The Ayurvedic morning routine
The Ayurvedic morning routine
This article appeared in Yoga Aktuell Oct/Nov 2012
The Ayurvedic health teachings of Svasthavrtta have a lot of good tips in store to help us gain more vitality, health and quality of life in our everyday lives. Cleansing exercises in the morning free the body from metabolic waste products, while oil rituals in the evening help to regenerate and rejuvenate. In this way, body and mind find fulfillment in a way that is appropriate to their type and can free themselves without dogma or ascetic renunciation from all those stress factors that can otherwise lead to a variety of complaints, compulsive forms of behavior or addictions.
Start the day fit with the morning routine
The Ayurvedic morning routine, Dinacharya, describes a comprehensive cleansing program that goes far beyond our usual showering and brushing our teeth. Through effective measures such as tongue scraping, oil gargling, oil massage and yoga, all sensory organs are opened and sensitized. The digestive fire (Agni) is stimulated, the excretions are promoted and the mind is cleared and strengthened. The Ayurvedic morning routine is therefore an immediately noticeable fitness program that enables a dynamic and healthy start to the day.
Get up early
The Ayurvedic morning routine recommends getting up early. In the Indian tradition, yogis get up before sunrise to begin their daily cleansing ceremony, as this is when the positive pranic forces are particularly strong.
Boosting the metabolism
Drinking two to three glasses of warm water immediately after getting up stimulates digestion and elimination. After defecating, you can do a short meditation and yoga program according to your personal needs. Some people are not yet able to go to the toilet in the morning to empty their bowels. In this case, the morning routine should be practiced regularly in order to strengthen the excretory impulse.
Tongue scraping and oil pulling are part of complete oral hygiene
In Ayurveda, we clean the mouth particularly thoroughly in the morning. In addition to brushing our teeth, we also clean our tongues and rinse our mouths with oil. The main purpose of this is to reduce accumulated Kapha, which has its headquarters in the head and chest area. If we succeed in reducing this through the morning cleansing ritual of the mouth and nose, this has a positive effect on all Kapha regions and complaints, such as ENT complaints, allergies or colds.
The first step is to remove excess plaque from the tongue. To do this, use a small spoon or a special tongue scraper to gently scrape the tongue several times from the back of the palate to the tip of the tongue. Tongue cleansing gives the entire oral cavity freshness, prevents bad breath and frees the tongue from toxic metabolic absorptions (ama).
Now comes the second step of morning oral care - oil pulling, gandusha. To do this, take a tablespoon of oil (cold-pressed and organically produced olive or sesame oil is best) in the mouth and gargle with it for about 2-3 minutes, spit it out, then rinse your mouth with warm water and brush your teeth.
As strange as Gandusha oil pulling may seem at first, it has an excellent effect on cleansing the oral mucosa: inflamed gums, bleeding gums and paradentosis can be prevented or alleviated. The oil dissolves toxic substances from the mucous membranes, strengthens the entire enzyme system, improves digestive power and intensifies the sense of taste. For this reason, oil pulling is particularly recommended for smokers and anyone who regularly consumes alcohol and acidic foods or is contaminated with heavy metals.
The classical Ayurvedic scriptures describe in detail how gandusha - the retention of sesame oil or ghi in the mouth - strengthens the jaw and voice, improves the perception of taste and stimulates the appetite. Regular use prevents dry mouth, chapped lips, tooth decay, toothache and sensitive teeth and strengthens the teeth in general.
Oiling and vitalizing the body
If you have a little more time in the morning, you should add a full-body oil massage (Abhyanga) to your morning routine: Here, the body is rubbed vigorously from head to toe with a sesame or almond oil. Alternatively, Ayurvedic herbal oils (Thaila) can also be used. During the self-massage, oil should be applied to the skin until it can absorb no more. Then leave the oil to absorb for approx. 20 minutes. Then take a hot shower or bath. The morning oil massage binds and dissolves toxic deposits in the body tissues. Ayurvedic scriptures emphasize the positive effect on vision, sleep and skin renewal. The subsequent bath or shower not only removes excess oil from the skin, the moist heat also opens the body channels (srotas) through which the dissolved deposits can now be removed.
Not everyone has the time to cleanse and care for themselves so thoroughly in the morning. But if the tongue scraper is as much a part of our hygiene equipment as the toothbrush and we treat ourselves to a full-body oil massage from time to time, we have taken a big step towards our daily well-being with small actions. And all this before breakfast ...