Ritu Sandhi, also seen written in English as Rtu Sandhi and Rutu Sandhi, is the juncture between two seasons, or the transition between two seasons. Ritu means "season", and Sandhi means "junction or meeting place".
Much like the Pushmi-Pullyu in Dr. Dolittle, that divine creature that looks like the front halves of two llamas glued together, during Ritu Sandhi, neither season is pulling in the same direction.
Right now, the Kapha season of Spring wants to keep us in its wet, cold, heavy qualities, while the Pitta season of Spring is pulling us towards its hot, active, light qualities. What are we to do when being pulled in these often opposite directions?
This is a time of year when Svadhyaha, or Self-Study, becomes especially important. Depending on our unique constitution, a day, or even an hour, during rtu sandhi can feel balancing or imbalancing depending on the qualities at play. Start to pay even greater attention to what you're feeling and use one of our three tenets of Ayurveda - BALANCE WITH OPPOSITES - to your advantage.
For instance, if you're feeling cold in the body or sluggish or foggy in the mind, recognize that this is Kapha doubling down here at the end of her season. Bring in some Pitta qualities to balance. Get in a workout or take a brisk walk to warm yourself up, raise your heartrate, and get some more blood to your brain. Or use a sauna or take a hot bath if you're cold but need to relax.
Alternatively, if you find yourself getting overheated in the body or the emotions (irritation, aggravation), find ways to cool and slow down which are both qualities of Kapha. Take a slow walk and stop and smell the roses and pet every dog you see. Or set a 15 min timer and do Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall yoga pose), perhaps with a cool cloth over your eyes.
Knowing that we're moving into the transition of Spring to Summer will increase your awareness of the interplay of Kapha and Pitta in your life. Stay observant and lean on your self-study as you find ways to balance this interplay for your own body-mind-energy system.
xox Jewel