Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system of medicine that emphasises the importance of maintaining balance in the body and mind. A key aspect of this is establishing a daily routine that aligns with the body’s natural rhythms. A well-designed Ayurvedic morning routine can help boost energy levels, improve digestion, and
Ayurvedic practitioner Celine Wallace calls this her ‘million-dollar morning’ and it’s a practice she favours for both herself and her clients as a way to optimise health and wellness — and start the day off on the right foot.
Key to the practice is to begin the day early, preferably before sunrise to allow the body to sync with the natural rhythms of the day and promote better sleep quality over night. Physical activity such as yoga, stretching or a light workout is an essential step too, to get the blood flowing and energise the body.
A nourishing breakfast is integral to health and wellbeing in most wellness practices, but in Ayurveda, this involves consuming easily digestible foods such as oatmeal, kitchari or a vegetable omelette. Sipping on warm water or tea throughout the day can also help improve digestion and promote hydration.
To help us dive deeper, we asked Celine to take us through some of the key elements of her Ayurvedic style ‘million-dollar morning’ and talk to how it can provide a foundation for better health and wellbeing by promoting balance and harmony in the body and mind.
Limit your use of electronics
I begin the day and recommend that all my clients start by waking up without electronics for the first hour. I know, hard, but hear me out. When you check your phone or laptop upon waking, you are priming your brain for distraction. Seeing or reading something negative in the morning can trigger your stress response, releasing cortisol (your body’s stress hormones), and then you start the day by putting your mind and body on edge for the rest of the day.
Nobody wants to start the mind and body in a reactive state, so think about how you want to feel throughout the day and leave the phone for as long as possible.
Adopt a meditation practice
Even though you have the urge to leap out of bed first thing, quieting your mind at the beginning of the day will set your tone for the entire day. Taking as little as five minutes to meditate before you’re bombarded with the energy of the rest of the world will help your nervous system to stay regulated and flexible when stressful situations appear throughout the day.
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Advertise with NZME.Start by sitting in bed, focusing on your breath; you can use a mindfulness app like Calm or Insight Timer or your personal meditation practice if you have one. These moments will help calm the nervous system and centre yourself, making you feel more focused, content, and grounded as the day continues and lowering your body’s stress response overall.
Try your hand at tongue cleaning
In Ayurvedic medicine, tongue cleaning or tongue scraping is integral to our daily routine. During the night, toxins build up on the tongue from food or beverages we’ve had the previous day.
When you wake up, you’ll have a film of white toxins on the tongue, and usually, most people have a drink and wash these toxins right back into the body. Using a copper tongue cleaner before drinking, swallowing, or eating anything will help you clean your tongue of excess buildup, so your body doesn’t reabsorb these toxins, reducing your mouth bacteria by 80 per cent.
Ramp up the hydration
Not all water is created equal... Water combines vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, like calcium, fluoride, iron, potassium, or sodium. Depending on your water source and its purity, it may be deficient in some or many minerals. Have you had that feeling where you drink water but feel bloated? That’s because your water isn’t being absorbed properly, and when you wake up, you are naturally dehydrated.
So next time you drink a glass of water on rising, put a pinch of natural pink Himalayan salt into your water to ensure your body fully absorbs it and its nutrients. You’ll notice that your body will begin to crave salt in your water, and I encourage all my clients to add it to their water as a natural absorption enhancer!
Incorporate supplements
We’ve all tried supplements; some work, some don’t, but those that do work are game-changers! Many clients I see these days suffer from gut issues like bloating, constipation, or general bad digestion from stress or processed foods. We all know the gut is the second brain, and 95 per cent of your serotonin (happiness chemical) is produced in the gut.
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Advertise with NZME.So, if you love a morning coffee, which is acidic and strips the gut lining, then make sure to have something to help soothe the inflammation in your gut lining, like Sattva Soul Organic Triphala and Turmeric capsules. A natural Ayurvedic anti-inflammatory and antioxidant digestive herb blend! Trust me; your belly will thank you as the day progresses.
Get moving
After you’ve ticked these foundational five boxes, incorporate some movement to move any stagnant energy through your body where you can in your day. Exercising first thing in the morning is best, as your body is naturally producing cortisol in the morning, so you’re flowing with your body’s natural circadian rhythm.
We must remember our bodies are biologically still developed from centuries ago to be in a state of hunter and gatherer, and we exert energy by getting up and moving, then having cycles of rest. How are you honouring your primal biology of moving within these cycles of ebb and flow?
To find out more about Celine Wallace and Ayurveda from her perspective, visit Sattvasoul.co.nz.
