One of the enriching parts of the Axis Yoga Teacher Training program is the opportunity to study and apply Ayruveda. This student initially tried to choose a simple ayurvedic experiment, however, multiple daily changes became more challenging than first expected. But as with most challenges, this one came with due reward.
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My experiment was to follow chapter five of The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies by Vasant Lad. This chapter outlines a variety of relatively simple daily routine Ayurvedic practices. I chose this because it seemed fairly easy to follow, and as I was wrapping up marathon training I wanted to remain consistent in my regular diet and exercise routines and not shake things up too drastically. While the daily routine seemed initially simple, I discovered how difficult it was to maintain it over the course of two weeks.
The first item suggested was to wake up early. I get up typically between 5:30-7:00 in the morning, so it didn’t seem like a stretch to get up at 5:30 as recommended, but I discovered after a few days that doing this daily without fail presented problems. After a week, life’s challenges kept me up late into the night, and consequently I found it quite hard to get up before dawn. I was very glad as I re-read this section that it just said “do the best you can,” which for better or worse meant that I could bail on this as needed, which I mostly did.
It recommended reciting a prayer after awakening, which I did and enjoyed. I felt a stronger connection to God and the world around me by doing this. It was also a nice way to embrace each new day with positive thoughts and wishes. I memorized the prayer in the book by the conclusion of the experiment which was satisfying as well.
I then went off to the bathroom to begin a series of strange activities that I initially found interesting, but gradually became disenchanted with. I got a kick out of washing my face with cold water then blinking seven times, and rolling my eyes in every direction until they felt strained. I found it funny, especially the mandate of blinking seven times. I enjoy numerology and while this activity seemed perhaps a little obsessive-compulsive, I understood the function this played in enlivening the body and mind. I then “evacuated” with a bowel movement and washed my anus with soapy warm water which was pleasant, albeit bizarre. Then I began what became a dreaded routine: scraping my tongue with a spoon and gargling with oil. I discovered I become somewhat nauseous by the feeling of a mouthful of oil, and scraping my tongue was indeed as disgusting a morning ritual as I can imagine. Not only did I not enjoy the occasionally triggered gag reflex, but even greater was my aversion to observing the film of slime I conjured forth on a spoon so soon after awakening. I then dumped a few drops of sesame oil in my nose for good measure, which was actually a welcome relief from the traumatic tongue-scraping. I then gave myself a full-body warm oil massage, which alleviated the psychosomatic chill left from the aforementioned activities. I actually found the oil massage very relaxing and enjoyable, and the most welcome part of the routine. I wondered if I would smell like a middle eastern restaurant since I was coating my whole body with toasted sesame oil, and later on my coworkers assured me that I did not.
I tried to then do the exercises as recommended, but found them very time consuming. Doing 16 moon salutations took about 20 minutes which was very hard to do daily. I think this is one of the best things to do as a daily routine, but I couldn’t keep it up consistently with the multiplicity of routine items needing attention.
I then did pranayama, fifteen shitali breaths, and then meditated for half an hour. This was fine and not a big change from my regular morning activities. I find morning meditation one of the most beneficial things I can do to start my day off right, and am completely in agreement that this is a wonderful routine practice. It allows me to reduce any residual stress and build a firm foundation of benevolent thoughts that often help guide me through my day, which is truly a blessing. Of all the suggested activities, I find this to be perhaps the most helpful, with exercise a close second.
I then gratefully had breakfast as suggested. Typically I eat after getting up, but I tried following the order the routine was presented in, and waiting two hours to eat made the food taste that much better. I also did not sit in front of the computer when I ate, but ate mindfully at the table, which allowed me to calmly focus and enjoy the food with greater awareness. I also tried to follow a handful of dietary suggestions mentioned for pitta dosha, which included only drinking warm water at work, which I found absurd, but followed diligently anyway. I also gave up chocolate and spicy food for two weeks, which, in all seriousness, I have questioned my addiction to. The dietary rules are the hardest parts of the Ayurveda for me to accept. I eat a vegan diet, and am very conscious of what I put into my body. Giving up staples that I couldn’t imagine would alter my dosha to begin with, like not eating any nuts, borders on madness to me. Especially as the book didn’t offer much by way of explaining the nuances of this wisdom. Giving up spicy foods and chocolate were interesting however. Strangely, while I was abstaining, people twice offered gifts of gourmet chocolate! The coincidence seemed suspicious and left me looking for the hidden camera near my cubicle.
One of the most important daily routines suggested I did not do at all. It recommended taking a walk alone in a beautiful place for twenty minutes a day to wind down after work. I know how important my connection to nature is, but somehow I neglected this completely. I read right over it several times without it making any impact. Had I done this, I’m sure each and every day would have been better. It’s hard to do particularly at this time of year when it is cold and dark, but I do find walking in nature a meditative practice that is well worth doing anytime, but particularly at the end of the day would be an excellent healthy activity.
It recommended eating dinner then singing songs while doing the dishes. I did this once and it was really fun. In fact, I remember reading this and thinking it was humorous naiveté, but it actually was the reason I chose this section of the book to experiment with, since I found the silly suggestion so entertaining.
To end the day I had a hot milk, ginger, cardamom and turmeric drink before bed. I did this every night and loved it. It was really soothing and I loved chewing the ginger and eating the pod to finish it off. This helped me wind down and was a nice finishing practice before sleep. It also made the whole experiment worthwhile for me as I definitely appreciate a novel and tasty new recipe.
