It’s been said it takes thirty days to form a habit.
So if that’s the case, I implore you to try out these five Ayurvedic daily routines for a month and see if you notice the health benefits.
As an Ayurvedic Practitioner, I’ve had countless clients see me with aggravating symptoms of all varieties, they are frustrated with their bowel movements, their lack of motivation, anxiety, skin conditions and low libido to name a few. And the first thing I'll check is their digestion.
Because in most cases it’s always linked back to the state of their gut health.
In Ayurveda, we call our digestive fire; Agni, and we recognise that many diseases are attributed to the person’s Agni (gut health). When our processing action in our stomachs is weak and low, that’s when we have bacterial overgrowth which can look like IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome), leaky gut syndrome or many other variants of gut inflammation, which wreak havoc on our adrenals, circulation, nervous system just to name a few.
So if you want to take charge of your digestion; here are five super-easy Ayurvedic habits you can start today to get your gut into gear...
Habit 1: Wake up early. In Ayurveda it’s recommended that we start the day by greeting the sun. We recognise we are in the flow of everything in the cosmos, just as the birds wake up and sing their morning song, us too, should be rising at this early hour to help aid our digestion (varies to season, but getting up around 5.30 - 6am is a great start). Not only will it settle our nervous system and mind for the day, but it ignites our digestion and helps us to get our bowels moving for a successful elimination of all the toxins accumulated over night (pooping).
Habit 2: Going to the toilet after waking up is the best time of day to aim for number 2’s. We are doing our biggest natural detoxification overnight while we are sleeping, so it makes sense to purge all that waste out of the body first thing, instead of carrying it around in our intestines and colon all day, causing toxicity to fester and inflammation to worsen. Instead aim to get your poop out in the morning (before your coffee) and you’ll be onto a winner.
Habit 3: Tongue scraping is a wonderful tool in aiding the cleansing and detoxifying process that your body natural does overnight while asleep. When we scrape all the excess waste and dead cells off our tongue, it fights bad breath, but most importantly, scraping ignites and boosts our digestive fire (agni).
Habit 4: First thing in the morning, just upon rising (and after tongue scraping) Pour yourself a decent sized warm or room temperature glass of water. Why not cold water? Cold water stagnates in your system and causes the processing action of your digestive enzymes to stop in their tracks, *think of ice freezing your pipes. Keep your liquids warm or room temp going down and you’ll boost your gut in one.
To add extra gut-boosting properties you can add Apple cider vinegar for balancing gut-flora and help tackle candida, yeast infections, thrush or gut inflammations. Also adding a quarter- teaspoon turmeric will work wonders on flushing your system, reducing inflammation and soothing, rebuilding your stomach lining, along with lemon and ginger for boosting digestive enzymes.
Basically, that first liquid intake of the day is vital for cleansing the colon and helping the elimination process begin. And side perk, if you haven’t been able to go number 2’s, this warm and nourishing drink may get the pipes flowing!
Habit 5: Eat your biggest meal of the day at lunch time when the sun is at its peak. Midday is when your digestive fire is at its best, therefore your gut processing action is fired up and can tackle a decent meal, packed full of nutrients. Not only is your gut able to properly break down the food but you are assimilating and absorbing nutrients at your best too.
Make your smallest meal of the day is at dinner time because your body is winding down for the day, digestive fire is low and you are heading into detoxification mode. Not only is eating dinner early beneficial for your gut health, but it’s a great way to lose weight and help balance weight for those wanting to gain it.
Eating a light meal at dinner will boost your chances of a great elimination in the morning also. You won’t wake up sluggish, fuzzy or slow, instead there will be a delightful spring in your step and a good indicator of this is, you’ll wake up famished ready for brekky.