Ayurvedic Morning Routines
One of the keys to good health and feeling energized all day long is living in tune with nature’s cycles. That means rising and setting with the sun.
While this is often difficult in our Western culture, there are routines (dinacharya) that can help. These routines support meditation, yoga, and everything you do throughout the day.
The key to staying balanced in summer is keeping cool and not allowing the pitta dosha to become aggravated. These five practices are great for staying balanced in summer.
Wake-up Before Sunrise: The predawn hours are dominated by the vata dosha, a subtle energy that actually makes it easier to get out of bed. Waking before sunrise fills you with vibrant energy for the rest of the day. If you wake up after sunrise, you’re in kapha dominate time and likely to feel sluggish. Ideal wake-up times: Vata = 6:00 am; Pitta = 5:30 am; Kapha = 4:30 am.
Cleanse: There is a practice called tongue scrapping, to remove the coating that appears overnight which contains ama (toxins). Do this before brushing your teeth. After doing this for a week you may even notice fresher breath after sleeping.
Drink Warm Lemon Water: Before you brush your teeth, eat, or drink coffee, mix the juice of half a lemon in a cup of warm water (optional to add a pinch of rock salt and ½ teaspoon of honey). This flushes the kidneys and GI tract, AND boosts your metabolism.
Breathe: Relaxation and quiet time are needed to replenish your ojas, (energy reserves), so make time to give your senses a rest. A great way to do this is spending a few minutes doing Nadi Shodana (alternate nostril breathing). This cleansing breath calms the nervous system and opens and balances the the energy channel that quiets and steadies the mind.
Move Your Body: Do some gentle yoga, nothing strenuous. Poses include: fish, camel, boat, cobra, cow, tadasana, and moon salutation.
Try incorporating one or two of these practices into your morning routine and after a week, check in to see how you feel. If Ayurveda is new to you and you would like to learn more about this 5,000 year old health system, connect with me below.