Ayurveda: The Science of Living Well
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the sister science of yoga. Ayu meaning life and Veda meaning truth, knowledge, or science. It’s a 5000-year-old method of preventing disease and increasing vitality and longevity naturally with diet, herbs, exercise, yoga, and meditation. Ayurveda is becoming more popular here in the West as more people are discovering the healing benefits of Yoga and are looking for ways to live a healthy lifestyle. According to Ayurveda, the foundation of health is diet and routine.
Ayurveda emphasizes diet as the most important aspect of health and healing. No other modality will be effective if you’re not following the proper diet. Know your constitution or dosha (take this quiz to find yours) and eat foods that pacify rather than aggravate your dosha. The right diet is the best medicine. Ayurveda states that “we are what we digest.” Many Ayurvedic practices are designed to strengthen the digestive system to avoid the build-up of ama or toxins from undigested foods.
Along with right diet, it’s important to follow a consistent daily routine or dinacharya:
- Awake by 6am
- Drink warm water with lemon to stimulate the digestive system
- Brush teeth and scrape tongue
- Self-massage with oil (coconut in the Summer, sesame seed in the Fall, and mustard seed in the Winter)
- Bathe/Shower
- Exercise/Yoga
- Pranayama (Breath Practice)
- Meditation
- Breakfast by 8am
- Lunch (your biggest meal) between 11am and 1pm when the digestive system is strongest
- A light dinner no later than 7pm
- Asleep by 10pm
Your diet and daily routine will be influence by the current season. Ritucharya, or seasonal regimen, aligns us with the rhythms of nature. For each season, there are specific foods, styles of yoga, types of exercise, herbs, oils, and activities that will either pacify or aggravate the doshas:
- In Winter and Spring (December-May), pacify Kapha
- In Summer (June-October), pacify Pitta
- In Fall (October-Dec), pacify Vata
The Ayurvedic practices of healthy diet and routine (dinacharya and ritucharya) keep your mind and body in balance. If you want to lose excess weight, have more energy, get sick less often, and look and feel more vibrant, youthful, and energetic, start living an Ayurvedic lifestyle. You can read more about it in Eat, Taste, Heal or email me to get started with Wellness Coaching. You’ll get the information and the accountability you need to make lasting changes that will make a positive difference in your life.
Alicia Cross is a Certified Personal Trainer, Wellness Coach, and Yoga Instructor with more than 17 years’ experience working with clients in classes and one-to-one. She is a yogi, meditator, vegan, and lifter of heavy things. If you’re ready to discover the strength and peace that comes from within, email Alicia@AliciaCrossTraining.com.
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