5 Ayurvedic Lifestyle Tips that Have Actually Worked

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For those of you who know me personally, you’d know that I try to live my life as healthily as possible without going overboard or driving myself crazy.

One of the ways I’ve tried to incorporate healthy practices in my life is through the science of Ayurveda.

Being an Indian woman, and now living in India for the past 7 1/2 years, I began exploring the science of Ayurveda through an online course during the lockdown. Although my knowledge is very basic, I’ve managed to corporate a few practices into my daily lifestyle, and I have no complaints.

So check out the practices that I’ve incorporated into my own routine!

Ayurvedic Practices for Daily Routine

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Following the Circadian Rhythm

This is the most profound change I’ve made.

Ayurveda encourages waking up before sunrise and sleeping a few hours after sunset.

After I had my daughter, I started waking up at 5 a.m. and I’m usually asleep between 9:30 and 10:30, depending on the night.

Ayurvedic Science teaches the hours between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. and the hours between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. are the Kapha Dosha times of the day. Kapha combines the elements of earth and water, and the general energy is the slowest.

However, I love that about the early morning hours. I’m able to stimulate begin my day on a positive note with a quick meditation and get my energy flowing with a nice workout. If I were to wake up later, then I would be in too much of a frenzy and a rush.

Even in the evenings, I love using the last few hours to wind down for the day, by lighting a candle or dimming the lights before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Getting Outside

Ayurvedic Wisdom also encourages getting outside on a daily basis.

We have all 5 of the natural elements within us. Therefore getting outside allows us to harmonize with nature and bring everything in balance.

I’ve witnessed this personally. Whenever my daughter wakes up from her first nap, I make sure that we spend some time outdoors. It gets my mind away from the daily grind, and I get to see my daughter interacting with nature. She loves flowers, playing with dirt, and being in the grass.

It’s so fascinating that at such a young age, being outdoors instantly calms her down. 

Facial Massage

I started doing facial massages during the lockdown as a fun thing to try, but oh did I see the results.

Ayurvedic facial massages stimulate blood circulation and allow for lymphatic drainage.

By following some very simple facial massage techniques, I Instantly saw it working.

My skin tone vastly improved and became even and I started getting a lot of compliments that I was aging backward! 

Drinking water at Room Temperature

Oddly enough I don’t enjoy drinking ice-cold water.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, cold water provokes colds and coughs and also slows down digestion.

Room-temperature water cleanses the system and even controls cholesterol.

I’ve found that when I drink room-temperature water, I’m drinking more of it and drinking it more regularly.

And with regular water drinking, my skin has improved, my concentration has increased, evacuation and bowel movements are much easier, and I’m significantly less tired.

All by simply drinking water! 

Seasonal Eating

Ayurveda also explains the logic of eating seasonal food items.

When I moved to India, I kept hearing how certain fruits and vegetables are seasonal. Honestly, I originally saw this as an inconvenience because in America we never really thought about seasons.

However, as I started exploring Ayurveda, I began to realize that there is a certain logic Mother Nature has provided with seasonal foods.

In India, where the summers are long and hot, the summer food items are designed to be cooling for the body to create a balance.

The same thing goes for the cold winter months, the seasonal food items are often warming for the body.

So, therefore, unless I’m really craving an “off-season” food item-such as berries in the monsoon months, I try my best to eat seasonally.

Not to mention: seasonal foods are the freshest, they are cheaper, and they are the tastiest when it’s their time.

Final Thoughts

So those are a few of the Ayurvedic changes I’ve made in my life, and it’s made a huge difference.

Whenever we want to make positive changes in our lives, I always suggest starting small because even the smallest changes can make the biggest difference!