Spring, Inside & Out

Happy Spring Equinox!

Welcome spring!

Today, you might already know, is the vernal, or spring, equinox in the northern hemisphere. I wanted to put together a little something to honor the inner and outer spring and the ways in which we can care for ourselves during both. The inner being the time after menstruation and before ovulation. The outer being from today, March 20, to June 21.

Unintentionally, I started writing this whilst in my inner spring. A happy accident.

For the change of season, I’m also offering 15% off paid subscriptions.

For both the inner and outer spring, this is a time of activity.

The inner spring comes directly after menstruation, the inner winter. Once your bleed is done, there’s often a “upward” shift that can be felt. In a biological sense, this is when estrogen starts to rise again, as does follicle stimulate hormone. An egg is starting to matured in one of the ovaries. Lots going on. Cervical mucus is potentially dry or just stating to make its appearance (which is likely watery or thin at this stage). Mostly likely, this is an infertile time. This is sometimes called the follicular or pre-ovulatory phase.

Inner winter is a time of tucking in, turning inward. So inner spring is a time of opening up again, going back out into the world. They say this is a better time to do those things that take more social energy or gumption, like hosting a party, going out, asking for a raise, or having that hard conversation.

Of course, in the outer world we know what’s happening. Today specifically, the equinox, is a moment when the Sun crosses Earth’s equator and is directly above it—not north or south. This makes day and night the same length everywhere, all over the globe, whether today is the first day of spring or autumn.

I’m in the northern hemisphere, so I’ll be speaking about spring. Here, after today, the days will start to be longer than the nights.

Elementally, depending on the tradition, spring is associate with wood and air elements. I find the energy to be the same. Think of trees sprouting and growing, branches rising and swaying in the wind. Lots of cultures also have celebrations in this season that are centered around eggs, flowers, fertility (in all its forms), and bright colors.

In their lovely book The Moon Cycle Cookbook, Devon Loftus and Jenna Radomski recommend using lighter cooking methods like steaming and sautéing, and sprouted, fermented and prebiotic foods during the inner spring. They suggest sprouting your seeds, grains, legumes and nuts. Fermented foods include kimchi, sauerkraut, lacto-fermented pickles, miso, kombucha, yoghurt and kefir. Prebiotic foods are a good companion here, and that includes things like apples, asparagus, avocados, bananas, chicory root, chives, dandelion greens, garlic, leeks, onions, peas, and whole grains.

The big thing in this time is cruciferous veggies/brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, kohlrabi…). Herbalist, naturopath and fertility awareness educator Clara Bailey recommends lighter foods that support the liver: lots of greens, young beetroot, salads, veggies from the onion family, and bright fruits like grapefruit, peach, cherry, nectarine, apricots and berries.

In short, green things, pungent things, and bright things! Both for inner and outer spring. Personally, I am very much looking forward to that first salad of farmers market greens (my first salad since November!), likely with some farmers market goat feta, French breakfast radishes and light vinaigrette.

Herbs that are recommended during this time are nettle (Urtica dioica), dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), chickweed (Stellaria media), red clover (Trifolium pratense), mints (Lamiaceae family), and schisandra (Schisandra chinensis). Personally, I think this is a lovely time to bring in some chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla). As always with herbs, if you want to start working with them and you’re not educated in them please find a practitioner who is.

In the outer spring, this is the time harvest stinging nettle. Mountain Rose Herbs has a guide on how to do so. (Maybe this will be the year I finally harvest nettle!)

One of my favorite things to do to welcome spring is to be barefoot outside. I’ll do this even if it’s still a bit chilly for it (then I get some cold exposure as well). I think the inner spring too is a good time to practice earthing. The inner winter is about staying tucked in, cocooned. I think making contact with the earth again, even if it’s just for a couple minutes, can be a solid initiation in the new season—inner or outer—and the earth that nourishes us.

The inner spring is a contrast to inner winter when it comes to movement. Generally, it’s recommended that we exercise more gently during menstruation. So inner spring is the time to ease back in to a hearty work out routine, if that’s your jam. Muscle repair is better at this time thanks to those rising hormones. Increased estrogen means increased anti-oxidant release, which can help with recovery.

