Ayurveda: Lifestyle, Benefits and Everyday Tips!

I love Ayurveda for two simple reasons

1. It brings in health by balancing the mind, body and spirit as one.

2. It allows a way to live and eat for your own unique self.

Everyone is different and Ayurveda acknowledges that and shows you what lifestyle practices and foods will better balance yourself and promote lifelong wellness. This is why learning and adapting an Ayurvedic lifestyle has drastically helped my digestion, anxiety, state of mind and relationship towards food.

So lets get right into it!! What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is pronounced eye-your-vay-duh AYUR = Life VEDA = Science of knowledge

Ayurveda is the oldest medical system that originated in ancient India over 5,000 years ago. It is a natural healing system which is based on the fact that health can be achieved through complete balance of the mind, body and soul. It takes into consideration that we are all unique human beings and that means we all have to eat, exercise and practice daily routine differently. Hence helping us live more in tune with ourselves. It provides us with a set of guidelines on how we should be incorporating seasonal routines and recipes, proper daily functions and how to tap into using all of our senses for a more harmonious life.

Ayurveda is not a diet, it is a lifestyle that promotes honouring all of ones self. It also shows us the difference between modern medicine and a more eastern alternative approach. Modern medicine works in a way that deals with disease once it has already happened. In turn it looks at fixing the problem once it already has risen. A more alternative approach like Ayurveda looks at any uneasiness that is happening in the body/mind and works to balance it out before it becomes prevalent and dominates the body in forms of physical diseases. (cancer, autoimmune disease, alzheimers, ulcer, etc)

Early signs of dis-ease are sleepiness, fatigue, headaches, low energy, cognitive problems, acne, mood swings, irregular bowel movements, frequent cold and flus, anxiety, depression, problems sleeping, and more.​

Ways that Ayurveda can benefit your life are:

• Improving digestion

• Reducing stress and anxiety

• Enhances detoxification

• Creating a nurturing/caring way to be healthy

• Helps to boost immunity

• Stabilizes moods

• Helps cognitive functions

• Brings in a mind, body and spirit connection

Ayurveda has become more recently known because of it's sister science, yoga. The practices that have become more popular in the past few years are dry brushing, food combining, use of herbs, using a neti pot when sick and the addition of consuming healing spices (turmeric, oregano). I believe Ayurveda is gaining more popularity because it is a universally friendly way of living. Rather than following a diet that is based on general guidelines and not around what you need specifically (paleo, keto, etc), Ayurveda's focus is more on eating with the seasons, eating foods that honour your unique body type and make you feel good as well as learning to listen to your hunger and satiety cues.

While there are three specific body types (called doshas) that everyone fits into, I believe that following these general guidelines can really start to help you see a difference and begin to open your eyes to how healing an Ayurvedic lifestyle can be.

Here are some Ayurvedic tips that are generalized for EVERYONE to do:

1. Never drink ice cold foods/drinks (stops digestive juices from producing)

2. Eat your biggest meal at lunch not dinner (your digestion is strongest between 11am and 2 pm)

3. Eat in a relaxed setting (do not eat when stressed, on the go or watching TV, etc)

4. Scrape your tongue in the morning before eating (to remove any toxic build up over night)

5. Practice yoga or meditation daily (helps to create an awareness to the body and the mind)

6. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday (which helps regulate you, your body and your mood)

7. Eat seasonally! Eat what grows naturally per season (carrots, winter squashes, beets in winter and green beans, summer squash, peppers in summer)

8. Eat mostly cooked, warm food during the cold months and lightly cooked, raw foods during the warmer months (helps to keep everything balanced in the body)

Incorporating these will help with digestion, overall wellness, living more in tune to your highest self, learning what works and what doesn't for your body, calming the mind and much much more.

Along with other Ayurvedic practices I will follow these simple tips daily to ensure good physical, mental and spiritual health. I truly hope they will do the same for you!

What types of daily practices do you do to honour yourself, your body and your health? Leave a comment below!

Take care for now, Namaste.

Ashley!