Use the season of spring to bring yourself deeper into living a gentler and quieter life. We all could benefit from simplifying, and living more meditatively; pursuing what is worthy, releasing what is not, moving and working at a bit of a slower pace, speaking more softly, and taking more time to have loving thoughts. To do this, we need to create the space for these virtues and habits to grow. We will go deeper into healing the places within that have not received our attention. Maybe we’ve been eating too much or eating mindlessly. Perhaps we’ve not had to time to sit and sort through emotions and they are causing us to retreat, isolate, or tend towards frustration, anger, or insecurities. Maybe we have not taken daily moments to connect with our creator.

“Consider where you are in life and where you want to be.”

Through daily habits, we can experience life in a more rich and fulfilling way. We will discover more of our likes, dislikes, talents, and abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and more of the beauty that surrounds us. Yes, we start. Then we stop. Then we start. Then we stop. I’m speaking of the living healthy ideals. I’m no different. I’m human. I like to stay up late to watch movies or to gather with friends. I like to eat before bed. I enjoy treats that have refined sugar even though I suffer the stomach aches and joint pains of it afterwards. But what I’m thankful for is the knowledge and the experience of a better way. That I can pick myself back up again, and that I can hold the mentality of living gently rather than living by a, “I’m starting fresh on Monday.”

And so here’s to starting, again; starting, but never stopping. When frustration and overwhelm seem to be the emotion of the day, or we succumb to snacking after we just ate, or we decide to enjoy a piece of cake or bag of dry and processed chips or staying up late to watch a movie after the kids have fallen asleep - yes, these ways of living should not be the rule, as they quickly turn to ill health, but on the occasion it happens, we learn to gently guide ourselves to the next best thing. Keeping from self-judgement is one of the most healthiest habits we can place in our lives. We tear ourselves apart thinking we failed and need to start over yet this only leads to the habit of being constantly against ourselves. We tend to continue more of the same as we think, “oh, well, I already messed up might as well keep eating junk until Monday.” This is self-hatred at its finest.

Is there an ideal lifestyle that is conducive of a healthy mind, body, and spirit? Yes.

I wake by 6am. Not by 5, and not by 7. Because 6am is when I feel my best. Sunrise varies by season, but on average, 6am is ideal for all doshas. Pitta can get up a bit earlier, with kapha dominant constitutions awakening as early as 4:30am. What time do you feel your best? The majority of us will benefit from an early rise, even those like me who used to consider myself a night owl. Yes, waking at this time takes effort but if one has the will and works at it consistently, the mind can be retrained. The morning holds its own healing properties and is the most ideal time of day to begin moving our body. Morning is sattvic - loving, gentle, whole, with the opportunity to bring peace of mind and freshness to the senses. Ayurveda considers the time between 6:00-10:00am/pm as belonging to kapha dosha (pitta time is 10:00-2:00am/pm, and vata 2:00-6:00am/pm) Remember, kapha has the pancha mahabhutas (or elements) of earth and water. These qualities are therefore heavy and soft. So it is the slowly rising, heavy kapha that we want to arise just before it, when vata is transcedent, before taking on kaphas heavy denseness. Therefore, rising after this hour, we feel there is not enough time for anything as the day gives rise to pitta after 10:00am. If you’ve felt sluggish and indecisive after waking late, you can consider your internal clock letting you know you’ve missed out on vata’s mobile qualities to oil your engine. Even after 7am, we feel stressed and unsure. When we are starting out with the habit of waking at a better time for ourselves, we must be working on getting to sleep early, ideally in bed by 9:30pm, going into a slumber by 10:00pm. Currently, I have a small baby in bed with me, my Mt. Moriyah. I don’t sleep straight through the night, nor take daytime naps and I yet to fully heal from chronic pain symptoms, so I account for that when deciding what things I can accomplish every day. None of us need the guilt. They say aim high, but I encourage us to aim wise. Wise to know, if we set a task or two for the day and we accomplish them, we receive a sense of satisfaction rather than failure. If we set many tasks knowing we cannot do them all, we may find ourselves with very little mental and physical motivation to do any of them. We have work to do, nonetheless. God made us for work, and we should take great passion in our work. For those of us living with chronic pain, sleep, fresh food, exercise, and some laughter with family are going to be the most important tasks of any day. All other responsibilities will be given attention little by little throughout the week - cleaning, personal pursuits, errands, playing, etc.) Without these daily priorities, nobody is going to be enjoying us for too long. The mind becomes overwhelmed and the body follows suit in feeling like it got hit by a truck. For all of us, knowing how to harness, guard and use our energy is a great skill to be learned and practiced. Our body blesses us when we bless it. Our body communicates with us. Don’t ignore pains and symptoms, writing them off as normal. I am blessed with a body that has learned awareness of feeling unwell in response to ill living. It has caused me to do my fair amount of research over the years to find what works best for me. But what I find is what works best for me actually works best for the majority of us.

