Ayurveda 101; a Beginner’s Guide to Holistic Living

When was the last time we thought of nourishing our soul and have a proper self-care routine? ‘Wellness’ has been avoided for pretty long time and seem like an economical investment than a personal one. Isn’t it?

In our quest for healthy lifestyle, let’s uncover holistic journey of Ayurveda; an ancient healthcare practice, into our life to live radiantly from body, mind and soul.

A quick primer to Ayurveda

Ayurveda, is a science of longevity which originated in India thousands of decades ago with an aim to rejuvenate our body through mindful diet and nutrition.

Ayurveda has an integral aspiration and its central elements are: Ayurveda sleep, Ayurveda diet and Ayurveda spiritual yoga practice. If bought into daily routine, Ayurveda can amplify our well-being, prevent us from diseases, manage our stress and improves our fitness levels.

So, let us dive deep into the sea of Ayurveda and uncover the best practices that we can inculcate in our daily routine to live holistically.

1. Ayurveda for Body

· Jumpstart the digestion

Our stomach wakes up too just like our brain. So, isn’t is essential that our gut also demands a simple interaction which is easy to process early morning?

Hot water with lemon can do wonders! It can hydrate our body and help loose toxins in our digestive tract. But spring allergy season looming? A teaspoon of locally-sourced honey can build our immunity by just drop of a hat. Honey proffer countless benefits as it; detoxify our blood, improve our immunity, boost our energy and brighten our skin.

· Feed belly the right way

In Ayurveda, eating a flavourful and colourful diet is the first step! But which colours to opt for? Ayurveda recommends a rainbow diet.

Serving variety of colors and tastes in our meal can satiate our hunger and diminish the craving for grabbing unhealthy snacks.

A mindful Ayurvedic diet suggests incorporating six vibrant tastes into each meal:

• Sweet

• Salty

• Sour

• Pungent

• Bitter

• Astringent

The idea behind adding such different tastes into our diet is to promote real enjoyment of our food. According to Ayurveda, food is meant to be a celebration of life, not a restricted law.

2. Ayurveda for Mind

· Restful Sleep

Nothing is more powerful than our minds. According to Ayurveda, sleep is the foundation of a good health and has a secret ability to heal our entire body. A sound sleep or a powerful nap can increase our ability to see the world through a clear window.

Well, many of us see sleep as a bank transaction, where we can deposit sleep for later, or over withdraw when we have more important things to do after 11pm. But dare to say, there’s no substitute for the recommended eight hours a night.

· Rise and Shine

Just like we go to bed early, it is essential we should wake up before the sun rises. According to Ayurveda, sleeping beyond sunrise leads to the clogging of our communication channels with impurities that makes our mind feel dull, our mood depressed and our body lethargic all day long.

3. Ayurveda for Soul

· Meditation to calm

Mediation is strongly rooted in the ancient holistic lifestyle practice of Ayurveda. The art of meditation focuses on self-reflection, breathing, finding inner stillness and rebalancing ourselves spiritually.

In today’s world of hustle, meditation is an escape from the everyday chaos that so often tend to control our lives. As we jumpstart the meditation, it is common to perhaps be a tad fidgety, or finding ourselves organising a ‘to do list’ in our complex head or maybe we open our eyes wondering where the time has flown. Well, it’s natural to feel that way when you’re just a newbie.

According to Ayurveda, practicing the art of meditation is not something that can be accomplished overnight, but a form of practice that can be honed and easier to achieve gradually.