5 Signs you need a cleanse

Feeling sluggish, bloated, or stuck in old habits? Discover 5 signs it’s time for an Ayurvedic cleanse to reset digestion, energy, and seasonal balance.

Season after season, our bodies collect more than just memories.

We gather habits, foods, stress, and emotions that don’t always serve us. Ayurveda teaches us that health is about balance—when digestion (agni) is strong, the tissues (dhatus) are nourished, and the waste moves out with ease, we feel light, energized, and grounded. But when things pile up, our system sends signals that it’s time to pause, simplify, and reset.

Here are five signs your body is asking for a cleanse, and how an Ayurvedic seasonal reset can bring you back into balance.

1. Your Digestion Feels Sluggish

If bloating, constipation, heartburn, or heaviness after meals have become your new normal, your digestive fire (agni) might be struggling. According to Ayurveda, weak agni leads to the buildup of toxins (ama), which clog the channels and weigh down the system. A cleanse simplifies meals, often with nourishing kitchari, to give digestion a break while strengthening agni. Think of it as rebooting your gut with warm, spiced, easy-to-digest foods.

2. You’re Craving Stimulation (and Feeling Exhausted Anyway)

Late-night scrolling, endless coffee refills, or snacking out of boredom are often signs your body is seeking energy in all the wrong places. Ayurveda views this as a sign of imbalance in the nervous system—too much input, not enough grounding. During a cleanse, we step away from overstimulation and lean into practices like abhyanga (oil massage), sipping warm water throughout the day, and getting to bed earlier. This restores calm energy and helps us remember what true vitality feels like.

3. Your Skin, Sleep, or Mood is Off

Skin breakouts, restless nights, or mood swings are messages from within. When toxins linger, they don’t just clog digestion—they show up in the skin, disturb sleep, and affect the mind. Cleansing clears the backlog and supports deeper rest. Many people notice glowing skin and calmer moods just a few days into a kitchari reset. It’s not magic, it’s simply the body remembering how good it feels to run on clean fuel.

4. You’re Overwhelmed or Stuck in Old Habits

Sometimes the sign isn’t physical at all—it’s mental. Feeling foggy, uninspired, or stuck in cycles of overeating, sugar cravings, or stress eating are clear indicators it’s time to clear space. A cleanse provides structure and rhythm: three meals a day, no snacking, daily rituals like tongue scraping and sipping hot water. This rhythm retrains both the body and mind, reminding us that simplicity can feel incredibly liberating.

5. Seasonal Shifts Throw You Off Balance

In Ayurveda, each season has qualities that affect our health. Fall’s dryness can trigger constipation, anxiety, or joint pain. Spring’s damp heaviness can create congestion, brain fog, and sluggish energy. Seasonal cleansing isn’t about deprivation—it’s about aligning your body with nature’s rhythm. By eating seasonally appropriate foods (like warming squashes in fall and bitter greens in spring), and practicing supportive routines, you’re giving your system a reset exactly when it needs it most.

Why Cleansing Works

An Ayurvedic cleanse isn’t a fad juice fast or a crash diet. It’s a mindful practice of simplifying meals, resting more, and tuning in. By focusing on kitchari—a traditional dish of rice, mung beans, and digestive spices—you nourish while you cleanse. Add in daily routines like abhyanga, sipping herbal teas, journaling, and reducing screens after 8pm, and you’ve created the conditions for deep renewal.

When we honor these signs and step into a seasonal reset, we’re not just helping the body digest food better—we’re supporting the digestion of life itself.

Ready to Reset?

If any of these signs sound familiar, it may be your body asking for a pause. Seasonal cleanses are your opportunity to slow down, clear out, and reconnect with yourself. When you simplify, you make space for energy, clarity, and joy to flow back in.

Curious to try? Join me for my Ayurvedic Seasonal Cleanse, where we walk through each step together, from pre-cleanse prep to reintegration. You’ll get recipes, daily routines, and live support to keep you grounded and inspired.