Herein enters the mornings, the most blissful time of day really. It’s a new day, so it’s full of only opportunities of what it’s yet to become. We have the choice to bring positive and loving thoughts into the day, thoughts that support who we are becoming and who I already am, and gentle thoughts towards my family.

Whatever your experience has been, let it remain in the past. The body can feel amazing in the morning. Let us rise with hope in our heart, hope for a great day for ourselves, for our family and for a great future. Contemplate all of this upon waking. Say a prayer for yourself and your loved ones all before leaving the bed. Clear stagnant energy by looking at your hands and moving them over your face and down your chest to the waist. Engage with your morning, if even just for a moment, with purpose and passion. Splash the face with cool or warm water and brush and rinse teeth with an herbal paste after scraping tongue with copper or stainless steel and gargle with fresh water to support the throat. Nourishing the sinuses with herbal drops or ghee is a great habit to incorporate every day to clean, and lubricate. The nose is the door to the brain. By nourishing the nose, we nourish prana, our life force. The same applies for the ears where disorders like TMJ or excess ear wax or itchiness can be had with aggravated vata. Applying one drop of sesame oil in each ear will prove beneficial. I enjoy applying one drop in each ear before bed, to promote a restful sleep. Oiling of the body is encouraged at this time as well, including the head and entire body. I take one day a week to make sure I do this, if not more times, and I enjoy practicing it in the evening. Apply earthy plant waters, serums and balms to the face. This is my moment of therapy that I look forward to for myself morning and evening. I nourish my face very slowly with intention. I encourage this for all my clients. It is also a great way to come back to yourself whenever you may feel rushed or taken away from self during the day - consciously work your hands over your face, with creams or not, making for a slower moment. I play with the mind here even, visualizing every wrinkle or pimple, tiredness or ache being completely soothed over. Everything changes for the better. Use the restroom, even if just sitting to try, will regulate bowel movements. It is ideal for this to happen before eating the first meal of the day.

Apply a natural scent, essential oil or perfume to bring freshness and charm into your being. Fragrance also boosts one’s self-esteem. Brush the hair lovingly with a neem comb if you can find it. With long hair, tie it back in a non hair breaking scrunchie, put some soft clothing on, enhance kidney function and peristalsis by drinking some warm water and head to walking anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. I find the sweet spot between 15 and 20 minutes, where I’m not too tired but I’ve worked my heart and warmed up for weight training. This spring I am practicing an exercise plan I’ve created myself, incorporating restorative yoga poses throughout and ending on the floor in corpse or baby pose. Exercise is essential and should be made a priority of every day. Regular exercise improves mental health, circulation, strength and endurance. It helps us to relax and sleep soundly, and aids in digestion and elimination. Exercise should be done to half one’s capacity, which can be seen when sweat forms on the forehead, under arms, and spine. Laying on the mat after exercise is a great moment to take for meditation and breathing. Take 15 minutes more for yourself to breathe.

I will be continuing to do as I have for the past two years, preparing steeped medicinal herbs to be ready when breakfast is, however the herbs are always changing in accordance to season and my vikruti, or current state of imbalance. However, the star of the show is always triphala. I consume a tsp of it brewed into hot water in a mini little paper cup, and suck it down once before breakfast and once before dinner. Its use supports all the doshas. Triphala consists of haritaki, bibhitaki, and amla used to prevent disease and strengthen the colon as it reduces inflammation and constipation. I prepared this for my mother-in-law recently and in one week she reported a flatter tummy. I always love to hear these things because the herbs do amazing things when taken consistently. Along with triphala, I am mixing 1/4 tsp each of adaptogenic ashwaghanda, sugar zapping shardunika, and skin enhancing gotu kola powders. Healing vitamins and chlorophyll, all packed with sufficient vitamin c and antioxidants. I also am taking two tablets twice a day each of joint support and simhanad guggulu that are gently scraping toxins from the joints, left over by poor childhood living I am sure and the dengue virus I had gotten four years ago in India. Serval times a week I will enjoy a tablespoon of raw, unrefined and cold-pressed olive oil, roasted black sesame seeds, and soaked raisins during moontime, to give my body essential fats, calcium, and support healthy RBC, respectively. Before bed, I will take a little unsweetened juice into some collagen powder to support overall health, espcially joint health.

