the same, but maybe power down just a little.” You still want something invigorating and sweat-inducing; movement and exercise around 6am or 6pm is when you’ll feel this uptick of energy, and a great time to shake off sluggishness, attempt strong balance poses, powerful standing postures, as well as those slow, graceful vinyasa flows (all made better by morning or sunset light).
“It's natural for the body to want to release or to move or to eliminate in the morning,” Mini explained. “You need to use your diaphragm and to do things that help your body with this elimination. You know how in the morning people have that cough? They want to spit it out; so what you want to do in the morning is twist. Everything is about twists. It's all about getting some movement getting everything to work, from your chest to your hips and knees and ankles.”
“This season you want something that draws a little sweat, but not like the winter, when you can go at 100%”
Mini’s recommendations:
Rise early and move
Mini said, “Sleeping later into the morning makes it harder to wake and shrug off heaviness. Begin early mornings with a grounding pranayama and breath meditation. As nature itself takes a transformative quality, Ayurveda advises we counter that movement of the seasons with practices to settle the mind and that help us turn inward.”Neti
Intended to help clear your nasal passages by running warm saline water through them, daily neti is a boon in ultra-polluted cities like Delhi, but great to release stickiness no matter where you live. “You want to help clear allergens, debris and pathogens just sitting in your sinuses, plus all the pollen of springtime that is likely triggering allergies” says Mini.Nasyam
Nasal oiling is a must, and this practice is also a part of the five mighty panchakarma practices. Use mustard, sesame, or Anu tel (an Ayurvedic oil blend, easily found with a quick Google). “The salt water from your neti practice leaves little tiny cracks inside of your nose (because salt is drying), so you want to always finish neti with a little lubrication,” Mini told us. “Just do a couple of drops of oil in each nostril. I actually just stick my little finger into my nose and then give it a little rub and then take a deep breath.”Using a tongue scraper
Enough said, and if you’re not already doing this, you are really missing out.Garshana
Essentially dry-brushing on your arms, tummy and shoulders. Use a dry natural bristle brush or silk massage glove if you’re feeling really luxe. Garshana keeps channels of elimination open on your skin and just feels really, really good.Kunjal kriya
Our stomachs are the ‘seat of kapha’ so a yogic kunjal (saline cleansing of the stomach and upper digestive tract) will remedy mucous accumulation.Solar or warming Pranayama
She recommends ujjayi, bhastrika, or kapalbhati breathing practices to further help move out congestion and accumulation.No sleep in the daytime
Sigh. Despite the temptation to give in to an afternoon nap, Mini says that napping in the day tends to enhance kapha qualities and sluggishness.Sun-gazing
Early morning or late sunset sun-gazing. Warms the face and lights up your senses.Copper or earthenware to cool water
“Don’t drink cold water,” Mini cautioned. ‘Despite the warmth outside you will feel better for choosing this naturally-cooled water over icy, frigid water from the fridge. because you want to work with opposites, you want to mitigate kapha’s own cold, sluggishness. Cool your water naturally in an earthen or copper jug.Ghee tratak practice
Trataka is a form of meditation where the practitioner focuses on a single point (historically the flame of a ghee lamp, but a candle does just as well) to harness focus and awareness on the present moment. They say trataka helps to strengthen concentration, improve memory, and will cool and soothe the eyes after prolonged screen time. We all need this.
Find Mini Shastri on Instagram here. Plus, in Delhi, call (0091)98915-80147 or email Omyogastudio@gmail.com for a full schedule, pricing, and to be kept in the loop about upcoming workshops.
