So I went on a retreat last month to Wolfe Island near Kingston. It was a women’s retreat in honour of Mother’s Day and the topic for the weekend was Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word and it has two roots: ayur, meaning life, and veda, meaning knowledge. Ayurveda is about balance, relatedness, lifelong learning and daily self care.
I am always up for learning new things, especially about living a more fun, healthy, and connected life, so I was excited for my three days of rejuvenation, rest, learning and spending time with an awesome group of people.
According to Ayurveda practices, there are three pillars of health:
- Nourishment (Ahara) – Food, Air, Company, Essence/ Spirit
- Sleep (Nidra)
- Management of Vital energy.
The foundation is that when we feel good, we look good (no matter what our age). Feeling good requires a commitment to what we take in (in the form of food, company, sounds, sites, and self care).
The Dinacharya is a compilation of daily rituals that promote balance and vitality.
Here are some of the rituals I learned about and wanted to share:
Morning Routine:
- Wake up at 6AM (with or before the sun)
- Drink a glass of warm water (with lemon) upon waking – it hydrates the system, turns on the digestive system and is cleansing before you start filling your body with the day’s food.
- Gentle exercise – Go for a walk, stretch, do some yoga to get the blood flowing and joints moving.
- Breakfast
- Gargle warm water + sea salt – at the back of your throat
- Brush your teeth
- Eyes – pool water to rinse the eyes (open and close your eyes in the water)
- Shower
- Massage – with a natural based oil (i.e. coconut oil, raw sesame oil (not toasted), or almond oil) give your hands, arms, face and feet a gentle massage. Long strokes for the long bones and circles for the joints.
- Sweat – do some more vigourous exercise or take a sauna (just a little bit of sweat is healthy daily (especially in your arm pits and low back).
- Ears – put a little pit of the natural oils in your ears.
Mid-day Routine
- Make lunch the largest meal
- Try a romantic meal with yourself now and then – relate to the food (what it looks like, where it came from, the texture)
- Calm environment
- Company is enjoyable
- Rest a little bit after lunch
- Lie on your left side for a few minutes to promote digestion
Evening Routine
- Supper – Light and early
- Rest on Left Side after eating for a few minutes
- Go for an evening walk
- Sleep “hygiene”/ pre-bed routine
- build in some rituals that you do before bed to prepare you for sleep.
- Some ideas are: light some candles, sip a cup of herbal tea for a few minutes alone, give yourself a foot massage, take a shower. What ever works for you.
- Be in bed by 10pm.
I am sure you are thinking, I do not have time to do all of these things. Things move fast and I have a million things I want to do. It is harder now with how fast things move. The instructor reminded us that we did not need to do everything, but just to pick a few rituals that we can do and carve out a little time for such self-care. It is also helpful to know them in the back of your head – maybe they will un-expectantly influence a decision or guide you on which “way” to lie on the couch (i.e. left after a meal).
