Knowledge and philosophy of Ayurveda came directly from the Vedas, which gave us the science of medicine and food and the most efficient method to connect our mind, spirit, and body to lead a healthy life. 

Ayurvedic Medicine is, therefore, the oldest healing science that is 5,000 years old. This natural healing system is even recognised by the WHO. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means ‘Knowledge of Life’ or the science of life and we can use it to treat constipation, arthritis, anxiety, inflammation, infection, ulcers or hair loss. With it, we can prevent overweight, diabetes, digestive disorders, and more. For Ayurveda, every single person is different or unique. So treatments are customised for each patient and include yoga, meditation, gems, amulets, herbs, diet, astrology, and colour therapy. 

Yogi Dr Amrit Raj

To have a healthy mind and body, we need a balanced diet, combined with daily exercise such as yoga. Here are essential tips on how to improve your health: 

Pranayama

Breath is a synonym of life, so the first thing to boost your body and mind health is to practice Pranayama. This deep diaphragmatic breathing clears the lungs of carbon dioxide, and increases oxygen intake, providing the body with vital energy. Deep belly breathing also massages your internal organs and promotes digestion by stimulating your metabolism and encouraging peristalsis. Practice of Kapaalbhati uses your abdominal muscles to pull in your belly along with repeated forceful exhalations. It strengthens the Agni or digestive fire and gives a good workout to your abdomen.

Scrape Your Tongue

This oral hygiene practice removes toxins on your tongue better than a toothbrush. Your taste buds are covered with bacteria and plaque and that makes it harder to taste food. This leads to going overboard on salt and sweets as a result. Scraping your tongue cleans it and our taste buds improve. Use firm but gentle pressure and slide the scraper from the back of your tongue to the tip. Rinse and clean off the scraper and repeat until no chalky residue is left. It takes about 1 to 2 minutes.

Herbs And Warm Water

Herbs support liver function and can calm and pacify your imbalanced pitta and cut liver congestion. Some may increase bile flow, while others support detox processes, while some simply nourish or stabilise the liver. You can use bitter and purgative herbals that are universally recognised as strengthening for digestion. Bitter herbs cause a reflexive secretion of gastric juices and tone the muscles of the digestive tract. It helps to release the pitta accumulated in the small intestines with purgatives or laxatives.

Cold Water Vs. Warm Water

Cold water can actually impede your digestive functions. Instead, drink a lot of warm or hot water and ginger tea throughout the day and with meals. Ginger tea helps increase agni, thereby promoting digestion. Start with one cup of ginger tea in the morning, and if it feels right, increase your intake to 2 to 4 cups a day.

Eating At Lunch Time

The most important thing in an Ayurvedic Diet is to protect and help the digestive fire. In Ayurveda, the best time to eat is when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, from about 12 to 1 p.m. In that time, eat the biggest meal of the day. The point is to make your breakfast and dinner meals smaller and easier to digest.

Eating Manners And Emotions

When you’re overwhelmed by intense feelings, you’re not paying attention to the food you’re eating. You can even feel you haven’t eaten at all, so wait until the storm passes before eating. 

1. Breathe deeply and on every exhalation, imagine letting the feelings pass.

2. Repeat until you feel clear and centred.

3. Then enjoy your food.

Never Rush Through Food 

Chewing is the first step in the digestive process. As you chew, digestive enzymes are produced by your salivary glands as they help in breaking down food. Longer periods of chewing give your stomach time to signal to your brain that you’re full, preventing you from overeating. Chew your food until it’s as liquefied as possible before swallowing

Eat Quietly And Mindfully

There’s nothing like eating a good meal chatting with friends and family. But eating in silence is best. Learn to appreciate your food more, and it’s easier to hear your body signal that you’re full. Focus on the taste and flavours of the food. Eat mindfully. Finally, take your time and be in gratitude for what nature provides.

Incorporate Six Tastes In Every Meal

These flavours include sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. Every fruit, vegetable, grain, nut, and legume has a particular taste or a combination of a few. Ideally, you would include these in every meal, but as this is not possible, use an Ayurvedic spice blend that includes all these flavours such as coriander, ginger, mustard, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne and sprinkle it on your food. 

Practice Fasting

The stomach is a resilient organ, so it can often decongest itself. But every time you eat, you flood the liver with nutrients and potential toxins. Fasting helps it catch up. Detoxification processes need energy and nutrients, so it’s wise to drink fresh vegetable and fruit juices every three hours or so when fasting to give this process, support. Don’t starve yourself or let yourself become weak and always stop a fast at any sign of exhaustion.

Meditation

It is the pathway to bliss. Between the stress reduction, treatment of anxiety disorders and heart disease are one of the biggest benefits of meditation. Meditation can include anything from breath awareness to moving meditation or yoga. The purpose is not to stop thinking thoughts, but to let them drift past like clouds in the sky. Simply let them pass and come back to the breath or mantra. The more you practice, the easier meditation becomes.

Massages Are Good

Massages have amazing health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, increase in muscle tone, stress reduction, and increased lymphatic flow. Abdominal massage cuts constipation and increases bowel movements. Try a self-massage with any high-quality sesame or coconut oil.

Warm the oil and apply it to the entire body from your scalp to your toes. Apply on every area. Use circular movements over the joints and long strokes over the long areas like the arms and thighs. Spend some time where there are nerve endings including your scalp, hands, and feet.

Massage your abdomen in a clockwise motion for improved digestion. Massage your own body with love and affection. 

Let Yourself Sweat

Your skin is the largest detoxification organ. When pores are exposed to heat, they enlarge and allow impurities to be released from the body through sweat glands. Sweating also increases circulation and helps your body get rid of its excess water weight. Sweat mobilises the toxins in your body, which then release through your pores. So, it is good to sweat. Remember to drink water to keep your body hydrated. 

Get Adequate Rest 

Resting is necessary. And it’s free. Your cells need this process of restoration. Make your environment conducive to sleep by switching off the lights, and keep your cell phone away. Just before you are ready for sleep, take a warm bath with some soothing essential oils and give yourself an oil massage afterward. Wake up early, preferably at sunrise, and go to bed at a decent time, at least by 10 p.m. 

Yogi Dr Amrit Raj is a fourth generation Ayurvedic doctor and certified 500 Hours Yoga Teacher from Yoga Alliance, USA. He founded Maa Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh, which holds yoga and ayurvedic retreats. He has held yoga and Ayurveda workshops for judges, European royal families, Hollywood and Bollywood actors, and UN officials.