Ayurveda promotes a balanced and healthy lifestyle that results in a healthy and disease-free body. The best lifestyle we can choose is to live in harmony with nature, which means balancing the inner nature and adapting to the changing environment.
Ayurvedic lifestyle is a holistic one. It talks about developing healthy eating habits and some daily good habits. Following a daily regimen is essential for maintaining good health and creating a balance between the mind, body and consciousness.
According to Ayurveda, we should perform daily rituals at the same time every day. This not only creates a balance in the constitution but also regulates the biological clock, leads to efficient digestion process, thereby increasing self-confidence, peacefulness, and happiness.
Wake up early
Ayurveda suggests waking up before sunrise. At sunrise, the atmosphere is laden with sattvic (pure) qualities in nature that bring peace of mind and freshness to our senses. While Vata people should wake at 6 am, Pitta people should rise at 5:30 am, and Kapha by 4:30 am. After waking up, look at your palms for a few seconds then gently move them over your face and chest, till your waist. This cleans the aura.
Start the day with a prayer
Before leaving the bed, say a little prayer or meditate for a little while. This will help you to meet the challenges of the day without any stress or tension.
Clean your face, mouth, and eyes
Wash your face and eyes with cold water and rinse your mouth. Do a little eye exercise—it will take a couple of minutes. Massage the eyelids gently and blink your eyes a few times. Rotate your eyeballs in clockwise and anti-clockwise. You can use eyewash too.
Clean your tongue
Cleaning your tongue is an important part of your daily hygiene. A clean tongue helps you to be healthy. To clean the tongue you need a special device, but you can also do it with a spoon. You can also clean your teeth and mouth with warm sesame oil twice a day.
Drink water
Now is the time to drink a glass of room temperature water. If you keep water at night in a pure copper cup and drink this water in the morning, it has immense health benefits. It washes the gastrointestinal tract, flushes the kidneys, and stimulates peristalsis. Avoid having tea or coffee in the morning. It drains the energy out from your kidney and stresses the adrenals, causing constipation.
Nasal drops (nasya)
If you put 3 to 5 drops of warm ghee or oil into each nostril in the morning, it helps to lubricate the nose, clean the sinuses, and clear the throat and vision. Since our nose is the door to the brain, nose drops nourish prana and bring clarity to our mind.
Oil your head and body (abhyanga)
Massage a little warm oil on your head and body before taking shower. Daily oil massage of the scalp makes you stress free. It prevents headache, baldness, greying, and receding hairline. Oiling your body before bedtime will help induce sound sleep. Vata people can use warm sesame oil. Pitta can use warm coconut oil, and Kapha can use warm mustard or sesame oil.
Take a morning shower
Taking shower in the morning not only cleanse your body but refreshes you. It removes fatigue and induces energy to the body, mind, and soul.
Yoga and meditation
Regular habit of yoga improves blood circulation and gives energy. It will make you relaxed and induce sound sleep. Besides many health benefits, yoga improves digestion and elimination. Every day do Pranayama as well. Meditation brings balance and peace in your life.
Breakfast
Your breakfast should be light, which should be nutritious and warm.
Lunch
Take out more time for lunch and eat slowly. Your lunch should be the biggest meal. Choose your food as per your dosha and don‘t drink water during meals.
Dinner
Your last meal should be before sunset. Don‘t watch TV, read book, or talk on phone while eating. You will not be able to draw nourishment from the food.
Bedtime
Go to bed latest by 10 pm. Before going to sleep spend a few minutes for a prayer or read something spiritual. Drink a glass of warm milk with ginger, turmeric or cardamom. You can also drink warm milk to get relaxed and fall asleep quicker.
