Ayurveda Insight: Routine

When I talk to people about Ayurveda, most people have never heard of it. Some people have heard about the “diet” aspect of it and others have heard of the holistic aspects of it. But one of my favorite things about Ayurveda is that it establishes routine.

Something that I struggled with for a long time was developing routine, especially during the pandemic and stay at home orders. I didn’t need to be up at a certain time. I could roll out of bed and begin work from my laptop. It didn’t matter when I ate because time just wasn’t a concept anymore.

I was feeling very chaotic in my everyday. I was oversleeping, struggling to maintain energy, and often overeating on fast food. It felt like I wasn’t being kind to myself. I wasn’t taking time to do anything productive outside of work. And I was barely being productive in that aspect.

Now I have a routine I can stick to. I get up by 6 am, drink water, head to the gym, shower, eat breakfast, and then get started on work. And that’s just a small insight to the morning. I use my evenings to spend time with my husband and make us dinner and then I’m generally in bed by 9 pm because I love my sleep.

While I did need to do an overhaul on my routine, I started out with one or two basic adjustments. For awhile I made myself get up by 6:30 am and set a bed time of 10 pm. Having bookends on my day helped me with sleep and figure out what I was capable of doing throughout the day and, honestly, everything else just started falling into place. Here a few simple things to help you establish a routine.

1. Wake Up/Bedtime
   As I mentioned above, setting a time to wake up or go to bed can be a great way to get into routine. Commit to waking up by 6 am everyday for two weeks. Allow yourself one snooze if it’s a hard habit to break, but set that first alarm for 5:51. Then commit to going to bed by 10 or 11 pm. Whatever time you need it to bed. Difficult time falling asleep? Commit to no screens in the bedroom, get a sleep mask to shut out extra light, or get a fan to keep the room cool.
2. Eat at the same times
   Eating at the same time can do great things for your digestion. And of course making sure you’re eating things that aren’t irritating helps, too. When you get your digestive system use to working at the same time everyday, you will also find you have regular eliminations. If you can’t eat at the same time for all three meals per day start with one meal.
3. Drink water first thing
   As soon as you wake up, drink water. Try to aim for 32 ounces. For those who don’t drink much water to begin with, try drinking 12 ounces and then working your way up. There are lots of other parts of your day where you can incorporate water like 15 minutes before meals, but doing it first thing in the morning is going to help set your body up for the day.
4. Shower at the same time
   Some people are very strict about when they shower, being either a night or morning person, but throughout the last year I know I would just randomly shower throughout my day. Establishing a set time to shower each day was very beneficial. For those who choose in the mornings, it can be a great way to establish a time to set your intentions for the day and prepare. For those who shower at night, it can be a start to winding down and focus on relaxation.

These are just very basic ideas to helping you get into a routine. There’s so much more of Ayurveda to incorporate into your life and I hope you can find something from these posts to include in your daily life. I’ll be sharing more Ayurveda tips each month. If you find you want to incorporate Ayurveda into your life, please contact me at hannahelizayoga@gmail.com.