Give Yourself a Spring Life Reset With These 7 Herbal Tips!

Spring has sprung, and it’s time to watch your health goals come to life, too! As nature awakens with stunning flair, let your aspirations follow into a season of renewed health possibilities with a spring herbal life reset. 

If you’re ready to blossom into better health with an herbal life reset this spring, we invite you to add spring’s whimsy into your daily rituals. Let’s discuss nine ways to do just that.

9 Herbal Ways to Give Yourself a Spring Life Reset

Lighten Meals

If you feel bloated or sluggish after meals or experience elevated blood sugar levels, lighten your meals with bitter spring greens. Bitter greens encourage the digestive system to release saliva, bile, and digestive enzymes so your body can more easily break down food. This can bring balance to the body, regulate blood sugar, and make a big difference in how you feel every day. Be sure to check out our three dandelion greens recipes and our Herbal Bitters Mini Course.

Awaken Digestion

When winter is behind us and spring is here, it’s time to awaken sluggish digestion with spring tonics. Check out our Spring Bitter Tonic Tea Recipe that features dandelion root and lemon (Citrus x limon) peel. Dandelion root is a natural detoxifier, and its bitter taste helps to stimulate digestion. Lemon peel also has a strong bitter element that helps to awaken a sluggish liver and digestive system.

Make a Nourishing Infusion

Nettle is a nutrient-dense herb that supports energy levels because it addresses nutrient deficiencies that cause fatigue. It is also an alterative that can assist with skin health and overall vitality. Making a nourishing nettle infusion for energy and skin health is one way to boost nutrition and address these issues, and give yourself an herbal reset. To make a nettle infusion, simply fill a quart jar ⅓ of the way with dried nettle, pour just boiled water over the herbs to within 1 inch of the top of the jar. Cover the jar with a lid and steep overnight. In the morning, strain the herbs and consume the infusion within 24 hours.

Support Liver Detox Pathways

If you’re concerned about the pollutants, air, or water quality where you live, or simply want to support yourself in the midst of a stressful world, you can use spring herbs to support your liver’s detox pathways. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) root, nettle (Urtica dioica) leaf, and burdock (Arctium lappa) root are a few herbs that can help protect and support your liver and also promote liver detoxification. This Love Your Liver Herbal Tincture Recipe is one easy way to help support healthy liver function.

Forage Spring Plants

Another way to give your body a spring reset is by foraging for spring plants that offer fresh nutrients that support more body balance and overall well-being. Not only that, but they also support the body in other ways listed below. A few spring herbs that are likely growing near you are:

• Violets (Viola sororia) – Violet blossoms are loved for making jelly, syrup, and adding the blossoms to salads. They can also be used for scratchy throats, tickly coughs, and stomachaches. 
• Chickweed (Stellaria media) – Chickweed is great to add to salads, use as a sandwich topping, or as the star herb in Chickweed Pesto. Topically, a chickweed poultice is the perfect choice for itchy skin or rashes.
• Cleavers (Galium aparine) – Cleavers are great as a spring tonic when our bodies are sluggish from a long winter. They support the body in two ways. As an alterative, they gradually restore proper function in the blood system, and as a lymphatic, they stimulate the lymphatic system. Externally, cleavers can be used for eczema, burns, and various skin disorders.

Plant Spring Herbs

Adding spring plants to your garden is the perfect opportunity to freshen your garden bed with plants that thrive in the warming soil. It’s also an opportunity to get to know plants that you may not have had personal experience with. Here are a few spring plants that are a great option to add to your garden for a spring life reset:

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis) – Calendula is a cheerful herb that is popularly used for scratches, wounds, and bacterial imbalances. Use it as a wash or give this Calendula Lotion Recipe a try! 
• Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) – Chamomile is much loved for its apple scent and gentleness as an herb for all ages. It’s known for its calming action and is used as a digestive aid.
• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) – With its delightful lemon fragrance, lemon balm can quickly become a family favorite herb. It aids in cases of nervous tension, anxiety, and insomnia.

Start Your Day Early

Regular exposure to early morning sunlight helps your body to align with the sun’s rhythms. Keep in mind that consistency is key! With just 15-20 minutes of morning sun exposure each day, you can reset your body’s internal clock and maintain a healthy circadian rhythm. This is a great benefit to mood and mental health, too. And feel free to sip on some herbal tea while you soak in the sun. We have many delicious tea recipes on the blog.

Embrace Movement

Our bodies become stagnant due to inactivity, stress, and environmental toxins. To reset your stagnant body, you have to get your body moving! Consider going for a short walk after each meal or jumping on a rebounder. Having a regular workout routine several days a week is a game changer. If you are having a busy day and only have a few minutes to spare, dance, move, stretch, shake, and breathe to move stagnation. You will see tremendous benefits to your body by simply moving every day. And don’t forget to utilize some of these Must-Have Herbs for Workouts. 

Journal Your Goals

When the coming of spring gives you that desire to start fresh and set new intentions, it’s helpful to sit down by a window or under a tree and journal your dreams.

• What garden goals do you have? Would you like to try something new, like perfecting the skill of starting your own seeds? Maybe you want to start raised beds or grow herbs in containers. Maybe there’s a new herb you would like to add to your garden bed, and jotting down the research for growing and caring for that herb would be helpful.
• What about your fitness goals? Consider going for a walk for at least 10 minutes after each meal. Learn to do stretches to relieve stress. Having a workout routine with weights helps to keep muscles and bones strong as we age.
• Write down any health goals you have for eating nutrient-dense foods. You can add tea and herbal infusions to your life to renew a stronger body and spirit. Think of herbs that could support any health challenges you may be having, and ways to incorporate these into your daily routine.
• What goals do you have to grow as an herbalist? Consider taking a new herbal course to grow in another area of knowledge. Dream of any goals in growing as an herbalist to support your family or maybe open your own clinical practice! Let your dreams flow with renewed purpose.

In Closing,

Every moment of life is a chance to bloom anew. We hope you are inspired to spring into action with these daily ritual suggestions for a renewed body and spirit. A new, healthier herbalist YOU is just a step away.