How to Create an Ayurvedic Daily Routine

In Ayurveda, we stress the importance of a consistent daily routine for everything from the time you wake up and the time you eat to the time you go to bed. A daily routine sets healthy biorhythms, giving the mind, body, and spirit a chance to ground, cleanse, and receive deeper nourishment. Here are some suggestions for creating daily routines that conform to Ayurvedic principles.

MORNING CLEANSING ROUTINE

Wake up at the same time every day: Keeping this precept allows your body and mind to begin your daily activities gracefully.

Drink warm water with lemon: Drinking a glass of warm water with lemon cleanses and awakens the digestive tract, hydrates the tissues, and encourages a bowel movement.

Rinse face, mouth, and eyes: A splash of cool water is soothing and rejuvenating for the face, mouth, and eyes. It brings a sense of freshness.

Scrape tongue: Use a tongue cleaner to remove the bacteria-filled coating on the tongue and to stimulate the digestive system.

Oil pull: Swishing warm sesame oil in your mouth for 5–15 minutes strengthens the teeth, gums, jaw, and voice while improving your sense of taste.

Brush teeth: Traditional Ayurvedic toothpastes contain herbs that are bitter, astringent, and soothing like neem and licorice.

Self-Enhancing Practice: Take 15–30 minutes for meditation, pranayama, yoga, journaling, prayer, or other activities that bring well-being to your spirit and mind. The more time you allow for these types of practices, the more you will benefit.

Eliminate: Practices that support a healthy digestive system include moving your bowels each morning before taking food. If you are not eliminating daily, increase your intake of fluids, fiber from whole grains, and vegetables, and take Triphala before bed nightly.

Perform Self-Massage: This is a profound practice of rejuvenation and loving self-care. Perform a self-massage with warm dosha-specific oil or a medicated oil suggested by your Ayurvedic practitioner for 15–30 minutes before bathing. Use long, rapid movements to heat the skin and increase circulation. Place a few drops of warm dosha-specific oil in each ear. Learn How

Bathe: Showering will purify the body and bring energy and alertness to your entire being. Rinsing the skin with warm water will generally suffice to remove excess oil.

Lubricate Nasal Passages: Place few drops of medicated nasya oil in the nose right after taking a warm shower.

Exercise: Thirty minutes to one hour of light exercise each day helps fuel the digestive system by creating internal heat. But keep in mind that too much exercise can be detrimental. It is best to exercise according to what is correct for your dosha. Ask your Ayurvedic practitioner what type of exercise is right for your constitution.

Eat Regular Meals: Irregular meals and excessive snacking can weaken the digestive fire. Having scheduled eating times is essential. Lunch, the most substantial meal of the day, should occur between noon and 2 p.m. This is when your digestive fire is at its strongest, and you will be able to derive the most nutrition from your meal. Favor warm, cooked, light meals in accordance with the doshas you want to balance and in keeping with the seasons.

EVENING ROUTINE

Take Triphala with Warm Water: Take one hour before sleep. Triphala is a traditional Ayurvedic formulation and is revered for its unique ability to gently cleanse and detoxify the digestive tract while replenishing, nourishing, and rejuvenating the tissues. It supports healthy elimination upon waking in the morning.

Keep a Regular Bedtime: Having a scheduled bedtime lets the body know that it’s time to wind down and recuperate.

Promote Healthy Sleep: If you want to support healthy deep sleep, consider a warm bath, a warm glass of milk with nutmeg and cardamom, or a cup of relaxing herbal tea, and apply relaxing essential oils to your skin. It is best to stay away from stimulating conversations, TV, or music an hour before sleep.

Daily Use of Essential Oils to Balance Doshas: The regular use of essential oils topically or internally or as a diffusion can significantly impact the balance of the doshas. Below are suggestions for oils for each dosha. Learn More

o   Vata: basil, cardamom, rosemary, frankincense, lemon, wild orange, neroli, and rose

o   Pitta: coriander, chamomile, lavender, fennel, ylang ylang, yarrow, peppermint, and jasmine

o   Kapha: bergamot, lemongrass, clary sage, grapefruit, melissa, rosewood, ginger, and black pepper

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Disclaimer
The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of Ayurveda. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease.