9 practices for an Ayurvedic life
Initial skepticism
Growing up, I always disliked the feeling of oiled and braided hair. Especially when all the other girls had non-greasy, open, free-flowing hair. I often used to return home for lunch time with my braids undone saying "they came out during gym class". As if any elementary level gym class would be rigorous enough to undo the braids secured by my grandma. A big shout out to her for never calling me out on my BS and simply re-braiding my hair even tighter.
I also remember my parents using a tongue scraper after brushing their teeth and I would think to myself, "Why would anyone willingly trigger their gag reflex? Isn't brushing enough?"
Fast forward to now, I oil my hair willingly every week and tongue scrape twice a day. After doing some of my own research, I realized both these practices as well as the ones I mention below are both rooted deep in Ayurveda and have been around for over 5,000 years.
Most of my learning has been from Sahara Rose Ketabi's book, The Idiot's Guide to Ayurveda, which is where a lot of the below content is inspired from.
Brief background
Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words: ayur meaning life and veda meaning knowledge, so Ayurveda is essentially the knowledge of life. The official definition from the book is:
"Ayurveda is a medical science deeply focused on healing and maintaining the quality and longevity of life. Ayurveda combines science with psychology, spirituality, and philosophy, seeing each individual as a microcosm of the universe, with the complexity of the cosmos."
It might be sound a bit haughty, but the purpose of Ayurveda is to be a preventative form of medicine, rather than corrective. For example, instead of taking Tylenol (Western medicine) to replace a headache, wouldn't it be better to find and heal the cause of the headaches (Ayurvedic medicine)?
Or instead of taking laxatives to help your digestion (Western medicine), wouldn't it be better to maybe change the foods you eat instead (Ayurvedic medicine)?
I was a bit skeptical when learning about some concepts like Doshas (the energies that make up all matter) or Chakras (energy centers that run along the spinal cord) - but that's the beauty of learning. You can take what you resonate with, leave what you don't - the only risk is that you may end up bettering certain aspects your life.
1. Oil pulling
Let's get the weirdest one out of the way first. I stumbled upon oil pulling when I was looking for natural ways to whiten my teeth.
Oil pulling is like using mouthwash - except it's with oil and you can swish around the oil for 20 minutes. It helps with improving breath, whitening teeth, removing stains and strengthening the jaw.
We have a lot of toxins in our mouth, especially when we first wake up (anyone else have dragon breath first thing in the morning? 🙋) which is why practicing this first thing in the morning, even before drinking anything, can be really beneficial.
It's pretty simple, take 1 spoon of oil (coconut oil, sesame oil, olive oil) and put it in your mouth and swish it around. Twenty minutes is honestly SO hard when you first start, and you'll find your mouth getting tired within the first few minutes. Just try to go for as long as you can (be careful not to swallow the oil) and spit the oil into the compost/green bin as it can clog your drain. Then brush like normal afterwards!
2. Hair oiling
Once a week, I like to oil my hair and give myself a scalp massage. For convenience, I use coconut oil (anyone seeing a trend here?) and massage it into my hair, focusing on my roots and ends. Hair oiling helps to stimulate the hair follicles on the scalp as well as nourish and re-hydrate the hair.
I keep the oil on overnight (be sure to cover your pillow case with a towel!) and wash it out the next day. The result over time is strong, healthy and shiny hair.
3. Body oiling
Another Ayurvedic teaching is that you shouldn't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't put in your mouth. This makes sense because our skin is the the largest organ, which means that anything absorbed through it will impact us.
I did love scented body lotions before (any other avid Vaseline Cocoa Butter Lotion aficionados out there?) but after realizing that most popular lotions contain water, petroleum, alcohols and unnatural scents, I wanted to find something more natural.
I started looking for more natural brands but quickly thought "Why don't I just use coconut oil?" I already used it for oil pulling and oiling my hair so it was easily accessible. I keep a big jar in my bathroom so that I can use it for all my multi purposes.
It's been almost two years now that I've exclusively used coconut oil as my moisturizer. It's become a small ritual after showering as I warm up the oil between my hands and massage it into my body, focusing my attention on sending healing thoughts deep into my skin. I also like to pay special attention to drier areas on my body, such as my elbows and feet.
