A Spring Ramadan

I love the changing seasons of the month of Ramadan. As the years go by we are blessed to experience this sacred month in all the seasons here in the UK.

Last year Ramadan was in winter. Just like a cave of stillness, I felt it was the perfect season for this month of deep connection to the Divine. The slow, dark and cold energy of the feminine aspect is one of “being”, receiving and total surrender to the cosmic forces. It felt easy to retreat into solitude to engage in pondering, self-correction and taffakur of the stories in the great and miraculous Quran.

I reflect upon the coming energy of Spring and Ramadan and it still feels perfect, SubhanAllah.

The transitition from winter to Spring is like the Quran: it is the sacred bridge from darkness to light. As Spring approaches we yearn for movement, light and warmth and nature does not dissapoint as it brings forth the energy of a gentle expansion, inviting us to remove the layers of heavy stagnation and allow the vital Qi (energy) to flow freely, stretching towards the seven heavens. By early Spring, the spirit yearns for a clearing, a gentle cleansing to make space for new beginnings and deep rooted growth. Does that not feel like a metophor for the Quran itself ? Our connection with Allah swt and the words in the Quran are the guidance that brings us from darkness to light, from the physical world to the universe of possibilities and from stagnation to the Straight Path.

My preparation for Ramadan , like previous years has been minimal in terms of food and signing up to things. It feels like fomo when I see all the courses going on- what if I miss something important ? The feeling is only fleeting as I remember the Source of all knowledge is Allah. Minimising external learning is what brings me to inner peace and tranquility – enough to cultivate the stillness needed I need to strive to connect directly with my Creator, as we are asked to do all over the Quran. Instead I walk slowly in nature, I ground in the Earth, I consciously breathe. I choose words or stories in the Quran to focus on for days, I observe patterns. That is my prep – and it continues deeper in the sacred month.

My mind never turns to preparing food- it seems bizarre that a tradition has arisen around food obsession in a a month designed to remove sensory distraction. The heavy foods of traditional iftars, the over indulgence is all counter to the energy of cleansing the mind,body and spirit for 30 days and so this year I felt it would be wonderful to connect the physical aspect of fasting ( ie the detoxification and cleansing of the body) with the gentle and light season of Spring

In Chinese medicine Spring is the season of the Liver.

Whether you resonate or not with this system, anything that improves the health and vitality of the liver is a good thing. The Liver governs not only the smooth flow of qi( energy) and blood but also our capacity to metabolise emotions. The liver is the holder of anger and resentment and is the one of the most important organs to work on for women in Perimenopause too!

This Spring Ramadan, how can we support the body to cleanse and become a clearer vessel to aid in our spiritual practice? How can we clear resentment, soften resistance, and align with life’s natural rhythm? Of course we immerse in all the traditional rituals but simple, intentional practices like movement,being in nature, breathwork, journaling, or even deep, restorative rest can help dissolve emotional stagnation and clear the liver and blood to enhance our practice of salah, charity and remembrance.

Spring Food

Try to eat seasonal foods, if possible local, bought from farmers markets Green leafy foods are good for the liver and are at their most nutrient packed in Spring. Unlike the Winter recommended dark greens aim for lighter green leaves such as spinach and chard. You can also increase pungent, sweet or bitter foods.
• Fresh fruits such as, apricots, figs, grapes, pineapples, plums, apples, cherries, dates bananas.
• Beans such as, kidney beans, fava beans, adzuki beans, yellow soybeans.
• High quality fish and meat
• Nuts and seeds such as, sesame seeds and oil including black sesame seed which tones up
the liver, sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, chestnuts, coconuts and walnuts.
• Use pungent cooking herbs such as garlic, ginger, chives,basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, turmeric, coriander, dill, and bay leaf.
• Spring is the best time for major cleansing, drinking nourishing liquids such as fruit and
vegetable juices for a period of 5-10 days.
• Limit salty foods such as processed foods, soy sauce, and sodium-rich meats and avoid too many heavy
foods, which clog up the liver.
• Teas such as Lavender, Lime Tree Flowers, Milk Thistle and Dandelion.
• Fresh vegetables such as, cabbage, carrots,celery, potato, pumpkin, radish leaf, shiitakemushrooms, string beans, sweet potato, lettuce,onions, beetroot, young beets, chard, cucumber aubergines, squash, yam.
• Increase raw and sprouted foods. Most seeds, grains,peas, beans and some nuts will sprout. You can use alfalfa seeds alone or mix several kinds together

As with all foods, each human is unique and only use what is good for your constitution

Spring Movement

Get outside! Enjoy the environment around you gearing up for Spring. Take walks in nature.
Start to bring in exercises that builds strength and endurance. Moderate movement is very beneficial in Ramadan and body tapping and massage exercise for the Liver and Gall Bladder is excellent way of moving without moving:)

Other more internal practices such as yoga, tai chi or Somatic movement and block therapy will help nourish you with your own vital energy as well as stretching your muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

Spring Emotional Cleanse

Anger in TCM is considered to represent resentment, frustration, and irritability. An excess of rich blood is believed to make one prone to anger, and can affect the liver, causing this organ’s energy to rise to the
head and result in headaches or dizziness. spring is a good season to work on these deepy repressed emotions. This Tazkiyah and self correction can be linked to all the spiritual work in Ramadan: contemplating over the Quranic stories, dhikr, culivating khushu and sabr.
Digging deeper into your shadow, your inner world you could contemplate over these questions:
What recurring patterns keep knocking at your door, asking to be seen? What emotions tend to dominate your inner landscape, steering your experience more often than you’d like?

Here are 3 quick and easy Spring routines for this Ramadan

• Try to release negative emotions from your liver
• Stretch every day
• Take breaks when looking at a computer monitor for long periods of time

In the same way that spring breathes life into the earth, the Quran invites us to breathe life into our own journeys. Calling us to connect with Our Rabb , to rise, to stretch, and to bloom—not just for ourselves, but for the world around us as khalifah and witnesses.

Wishing you all a blessed and fruitful Ramadan. May Allah swt guide us all onto the path that is Truth. Ameen

Warm Salaams

Afsha@Bloom