According to Ayurveda the choices that you make regarding your daily routine either build up resistance to disease or tear it down. This is why Ayurveda calls for getting a jump-start on the day by focusing on morning rituals that work to align the body with nature’s rhythms, balance the doshas and foster self-esteem alongside self-discipline. Even a few minutes a day can create the shifts needed to maintain balance. And morning matters: what happens at the start of each day can set the tone for all that follows. Checkout these simple Ayurvedic practices known to encourage overall harmony in mind, body, and spirit.
7 Everyday Wellness Practices
Start with Gratitude
Before you even get out of bed, take a moment to appreciate all you have. Gratitude delivers us to a place of grace, honoring what is present right now in our lives, rather than living in the future or past.
Drink Warm Water with Lemon
Prepare a glass of water and add the juice from 1/2 a lemon (and raw honey if you wish). Sipping this elixir encourages detoxification and can regulate bowel movements without the use of caffeine (which creates GI dependency).
Scrape Your Tongue
Add tongue-scraping to your tooth-brushing routine. After brushing as usual, use a metal tongue scraper or the back of a spoon to remove toxins, bacteria, and other debris from the tongue. Scraping the tongue also stimulates the digestive system and can reduce bad breath.
Oil Pull
After brushing and scraping, gargle your mouth with coconut oil, an ancient practice known now as oil-pulling. Take a teaspoon-sized about of and swish the oil around your mouth for a few minutes. Be careful not to swallow it; it will be full of toxins! Spit it out (not down the sink) and gently massage your gums with your finger.
Get Moving: Part One
By now your bowels are hopefully ready to release. Be sure not to multitask from the toilet as this draws energy away from the movement at hand. The practice of drinking warm water with lemon and maintaining a morning bathroom routine will help encourage regularity allowing you to feel light (physically, mentally, and emotionally) throughout the day.
Get Moving: Part Two
Daily movement, especially activities such as yoga and walking, can help relax your mind, encourage sounder sleep and increase your flexibility. Try scheduling exercise in the morning to start your day right and help your mind and body feel refreshed and clear.
Give Yourself A Massage (Abhyangha)
Heat some olive or coconut oil and massage into your face, neck, ears, and upper and lower body. Then, sit peacefully for 15 minutes and allow the oil to soak into your body (you can be oil-pulling during this time) before taking a shower. The oil will penetrate into deeper layers of your skin, calming your nervous system and keeping you centered for the rest of the day. In the evening, you can repeat the oil massage or apply some oil to the soles of your feet before bed.
Daily morning routines are more than just self-care tasks. Performed regularly they become rituals—a way to stay connected to what’s sacred and use it to create the foundation of each new day.
