Ah, February! The month of love... SELF LOVE! If you're looking for refreshing ways to up your self care game while living a busy life, this is the post for you. My schedule is incredibly chaotic right now and my commute has me spending almost 2 hours a day in my car. Yikes! So I actually decided a few months ago (when I started my 300 YTT) that I was going to take self care seriously to ease my anxiety and feelings of overwhelm.
I knew the key to my success was my intention around this decision. It was important to me for a number of reasons, but mainly 1) mental health and 2) a study into Ayurveda and how to incorporate it into my life as part of my 300 hour YTT project. I also knew the key to success was to take things slow and not incorporate too much at once into my already busy schedule. So I took advice from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and felt like habit stacking was going to be my best bet. (If you haven't read this book, READ IT!)
I started reading books about Ayurveda and listening to podcasts about Ayurveda in November and as you'll see in a moment, I have really just started this journey in terms of adding self love practices.
WAIT, HOLD ON! What the heck even is Ayurveda?!
I knew I would get ahead of myself, so let's back up... if Ayurveda is a new concept to you (like it was for me in November) then let me bring you up to speed - at least my speed... So here's my VERY ROUGH summary:
The word Ayurveda translates to "knowledge/ wisdom of life" and is commonly known as the sister science of yoga. In short, it is an ancient guide to self care and preventative medicine. There are certain daily rituals that are recommended for everyone and then there are food/ herb recommendations based on the balance of your individual dosha. (I would love to write a full blog post about Ayurveda once I complete my project to share with you how some of the rituals and eating habits have had an impact on my life. But more about that later!). There are three doshas which describe a person's make up of the elements:
1. Vata: ether and air
2. Pitta: fire and water
3. Kapha: water and earth
Very generally speaking, Ayurveda gives guidelines for the kinds of foods/herbs a person should consume based on their dosha type. What I want to spend a little more time on in this post are the daily rituals of self care and how I'm incorporating them into my already busy schedule.
The way I see it right now, Ayurveda is inherently self love. These guidelines are all practices that nurture our body, mind, and spirit - sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it's all about balance. It's a lifestyle. It's becoming more aware of the effects of what we do to our body, mind, and spirit and using our intuition to bring balance back.
So let's take a look at what a typical Ayurvedic morning routine looks like:
Wake before or with the sun (5am-7am)
Meditate
Tongue scraping
Wash face & eyes
Nasal rinse (jala neti)
Drink warm water
Oil pulling (gandusha)
Brush your teeth
Oil nasal cavaties & sinuses (nasya)
Dry brush your body (garshana)
Self massage with oil (abhyanga)
Exercise
Bathe
Eat breakfast (by 9am)
Phew! That's an exhaustive list! And it doesn't even include things like packing your lunch for the day or picking your outfit or feeding/walking your pets or whatever else needs to be done in the morning before you leave for work! So let's remember... Ayurveda is an ANCIENT practice. Before our lives were filled with hustle and bustle, there was much more time to dedicate to ourselves and others. BUT Ayurvedic practices are considered the highest acts of self love and I think we're living in a time where we need to give ourselves more love than ever. And the wonderful thing about Ayurveda is that most everything can be personalized to your dosha and lifestyle.
So right now, I actually am practicing most of these rituals! Just not all of them solely in the morning. I do some of these at night just because of my schedule and preferences. Here's what my typical AM and PM routines look like:
Morning:
Wake before the sun (around 5:30am)
Skin care routine
Tongue scraping
Oil pulling
Brush teeth
Get dressed/ make up
Take supplements w/ room temperature lemon water
Back lunch & backpack
Head to work (around 6:30am)
Have breakfast & coffee at school (around 8am)
Evening/ Bedtime:
Exercise (walking on the treadmill, yoga, or weight lifting)
Make & eat dinner
Watch TV
Dry brush (right now only 2-3 times per week)
Shower
Skin care routine
PJ time!
Hair care routine
Tongue scraping
Brush teeth
Foot & leg massage with magnesium lotion
Read in bed (right now reading The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook by Sarah Kucera)
Lights out around 9-9:30pm
As you can see, there's some good overlap between what I currently do and what the ancient recommendations are! I feel pretty good about my current routine, but I'm excited to add more in... slowly & intentionally. Since beginning my Ayurvedic study, I've added tongue scraping, oil pulling, and dry brushing. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be adding in a quick morning meditation or pranayama practice and oil massages before showering at night.
If any of these practice seem attainable to add into your morning or evening routines, I recommend adding in just 1 practice a week - or even every other week. And if you don't know which one to start with, just start by going through your current routine very intentionally and see if anything arises in you where you feel drawn to add in an Ayurvedic practice. (I started with tongue scraping because I knew it wouldn't be time consuming in the morning and I wouldn't forget about it since my tongue scraper lives next to my tooth brush.)
Let's come back to Ayurveda being the sister science of yoga. Part of the morning routine included exercise... well, what kind of exercise? Hmmm, if you thought 'yoga' when you read that earlier, you're spot on... mostly. While I'll be the first one to say that I think everyone should incorporate yoga into their life, I equally think that the form of exercise you choose should be one that you LOVE. It's also important to note that yoga as it's referred to in this way is mostly the asana practice of yoga.
Well, this yoga practice is also specific to your dosha! Those with more pitta or vata should incorporate slower and more grounding asana practices, while kapha should practice faster more fiery asanas or flows. Right now I'm teaching 3 vinyasa classes each week and am still in progress of finding a balanced exercise routine for the other four days of the week.
Any new practice into your life is excited and feels like self love until it starts to feel like a chore. Maybe some things will never feel this way, and that's amazing! But I've found that when that thought pops into my mind (usually at night when I'm tired and just want to get into bed) that I remind myself why I'm doing the things I am - it's because I'm practicing self love and taking the time to care for myself so that I can offer the world my best self.
Ayurveda is a very complex topic and I've just barely scratched the surface with this blog post. So if you're interested in learning more, I've listed the books and podcasts that have contributed to my learning journey. I will also probably be posting a more comprehensive post on Ayurveda at the end of my 300 hour YTT.
The Every Girl's Guide to Ayurveda Podcast with Gee Braithwaite
The Simple Ayurveda Podcast with Angela Perger
The Ayurvedic Self-Care Handbook: Holistic Healing Rituals for Every Day and Season by Sarah Kucera
Ayurveda Cooking for Beginners: An Ayurvedic Cookbook to Balance and Heal by Laura Plumb
Ayurveda (Idiot's Guide) by Sahara Rose Ketabi
Ayurveda Beginner's Guide: Essential Ayurvedic Principles and Practices to Balance and Heal Naturally by Susan Weis-Bohlen
So until then, take this month to dive deep into self love practices and continue to make small lifestyle shifts so you're able to bring your best self into each new day! Here are some self love mantras to bring to your mind either during meditation, yoga, or any other part of your morning/ evening routine:
I am love.
Each day brings new opportunities for happiness.
I fill my cup first to pour from my best self.
I am confident and strong.
~ Namaste, yogi fam ~
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