For the outer spring, I think it’s a good time to try something new. Maybe there’s a yoga class you’ve wanted to try but you didn’t want to have to bundle up against the winter chill to get there. Or there’s a running trail you’ve been eyeing. Or you’ve always wanted to lift weights. As the world warms, maybe its the time to give it a shot.

Personally, I can get a little disoriented by both inner and outer spring. The first warm day, or the first day of rising estrogen, is often tricky for me as a sensitive soul. Everything is suddenly different—the temperature, how I need to or want to dress, the light, the smell of the air, often the sounds or my perception of them (I like the windows open asap but this makes it noisier). I’ve found I need to be patient with myself in this time. Some people might want to lean into this newness though.

Either way, here are some ideas for ways to care for yourself during inner and outer spring:

• Open your windows. Get that fresh air in, even if it’s a little chilly!

• Eat outside.

• Take a good shower. It doesn’t have to be a full at-home spa day, but it can be if you want. Do whatever you have time for that feels just a bit more than usual: dry brushing, doing a face mask, or just going slower. After menstruation, a bath can also be lovely.

• Follow the light. With warming temperatures, I try to get outside earlier in the day, even if it’s just to sit on my front step for ten minutes.

• Literally try seeing things in a new light: move a lamp, find a new one, hang up some fairy lights, live by candlelight for an evening (or more).

• Clean. I know, it’s the obvious one but I think it’s solid. There’s nothing like opening your windows and scrubbing away all the dust and grime of winter. I think this is also a good time to assess what new cleaning supplies you might need and maybe investing in zero waste or low waste supplies. (This is my favorite company for such things.)

• Bring a new scent into your life. A candle, a dried herb bundle, a scented body oil, or a natural perfume. Or return to a scent that brings you comfort in this time of transition. Fresh beeswax candles really do it for me.

• Ten minutes of meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing or intentionally doing nothing at all. Don’t make a whole new routine. Just do it once, to greet the spring. See how you feel. Personally I’m enjoying Insight Timer right now, but I also like sitting in the sun doing nothing until my morning cup of green tea is gone.

• Tend to your microbiome and gut, with good quality probiotics and bone broth.

• Get a new cookbook (from the library is great!) to inspire you to try new flavors and produce. Embrace seasonality with ones that are organized by season, like Dishing Up the Dirt and Six Seasons.

• Pay attention to daydreams. This recommendation comes from The Moon Cycle Cookbook and I think it’s a good one. Both the inner and outer spring are a time of budding possibility.

• Find a new way to engage with creativity. I think the thing to think about here is that it doesn’t have to be picking up a whole new skill or committing to a multi-week class. What is a small way you can engage with creating something?

I dread coming to the end of the season—inner or outer—and feeling like I didn’t savor it enough. Does this happen to anyone else? To stave this off, I like to visualize my goals for the season and/or set an intention. This helps guide me through. What is it I hope to accomplish or what do I want to bear in mind? What are the seasonally specific things I don’t want to miss this go around? Harvesting nettle, picking strawberries, making a lilac enfleurage? (I really want to make a lilac enfleurage!)

The visualizing I like to do with Pinterest. For an intention, I go with what intuitively comes to mind—don’t overthink it.

How are you welcoming spring? Head to the comments & share!

🌷🪶🧹🐌🌼🥚✨🌿🌧🐇🪺🥕 🐝🌳🌬

• Jane Cormack, writer, author, poet, artist, and women's mentor and teacher, has a post about caring for yourself during the inner spring.

  Simple Self-Care Tips for the ‘Inner Spring’ Season of your Menstrual Cycle

• I think the inner spring is a good time to jump into learning about ovulation, if you’re a bit rusty about what’s going on there.

• Here’s another great post about ovulation.

• FAE and birth control doula Michele Drake’s post on living well with your cycle, including during inner spring.

• The Moon Cycle Cookbook by Devon Loftus and Jenna Radomski is a wonderful resource. As is Cycles by Amy J. Hammer.