To begin, simply use an oil that's most available to you and apply it to your body after a shower, similar to applying body lotion.
4. Dry brushing
The benefits of exfoliation are plentiful, it gets rid of dead skin sitting on the surface, stimulates blood flow and also drains the lymph nodes. Dry brushing is quite self-explanatory, you take a brush and brush in long sweeps towards your heart.
It's best to practice this right before a shower and takes less than five minutes. The sensation may be uncomfortable so be gentle when you're first beginning.
Ensure to clean the brush on a weekly basis by mixing a few drops of tea tree oil and water and rinse the brush, allowing the bristles to dry fully before using again.
I love using this brush from ecotools because it's made with bamboo and 100% vegan.
5. Tongue scraping
How does your tongue look first thing in the morning? Probably covered in a white-ish coating right?
As I mentioned, I'm guilty of bad breath in the mornings, but I can honestly say it's gotten a lot better since I started tongue scraping regularly.
When we sleep, a lot of bacteria, dead cells and toxins build up on our tongue and if we don't dispose of them, they can get swallowed and re-enter our body. Per Ayurveda, the increased toxins (Sanskrit word: ama) can lead to illnesses and imbalances in the body. Again, not sure how much I believed this, but it is so satisfying to see all the junk that comes off my tongue which is why I keep this in my routine.
A stainless steel tongue scraper works best, as other metals can lead to heavy metal build up in the body.
To practice tongue scraping, hold each end of the scraper and put the U part at the back of tongue and gently scrape forwards. Be careful not to gag yourself, and rinse the scraper between uses. Repeat 10 times and then stick out your newly found pretty pink tongue!
6. Agni
Let me preface this one by saying that nothing beats an ice cold glass of water on a hot day or after an intense workout (cue internal screaming from my digestive fire haha).
Ayurveda has a concept of agni, which translates to fire, and refers to your digestive fire which is in charge of your digestion, nutrient absorption, and metabolism. It is said that a person is only as old as their agni (i.e. if you digest food well, you'll remain healthy).
In order to enhance this fire and keep it going, it is recommended to drink hot water. Hot water is easier for our bodies to absorb as we do not need to spend extra energy warming it up and can instead focus that energy elsewhere in the body.
I drink predominantly boiled water now and I usually like to make a cocktail of 25% cold water and 75% hot water to get it to that perfect drinkable temperature. I find it more nourishing, warming and just generally more enjoyable now.
7. Lunch: biggest meal
Ayurveda states that our digestion (agni) is more powerful when the sun is at its highest point, which is usually midday. This is why eating more at lunch is the best for digestion and nutrient absorption.
This can be tough especially at work, when lunch is quickly a mad dash to inhale food as fast as possible and get back to work. However, I've noticed that eating a big lunch usually keeps me full for much longer, which results in a lighter dinner, and less of that "going to sleep feeling super heavy" feeling.
8. Yoga
Like many, I struggle with body image issues and have my fair share of insecurities. I used to engage in pretty aggressive forms of exercise pre-quarantine, including weightlifting, HIIT, and circuit training first thing in the morning. Looking back, I realize how much of a shock that was to my body - waking up from 8 hours of not moving, to suddenly getting jolted into all these reps and sets at the gym.
Since learning about Ayurveda, I've begun to incorporate a yoga flow in the morning to get my body moving slowly and then going for a brisk 45-minute walk. I've begun to love my body for all that it does rather and do what feels good rather than what's seen as the norm.
9. Gratitude
Ending off the list with my favourite practice. Not only does Ayurveda emphasize the spiritual, psychological and philosophical connectivity to our physical state but I genuinely believe that our thoughts can have a large impact on our bodies.
By practicing gratitude multiple times a day, I feed and nourish my soul with positivity!
Concluding thoughts
Thank you for making it this far - this post turned out much longer than I anticipated and I even cut a few points out!
Like I said at the beginning, take what you like, leave what you don't, and see how you feel after.
Let me know in the comments down below which practice you plan to implement first!
Sending you good vibes and lots of light!
-Reina xo