Move over New Year…why i’m setting spring intentions instead…
I recently attended a ‘spring equinox’ yoga retreat afternoon run by the wonderful Nicola at Serenity Health & Wellness and it got me thinking about new beginnings and new intentions for this year.
In January, we are urged to make ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ however these have never felt right with me and I would say 99.9% of them have fallen by the wayside by the end of the month (with the exception of ‘visiting a British island every year’ - I’ve stuck to that for at least 5 years!). Perhaps this is because in terms of nature, January really isn’t the time for new starts. It’s cold, dark, we just want to rest and hibernate. Perhaps the shift should be towards the spring equinox, falling on the 20th March this year, a day where day and night, dark and light are equal. Traditionally the time of new life, new beginnings, spring cleaning, sunshine, bird song and growth. I certainly feel more energised with increased sunlight and warmth and far more ready to take on a new challenge!
So, what is the spring equinox? The spring equinox marks the point in time when the sun sits directly over the Earth's equator as it heads northward leading to more or less equal sun rays hitting both the northern and southern hemispheres. Steeped in tradition, hundreds of people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate and at Mexico’s El Castillo, among the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, even more people assemble on the same date to see the sun make shadows that look like a snake slithering down the pyramid steps.
With all this celebration of new beginnings, it seems more logincal to me to set a ‘spring equinox’ intention for the year ahead.
So, if your New Year’s Resolutions have been long forgotten, perhaps spring is a time for a second chance at what it was you wanted to do, or not do!
For me, I want to try and eat more seasonally and try to widen my children’s limited menu - if you have any tips on this, please do leave me a comment!
March/April is often called ‘the hungry gap’ by farmers as traditionally this is the time when winter crops have finished but spring/summers’ crops aren’t ready. However, we don’t rely solely on foraged or seasonal food nowadays so luckily we aren’t going to need to survive on cabbage and old potatoes! If you do want to add more seasonal produce to your diet however, look out for the emergence of wild garlic (or around me few flowered leeks). Best picked in late March and through April when the leaves are tender and bright green, they can be whizzed up in to no end of receipes. I love to blend them with butter, bung in the freezer and then plop in to risottos or on to steak through0ut the year. I’m going to try this recipe from the Woodland trust, mix with pasta and hope my children eat it….hulk pasta right!??
Other wild food you could try at this time are young nettles (again great in pesto or could make soup!), gorse flowers (apparently tastes like coconut, yet to try that one!) and of course dandelions which are peppery and add a real punch to a salad.
If you’re a gardener, you may be harvesting the tail end of winter staples like purple sprouting broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and kale or, if you’re like me, i’ve subscribed to a seasonal organic veg box and which takes the gardening and guess work out!
Unlike in January where the weather and daylight hours were not inspiring, I feel ready to really work at my intention of eating more seasonally and trying to engage my family in this too.
Did your NY resolutions fall by the wayside? Are you going to try a spring equinox intention instead? Would love to know your thoughts! Leave me a comment below :)
Kitty x
