DAILY REGIME DURING WINTERS
Rise with the
sun:
Ayurveda suggests waking up
a bit later in the winter (around 6-7 a.m.) than what you usually do in other
seasons. Upon rising, scrape your tongue to remove the dead bacteria and yeast
that have accumulated overnight. Then brush your teeth with herbal toothpaste.
Drink warm water: Next, drink a cup of HOT WATER to stimulate a bowel
movement. Drink this water sip by sip so that it helps in cleansing and
detoxifying the toxins from your body.
Try invigorating yoga sequence and/or run in the morning: It’s common in winters that we don’t have
sun all the days so a morning yoga sequence with lots of sun salutations helps
to bring in more light energy into your day. A morning run outside is also
beneficial, activating your heat energy and helping you catch more daylight. Conclude
your morning regimen with Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation. Surya
Namaskara (sun salutation) and poses that open
the chest, throat, and sinuses remove congestion in the respiratory organs. Try
the fish, boat, bow, locust, lion, and camel poses, along with the shoulder stand
and the headstand, if you can do it. Follow this with a systematic relaxation
and a few rounds of bhastrika pranayama, the breath of fire. This breathing
practice builds heat and eliminates mucus from the respiratory tract.
Moisturize using warming oils like sesame oil or coconut oil: Give yourself a quick “abhyangya” oil massage. Rub warmed sesame oil if
you notice that you have cold hands and feet, all over your entire body (it’s
heating and good for dry skin in the winter). Take a tablespoon of oil in
the palm of your hand and apply it over your body in short, gentle strokes,
from the extremities to your center. Let the oil soak in for 5 to 10 minutes,
then take a hot shower and exfoliate your skin.
Hot showers and/or baths: Hot baths are not
always recommended for energy-saving reasons, or because it’s supposed to dry
your skin. However, it’s essential to keeping your body temperature warm in cold
winter months. A hot shower is very energizing after your morning workout. In
the evenings, a hot bath infused with calming essential oils like lavender
works wonders to restore you.
Breakfast & Drink tea with warming spices : After meditating, it’s important to eat a nutritious breakfast. If you
don’t feed your digestive fire in the morning, it will dry up bodily tissues
and provoke vata. Enjoy a bowl of oatmeal, barley, cornmeal, or poha mildly
spiced with turmeric, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and black pepper. An hour after
breakfast, boil 1/3 teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of
cinnamon, and a pinch of ground clove in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes.
Drink this tea to increase your digestive fire, improve circulation, and reduce
excess mucus from body.
Ø
Ginger and tulsi tea is beneficial for
your body to keep you warm in winter season and to stay away from common cold,
flu, cough and fever.
Eat more nourishing meals: In summers we take
lots of salads but in winters avoid taking salads, especially in evening.
Winter calls for warming foods like soups, stews, curries, whole grains,
roasted root vegetables, and more. Your body calls for a different kind of
nourishment in the winter and seasonal eating is the best way to keep it
healthy and happy.
Dress warmly: It looks like a simple thing but makes a big difference. Make sure
you’re dressed for the weather!
Nasal Oil Administration: In winters, we usually suffer from cough and cold which comes becomes
of allergens from the environment so best way to prevent yourself from these
allergens is to put a drop of warm mustard oil in your nostrils daily before
leaving out for work and also before going to sleep.
Food Intake :Milk
and milk products, wheat, Udad dal, meat and poultry, eggs, soups, herbal tea,
soaked almonds, coconut, walnuts, pistachios all types of nuts and seeds which
contain natural oil. Increased use of jaggery in diet helps to balance vata.
Preparations like ladoos of fenugreek seeds, edible gum (Dinka), dry dates,
cashews in ghee proves healthy during winter. Juicy fruits and vegetables like
carrot, cucumber, lemon; etc which has high water content should be consumed.
Daily Water intake should also be increased. Eat your main meal when the sun is
strongest, i.e. midday.
