The body loves simplicity, the soul loves celebrating.

It is about to be Easter, a jovial spring time celebration honoring the resurrection of Jesus and the miracle of life. Celebrations are amazing in that they feed our soul. There is a feeling of connection, joy and gratitude in the air that our souls thrive on.

Thinking back to my childhood when I was embedded in a society dictated by Christian holidays (Germany if you are curious) Easter was one of those occasions, where my extended family got together. It would look something like this: Visit church in the morning, followed by an elaborate feast at lunch, easter egg hunt and afternoon coffee and desserts. Yummy!  My Mom would cook a luxurious meal, and a couple of cakes, just in case we run out. Auntie Sue would bring her legendary apple pie, and grandma would match that with her version of a dessert. All was thoughtful and lovely. And like with any other feast, there was always the danger of stuffing yourself.

Time to Prepare

Once upon a time, Lent preceded Easter. Well, actually, it still does. It’s just that hardly anyone follows this ritual anymore. Lent is the time period 40 days before Easter. It is a time of fasting, repentance and preparation for the coming celebration. It is a time of self-examination, reflection and going without.

Today Easter seems to be a standalone celebration for most of us. A time of abundance is followed by more time of abundance. The body doesn’t like that. The body thrives on the principle of ‘less is more’ NOT more is better. Undereating, in fact, is a way to stay younger longer. Simplicity allows the body to rejuvenate and rest. It allows the digestive fire to burn strong and your energy to be high. Living daily life simply allows us to enjoy celebrations more deeply.

Both simplicity and celebration play an important role in our health. Celebration feeds the soul, simplicity honors the body. We need both, ideally in pulsation.

The question then arises how can you feast and honor your body at the same time?

Ideally, we would honor Lent and go without or at least with little for 40 days. That way we prep our body for the big meal to come.

Dang, you might think, I  missed it this year. Not to worry, it’s not too late yet. You still got a few days to prep yourself. Here are three simple strategies how you can get ready in the remaining days:

3 Strategies to Prepare for the Easter Feast

Strategy 1: Simplify

Turn towards a mega simplified meal plan to give your body and digestive system a rest.

• Eat the same for lunch and dinner.
• Make one pots meals like soups or kitchari.
• Simplify your food combinations. Ditch the carb-protein-veggie obsession and eat either carb + veggie, or protein+veggie.
• Reduce the quantity you eat.

All those are strategies to make it easier on your digestive system and allow your agni (digestive fire) to come to full bloom. We want that when we are celebrating as it helps us to digest a big Easter meal, enjoy Aunt Mary’s homemade pie and still leave room for Aunt Sue’s cake.

Big meal + weak digestive fire = digestive issues and sad face

Big meal + strong digestive fire = happy face

Strategy 2: Intermittent fasting

For the remaining days till Easter, or at least the day before, practice intermittent fasting. This may be a little more of a hardcore approach but very rewarding.

Intermittent fasting refers to an eating pattern where you refrain from taking solid food for at least 16 hours. Either have dinner early, skip dinner altogether or switch to a two meals/day approach.

For example:

• If you eat dinner at 5 pm, kitchen closed after that, and have nothing else but water until 9 am, that is a 16 hour gap. So you could have meals at 9 am, 1 pm and 5pm.
• If you have strong constitution,  you could have meals at 9 am and 1 pm and skip dinner. That gives you a gap of 20 hours.
• Alternatively you could also have two meals per day say at 10 am and 4 pm.

The effect of intermittent fasting is similar to strategy 1 but more profound.  Your energy levels will be higher, you will feel lighter and more clear. Also if you struggle with weight, and celebrations are contributing to your weight gain, intermittent fasting is the way to go. Less is more.

Strategy 3: Poop like a champ

On the day of Easter drink a ton of hot water upon arising. Start with 8-16 oz. Stay relaxed but drink it in a short time frame, say 3-5 min. The water will digest within 15 min and move into your intestines where it will apply pressure against the intestinal walls. This will jumpstart peristalsis and make you poop. If 16 oz wasn’t enough, drink more hot water.

Getting a full 18 inch bowel movement will make you feel so good. It feels like emptying the overflowing trash can in your kitchen. An empty body has more room for the goodies your family and friends have prepared.

Plan Ahead for Next Year

Oh and before I let you enjoy this year’s celebration, one last thing…..let’s prep for next year:

Pull out your calendar. Yep that’s right. Stop reading and pull out your calendar.

• Add Easter to your calendar: April 1, 2018
• Add Ash Wednesday: February 14, 2018

The time between Ash Wednesday and Easter is Lent and your time to go without. Plan for it today so you can be successful tomorrow.

Now you are ready for a Happy Easter, not only in soul but body too.

Happy celebrating! Happy Easter egg hunting!

Holidays and traditions allude to what our ancestors thought would be important for us to remember. These are their visions and values and by understanding them we can get a stronger connection to our roots.  Even if we do not embrace these beliefs in the same way our ancestors did we can still learn from these clues that were left for us.

Tradition and rituals are like habits. They are grounding.They mark the passing of the years. Why is this important? Without these markers, each day becomes the same without any real natural stop and start to each new season or phase of our lives. Our ancestors were more tied to the changing of the seasons and their ancient religious and secular holidays celebrate these changes. Holidays and rituals redefine the focus and activities for the different seasons of the year.

With Easter and Passover we are celebrating a rebirth and a rescue that began a new phase for both of these traditions.This reflects the idea of spring and rebirth. Even as the traditions remain the same every year, our role in these rituals changes and evolves. We go from hunting for the Afikomen (a piece of matzo from Passover) or Easter eggs, to being “too old” for these “little kid activities.” Years later we have fun being the ones doing the hiding so we can observe the joy in our children when they find them. Although these traditions may be consistent year after year, they are always changing for us because we are changing too.

We Come Together to Celebrate

Seasonal celebrations often bring people together.  No matter what else is going on, families tend to stop all other activities and come together around the holidays and traditions. Even those who dread coming back to the “same old traditions” can often find connections.

In addition to religious traditions, there are the family stories and memories that are associated with these seasonal holidays that can remind us of how we used to enjoy things as a child. Maybe it was hunting for Easter eggs or looking for the Afikomen after a Passover meal. We can get insight into how we were as children. How we remember feeling as we discovered something hidden or found  something new. We can reclaim a sense of wonder and joy we may have lost and forgotten. It’s like a clue to help us rediscover our Prakruti.

The More We Change, The More We Are The Same

Sometimes we are reminded of how much we have grown and changed and gotten beyond family conflicts or issues (or not). The holidays are goal posts marking our journey through the years. Whether we dread them or look forward to them they are great places to stop and smell the roses. Or just to stop and see if we can make this holiday a little more festive.

Using the habits we have developed around self-care and meditation, we can remain mentally stable during difficult times at holiday gatherings. When we are focused on our habits, it can be easier to navigate through difficult gatherings. Our habits can also release us from the burden of having everything perfect and missing the joy of the occasion because something did not go the way you expected. 

Traditions pass on the things our ancestors thought would be important for us to remember in order to keep connection to our true values.

This season take a look at what you choose to celebrate and remember:

1. Stick to your regular routine as closely as possible. Even when traveling, stick to your routine to keep you grounded.
2. Look past some of the things you might not enjoy and try to focus on why you are celebrating the occasion. Keep your mind on the why when things are challenging.
3. Connect with those celebrating with you. Holidays are a time of creating new memories and traditions. You never know when you may be creating a memory or a tradition you may want carried on into the future.
4. Use challenging situations as ways to practice acceptance. Practice acceptance not only of others, but of your own needs.