I may take many breaks throughout the day, either to stretch, pause, breathe, pray, tend to children, hold baby. I do most of my work with baby by my side or in my arms. It isn’t easy but we must not let the temporary moments pass us by. Even I learn to embrace this youthfulness of mine as I change into my day clothes ready to take on the day, peering into the mirror for a quick cleanse of the face and neck; no one wants exercise pimples. I’ll make fresh breakfast, and complete half the prep of lunch which will be the same as dinner. I’m privileged my husband gets to help me if a moment allows in his busy work schedule. Sitting with the family for breakfast is a highlight of my day as we slowly sip our chai and eat our freshly prepared Indian nashta, sometimes some other cuisine thrown into the mix. Then to finishing the lunch if baby allows. If she doesn’t, I help her first then go back later to the kitchen. Of course, kids being homeschooled are always ready to talk and play with mama, and we will assume homework is in order, and do more of that on a Saturday morning, leaving the other schoolwork for dad and the kids online tutor from India.

But back to health, there is no snacking between meals, unless there will be 6 hours or so between them. When one snacks, one creates toxins responsible for all chronic diseases we see today including high blood pressure and diabetes. This simple change alone has made significant improvements in how I feel every day. I may enjoy a snack if I’m hungry before my next meal (as I am breastfeeding) with something digestible (a cooked piece of fruit, or a small cup of chai or warm milk with spices, or maybe a date or two, etc.)
Making sure to eat in a calm environment and chewing food until liquid in the mouth before swallowing is vital for good health. What cannot be chewed cannot be digested and turns into, you heard it, toxins. Yes toxins are all around; they are in our food, in our air, our environment, some we cannot control, others we can by the products we use and type of food we eat. We reduce our toxic load by chewing our food well and not overeating in any one sitting, by exercising (sweating), and through using natural products on us and around us. This will stop toxic accumulation. The least we can do is to stop making things worse. Another very simple habit to start instilling is being very careful not to overeat. Over eating causes toxicity and over time causes great damage and preventable diseases.

Taking care of our digestive fire by not consuming processed foods meaning nothing from a package, including shelf yeast breads and nothing cold. We have a fire inside and we want to stoke it not suffocate it. In Ayurveda we call this agni and taking care of agni is crucial for good health. Of course I’ll enjoy some decaf herbal tea throughout the day to support the gentle cleanse of toxins in the body and maybe even a little aloe vera juice several times a week. Speaking of “juice,” I will enjoy a bit of unsweetened organic juices of black cherry or pomegranate, etc, about half a cups worth into the collagen I will be taking before bed.

Refined sugar even a tad bit in a processed potato chip is not in question for someone reaching for good health. Never, ever again? No that’s entirely up to you but not at this time anyhow. If you do find yourself choosing to have some, do try to bake with raw sugar and consume just a bit, the size of the inside of your palm.

Making sure to get sunshine every day, even if it’s just stepping outside every morning for fresh air, is going to feel amazing especially if we are used to being cooped up all the time. Of course making time for smiles, interruptions, and lightheartedness is a must. I’ll have set times for engaging in business which includes writing, videos and social media. Finding time for what’s important to you is well worth the struggle it is to find the time because it makes us feel stronger and happier inside to accomplish all that is part of purpose and passion. I’ll also have times I return texts and phone calls as we all should. No one should be available right on the money especially when one has family to attend to. Call me an old fashion.

Making sure to honor the self by creating self-care habits, will cause us to be better for all the lives we influence. Sunday evenings, one hour, I will continue reserving for my self-care abhyanga with medicated warmed oil, facial, and oil head massage. Honoring the self also means to get to sleep early so our mind and body and spirit can rest and regenerate as needed. Such a loving thing it is to do for yourself and your family - to take care and cause your loved ones to, in turn, take care. What are some gentle and loving ways you will live your daily routine this spring?

If you are new to Ayurveda, or are interested in learning more about your current state of health, join me in a one-on-one health consultation where we can take your uniqueness into a manageable daily routine for yourself, including what to eat for your dosha, oils to use, and herbs to consume.

Journeying together,

Kari