Most ancient cultures had the idea that the natural world, and even the planets floating around the heavens, existed in a state of harmony. Plato referred to the ‘music of the spheres’ and taught that, “rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful.”
If all the different aspects of nature seem to be working in harmony, why do we as humans often seem so out of sync, with ourselves and with others? Why do we have war, poverty, drug addiction and disease?
Ayurveda would say that the root of these problems lies in a lack of balance, and that balance could be individual or collective.
Ayurveda talks about health and general physical and mental wellbeing as the result of the right balance between different elements in our mind and body. It also talks about the importance being in balance with our environment and its natural cycles.
We are like a river not a statue
Ayurveda sees our body as more like a river than a statue, where no part is static or fixed. Almost all the molecules that make up our present body will have disappeared in a year from now. They will be replaced by molecules we absorb from our environment through eating, drinking and breathing.
Every day our biochemistry is changed by our food and drink, by the work we do, by our interactions with others, by the TV we watch and by what we read and listen to.
Depending on whether we have a stressful or harmonious encounter, our body’s immune system will weaken or strengthen. Our biochemistry is in constant flux.
How we interact with the daily and seasonal rhythms or cycles of nature also has a huge impact on our health, according to Ayurveda.
Early to bed, early to rise
The two sections of Ayurveda that deal with our relationship with these cycles are called Dinacharya, or daily routines and Ritucharya, or seasonal routines.
In Dinacharya, getting to bed early (by 10pm) and getting up early (by 6am) is considered a key element for good health.
One famous Ayurvedic doctor called Triguna gave a lecture I attended. At one point in his talk he said that he would tell us the three key factors that would make the most difference to our health.
Everyone was suddenly alert to hear what these keys to health would be. He started off by saying, “Go to bed early”. Then he went on to say, “Go to bed early”, and he finished by saying, “Go to bed early”.
We all laughed, but he had made a serious point that stuck with me ever since. We have the saying, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”, and there is research to show that every hour of sleep before midnight is equal to at least two hours after midnight.
Don’t get too little too late, or too much too late
Sleep is a highly important part of your daily routine and having the right amount of it is essential. Research has found that your chances of having a heart attack go up by 45% if you sleep less than five hours a night.
A study that restricted their subjects to four hours sleep a night experienced eight hours of elevated blood pressure the next day.
Having too much sleep can also be unhealthy and your chances of having a heart attack go up by 38% if you sleep more than nine hours a night.
When you get either too much sleep or too little sleep, in both cases you are out of harmony with the natural circadian rhythm.
Your body loves regular routines
Those who work shifts are at a much higher risk of heart attack as compared to people whose waking and sleeping hours are more normal. If your shifts change frequently, or if you find yourself often sleeping during the day, both can be quite damaging to your health.
The hormone melatonin tells the whole body to shift from active daytime mode into the healing night-time mode. Melatonin is secreted only in total darkness and such darkness is difficult to achieve if you sleep beyond 6am.
How do you feel upon rising?
Do you feel fresh and alert when you wake in the morning? Or do you feel dull, heavy and lethargic?
When you feel well rested in the morning you have the energy and the freshness to have a productive and enjoyable day. When you have had a poor night’s rest, that fog of tiredness can ruin your day.
How you feel upon waking will have a lot to do with:
- how long you slept. Did you get a good 7-8 hours?
- the quality of your sleep. Was sleep disturbed and did you often wake up in the night?
- how much food you ate in the evening. Did you eat a heavy meal the evening before and did you eat late?
What can help you feel fresher in the morning:
- From late afternoon onwards, avoid drinking caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, soft caffeinated drinks).
- Eat a light meal, such as soup and toast, early in the evening and don’t snack just before bed. Your body needs to use its energy rejuvenating itself rather than spending the night digesting food.
- Don’t over-excite yourself by strong exercise or watching thrillers before going to bed.
- Go to bed and lights out before 10pm, or at the latest before 11pm.
- Avoid having mobile phones and electrical appliances close to your bed (especially close to your head).
- Make sure there is sufficient darkness in your bedroom at night so that melatonin can be created.
- Try to ensure there is as little external noise as possible. Even if you sleep during the noise, studies have found that noise can affect the quality of the rest to get.
- Try Maharishi Ayurveda’s Blissful Sleep range. These herbal formulas are especially designed to promote good sleep.
- Practice of Transcendental Meditation twice a day for 20 minutes has been shown to help with insomnia and with the quality of sleep.
Once you are up and about…
Following is an Ayurvedic morning routine that will help get you in tune with yourself and with nature:
- Get up before 6am in the morning.
- Empty your bowel and urinate.
- Wash your face in cold or lukewarm water and pay special attention to your eyes.
- Brush your teeth – Ayurdent ‘Classic’ Toothpaste is highly recommended.
- Scrape your tongue to remove metabolic waste or ama (you don’t want to swallow and re-absorb the waste your body has eliminated during the night) – for this you can purchase a specially designed tongue scraper.
- Rinse your mouth.
- Gargle with Ripened Organic Cold Pressed Sesame Oil (sometimes called “pulling”) and swill the oil around your mouth. Swilling is said to strengthen your gums and teeth. Gargling is said to purify your sense of taste, deepen your voice and even prevent flabbiness in your face. It is also said to increase your metabolism and in this way it helps detoxify your whole body and improves your digestion.
- Drink a cup of filtered or bottled warm or hot water – avoid chlorinated water, as chlorine is a strong toxin and can promote internal inflammation.
- Perform abhyanga (warm ayurvedic oil massage). Abhyanga is highly praised by Ayurveda and one of the key health habits you can adopt. It is best done using Ripened Organic Cold Pressed Sesame Oil. Warm the oil to about body temperature. Then apply using long stoke on your long bones and circular strokes around your joints. For those with a Pitta or hot constitution, Organic Coconut Oil is recommended.
- After applying the oil, it’s best to wait an additional 10-15 minutes for the oil to soak in between your massage and having a bath. While you are waiting you can shave, floss your teeth, or start some Yoga exercises.
- Bathe or shower using warm rather than hot water.
- Perform Yoga exercises to get pranic energies flowing in your body.
- Practice deep breathing or Pranayama to refine and balanced prana in your body and mind.
- Practice 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation
- Eat a light breakfast – a stewed apple or pear with warm cereal is a good example. Your digestion is naturally slow first thing in the morning. Heavy foods at breakfast will often result in a slugging feeling during the first part of the day and a lack of appetite for lunch.
- Take Ayurvedic herbal food supplements and Maharishi Amrit Kalash
- Education or work.
