A Daily Hygiene Routine for Yogis
Ayurveda is the 5,000 year old sister science of yoga; it translates to “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit. Rooted in the elements of the earth and cosmos, Ayurvedic classifications or doshas include vata, kapha and pitta. The Ayurvedic practice of dinacharya, or “law of nature,” consists of daily self-care routines that promote balance in body, mind and spirit. Join sages and yogis around the world and add the practices below to your daily hygiene routine.
Wake Before the Sun
Morning is a time of quiet connection. Once the sun is in the sky, the clock of Ayurveda signals it is time to move and be productive. Waking early to begin the day offers a chance to connect energetically with self, rather than your inbox, first thing in the morning.
Meditate
The morning boasts fresh energy and serenity, so it serves as an important time for meditation. Find a few quiet moments to breathe and work your way to a longer meditation over time. Return to mindfulness through meditation at the end of the day, which supports more restful sleep.
Oil Pull
Swoosh oil, such as sunflower, coconut or sesame, around your gums and teeth for a few minutes each day. Oil pulling is effective in removing toxins and parasites, which reside in the nooks and crannies between teeth and in the gums. Work your way from 1-2 minutes to 15-20 minutes. Spit the oil in the trash when you are done and rinse your mouth with water.
Self-Massage
Known as Abhyanga in Ayurveda, self-massaging is often practiced in the morning and/or evening. It calms the nervous system, improves immunity, softens skin, and tones muscle. Use warm oil, such as coconut or sesame (depending on your dosha). Start at your scalp and extremities, then work your way towards your heart. Follow your massage with a warm bath or shower.
Tongue Scrape
Now commonly found in drugstores, tongue scraping is an ancient Ayurvedic technique. Try this practice in the morning: during your sleep, toxins and other organisms your body cannot process accumulate on your tongue.
Skin Brush
This Ayurvedic technique requires silk gloves or a dry skin brush. Start with your extremities and brush toward your heart, with the exception of brushing down the back and spine. This practice drains the lymphatic system and stimulates movement of energy. Take a warm shower or practice self-massage afterwards.
Nourish Yourself
Morning and evening meals should be light in comparison to your lunch. Afternoon is usually the best time of day for your heaviest meal. Agni, or digestive energy, is usually in full force in the afternoon. Avoid eating heavy meals before bed, as this will disrupt your sleep.
Head to Bed Early
Begin your evening ritual around 8:30pm to ensure a restful transition to bedtime. Unwinding with a book or a bath and avoiding screen time are important aspects of good bedtime hygiene. This routine may prevent late-night snacking. Around 10pm, pitta energy kicks back in which may spark a “second wind” and inhibit true rest.
About the Author
Yoga at Home: the Intimate Experience of Self-Practice
There are a lot of reasons to begin a home practice, but one of the most rewarding is the way a dedicated sadhana, or practice, can make anywhere you unroll your mat feel like home. And while nothing quite compares to the live transmission of a living, breathing teacher, there is an unparalleled intimacy that grows out of self-guided practice. Not to mention the opportunity to drop into a personal connection with the divine while eluding the modern obstacles of schedule, cost, convenience, availability, travel time, etc. But before we get into the details of how to practice yoga at home, let us consider for a moment what yoga is.
Yoga is not something you do, it is something you are.
With a more practical explanation, Leslie Kaminoff says any time your body, your breath and your mind are doing the same thing at the same time, you are in a state of yoga. Please don’t get me wrong, the clarity of this message need not take away from the infinite depth of what is a lifelong practice. However, yoga can be plainly understood as a state of union where all the fragmented parts of ourselves — physical, mental, emotional, spiritual — coalesce into a singular experience of the present moment. With that understanding, it is possible (and important) to feel the freedom of being yoga anywhere, especially at home.
When you can experience yoga at home, you have the potential to live your yoga every single day — whether you’re a seasoned practitioner with memberships to studios all over town or someone nurturing the initial seeds of curiosity. My humble intention here is to share what I’ve learned in my personal, sometimes messy, exploration of the art of home practice.