It also had some suggestions about sex, but as I am unfortunately celibate at this time due to a gnarly bout of Singleitis, I didn’t have to stress over these points. I’m glad it mentioned these things though, and when I am well again I would definitely relish a normal schedule of love-making as suggested.
In summary, while I was not able to explore Ayurveda as deeply as I wanted to, I did find it worthwhile. Part of what makes it successful to me has less to do with Ayurveda and more to do with resolve and commitment. A major component in a successful experiment is simply sticking it out regardless of the results. This in itself offers ample lessons and rewards. By adopting new routines, and breaking one’s self of ingrained habits—whatever they might be—increased willpower, motivation, conscious awareness, and mindfulness are likely to follow. By it’s own volition this helps create a more fulfilling, engaging and meaningful life.
This Axis Yoga Teacher Training student found that less is more when it came to making lifestyle changes. Even if the changes are meant to improve overall health, they can have the opposite effect if taken on too aggressively. From this account, we can see the benefits of taking things slowly with a large dose of awareness.
For this project, I wanted to experiment with my daily routine and how I could make it more ayurvedic. I already had some semblance of a routine, but wasn’t sticking to it very well, and found that I didn’t have enough time in the mornings for the things I wanted to be doing (e.g. asana and meditation). Actually, the main change I wanted to make was to regulate my eating schedule. Between my job at the restaurant and everything else I do, I find I don’t have a lot of time to devote to meals, and I end up eating at really weird times of day—think lunch around 3 pm and dinner around 10 at night. Which is not so great considering that a) I’m eating lunch after my digestive fire is past its prime, and b) I’m having dinner within an hour before going to bed. This didn’t seem like it would be good for my digestion or my sleep. I noticed that I was waking up a lot of mornings not feeling rested, and I wondered if I could change that by modifying my eating habits.
My initial thought was that I’d need to start eating breakfast earlier—around 8 am—so I’d be hungry for lunch earlier in the day (hopefully around noon), which in turn would make me want to eat dinner at a more normal time (around 6 pm). Since I don’t get a break to eat at these times, the only way to do this was to start bringing food to work and eating it in the back when I wasn’t too busy. This meant allowing extra time in the mornings to prepare my meals for the day.
It all sounded good in theory—but the whole plan hinged on my being able to eat an early breakfast. If I didn’t eat early enough, it would throw off my eating schedule for the rest of the day, and it would also mean not having enough time to get lunch and dinner ready to take to work. Normally I wasn’t even waking up until 8 am, so if I wanted my plan to work, I realized I was going to have to start getting up earlier in the morning—an hour or two earlier, realistically, if I wanted to have enough time for asana and meditation before breakfast.
The thought of waking up at 6 am every morning was a little daunting. But it was also exciting, because the earlier start meant I would have time for lots of other things, too. In true form, I got a little overzealous and decided to try also incorporating some other aspects of the ayurvedic daily routine, like oil-swishing, tongue-scraping, and self-massage. Even before I started it seemed like a lot to me, especially considering I don’t normally function before 8 in the morning, but I was ready to dive in and try it.
Well, my plan failed miserably. The first day of trying all this new stuff, exciting as it was, was totally overwhelming. I underestimated how challenging it was going to be just to wake up earlier in the morning. I had always considered myself a morning person, but I just wasn’t used to getting up before 8 am. I really struggled with it. The other factor I didn’t consider was that waking up earlier would mean going to bed earlier. If I wanted to be up by 6 am, I needed to be in bed by 10—which, considering I sometimes don’t even get off of work until after 10, wasn’t realistic for me.
I hadn’t thought before about all these interconnections between the different pieces of my daily life. There is a delicate balance to it all, and making one change can tip the scales and require us to make a host of other changes in order to restore that balance. I believe that I can change my life if we want to, but I’ve realized that I need to approach these changes more gently in the future. I’m finding it strange to hear myself say that, because I have long considered change and movement to be driving forces in my life. I have never thought of myself as a “routine person”; I’m more the type to just fly by the seat of my pants and take life as it comes to me. But it seems that even I have a certain rhythm, and if that rhythm is disturbed, it can really throw me for a loop. When I tried my new routine, I found that it was messing with pretty much every aspect of my daily life, and that stressed me out. I didn’t like it at all. In the end I had to let go of trying to change my whole routine and focus exclusively on just waking up earlier. I am happy to say that I now wake up closer to 7 am and go to bed around 11 pm. This may not be exactly in line with what ayurveda recommends, but it is still a step in the right direction, and it is a more moderate change that I’ve been able to adapt to.
As I’ve been studying ayurveda and becoming more aware of my doshas, I’ve started to get a better feel for when I am going out of balance. In doing my experiment, I could feel my vata spiking and I quickly realized that I was doing something that was not good for me. I may have been going by the book as far as the ayurvedic recommendations were concerned, but I had to disrupt my whole natural rhythm in order to do that, and that didn’t feel right. It felt very much like I was going against the grain. I think there is a lot to be said for following our own intuition about what works and what doesn’t rather than trying to force change on ourselves. If the ultimate goal of what we do is to improve our health and quality of life, we can make changes, but we have to do it in a way that is kind to ourselves and in line with our natural wisdom.