Introduction
Ayurvedic Nutrition Diet & Medicine – This is nothing more than a deep knowledge and philosophy coming directly from the Vedas. These Vedas are the “science of medicine and food”, bringing to us efficient methods to connect our mind, spirit, and body to have a better condition. Talk about Ayurveda is talk about life, everything from the inside to the outside.
1. Ayurvedic Medicine
Ayurvedic Medicine is the oldest healing science at 5000 years old, and its natural healing systems make it recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most necessary system today. It was first originating in the Vedic culture of India and it means in Sanskrit “Life knowledge”. It also means “science of life” and it treats constipation, arthritis, anxiety, inflammations, infections, ulcers, or hair loss.
Also, Ayurvedic treatments can help to prevent overweight, diabetes, congestive disorders, and more. But the best of everything is that for Ayurveda, every single person is different and unique. So the treatments are specifically for each patient. So, either if you practice yoga, meditation, gems, amulets, herbs, diet, astrology, or colour, you are receiving a unique treatment from Ayurvedic Medicine.
2. Ayurvedic Diet
To have a healthy mind and body we should also have a balanced diet. This, combined with a daily exercise routine is the essential element to getting a spirit, mind, and body connection. But that’s just the beginning when it comes to the best health. Here are our 12 expert pieces of advice on how to improve your health with an Ayurvedic Diet, be sure to read it till the end.
3. Do Pranayama
Practising Pranayama is our first piece of advice to improve your health. Breath is a synonym for life, so the first thing you can do to boost your body and mind health is to practice Pranayama. Deep diaphragmatic breathing clears the lungs of carbon dioxide, and increases oxygen intake, providing your body with more vital energy. Besides, deep belly breathing also massages your internal organs.
This promotes digestion by stimulating your metabolism and encouraging peristalsis. Practice Kapalabhati, this is a breathing technique that uses your abdominal muscles to pull in your belly along with repeated forceful exhalations. Kapalabhati strengthens the Agni or digestive fire and can actually give your abdomen a nice workout.
4. Scrap Your Tongue
This oral hygiene practice has been proven to remove toxins on your tongue better than a toothbrush. Yes, is true, so if your taste buds are covered with bacteria and plaque, it makes it harder to taste your food. This leads to going overboard on salt and loading up on sweeteners and can result in overeating.
By scraping your tongue, you clean up your tongue and your taste gets more accurate. For doing this, place the tongue scraper as far back on your tongue as is comfortable. Using firm but gentle pressure, slide the scraper from the back of your tongue to the tip. Rinse and clean off the scraper and repeat until there’s no chalky residue left. Don’t worry about the time, it takes about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Herbal Support and Warm Water
Herbs support liver function and can calm and pacify imbalanced Pitta and cut liver congestion. Some of them increase bile flow, others support the enzymatic detox processes, and some simply nourish or stabilize the liver. You can use bitter and purgative herbals; these are universally recognized as strengthening for digestion.
Also, bitter herbs cause a reflexive secretion of gastric juices and tone the muscles of the digestive tract. According to Ayurvedic medicine, Pitta accumulates in the small intestines, and purgatives or laxatives help to release it.
Cold Water vs. Warm Water
And, in terms of cold water, this can actually impede your digestive functions. Instead, drink a lot of warm or hot water and ginger tea throughout the day and with meals. The ginger tea also helps to increase Agni and as we said, this promotes digestion. For this practice, 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.
6. Eating Manners and Lunchtime Benefits
The most important thing in an Ayurvedic Diet is to protect and help the digestive fire. In Ayurveda, we can take advantage of its peak when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, from about 12 to 1 p.m. At that time, you should eat the biggest meal of the day. With this, we are not saying you should start throwing down at an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch. We mean that the point is to make your breakfast and dinner meals smaller and easier to digest.
Eating Manners and Emotions
With 12 expert pieces of advice on how to improve your health with an Ayurvedic Diet, we take eating habits as one of the most important points. 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 picking up your fork.
- So, as an Ayurvedic Diet advice, we recommend you to breathe deeply and on every exhalation imagine letting the feelings pass.
- Repeat until you feel clear and centred.
- Then enjoy some nourishment.
No Rush in Your Eating Time
Chewing is the first step in the digestive process. As you chew, digestive enzymes are produced by your salivary glands that help in breaking down your food. The longer period of chewing also gives your stomach more time to signal to your brain that you’re full, preventing you from eating more than is necessary. So, chew your food until it’s as liquefied as possible before swallowing.
Be Quiet While Eating
We are not saying that you are noisy, don’t get us wrong. We know there’s nothing like eating a good meal while chatting it up with friends and family. But try eating in silence sometimes too. When you do, you appreciate your food more, and it’s easier to hear the body signal that you’re full, which helps prevent overeating and leaves you more satisfied after your meal.
1. Focus on the aromas of your food and zoom in on the textures and flavor’s with mindful eating.
2. Take your time and be thankful for what nature provides, and enjoy every bite.
Try Six Tastes in Every Meal
For a healthy Ayurvedic diet, you should try the six tastes of Ayurveda. These flavors are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. For this, 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 don’t stress up with this, keep it simple and use an Ayurvedic spice blend that includes flavors such as coriander, ginger, mustard, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne, and sprinkle it on your meals. It also helps to choose whole foods and make sure your meals have a rainbow of colors.
7. Practice Fasting
The stomach is a resilient organ, so it can often “decongest” itself if you cut the burden on it. Every time you eat anything, you flood the liver with nutrients and potential toxins. Fasting helps it catch up. Detoxification processes need energy and nutrients, however, so it’s wise to drink fresh vegetable and fruit juices every three hours or so when fasting to give this needed support. Don’t starve yourself or let yourself become weak or depleted and always stop a fast at any sign of exhaustion.
8. Meditation
The Path to Adam explains that the benefits of meditation are so many for the health that covers up the entire body. Stress reduction and treatment of anxiety disorders and heart disease are one of the benefits of Meditation. Besides, meditation can include anything from breath awareness to moving meditation or yoga.
The purpose of meditation is not to stop thinking thoughts, but to let the thoughts drift past you like clouds in the sky. Not clinging to the thought, just simply letting it pass and coming back to the breath or mantra. The decision is yours, choose the one that resonates with you and sticks with that kind of meditation. The more you practice, the easier it will become.
9. Receive Massages
The massages have amazing health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, increased muscle tone, stress reduction, and increased lymphatic flow. Abdominal massage can cut constipation and increase bowel movements. Massages before Panchakarma. So, if you aren’t able to get to a studio or center of massages, try a self-massage or Abhyanga with any high-quality organic oil.
Ayurveda suggests using either sesame or coconut oil.
1. First, warm the oil and apply it to the entire body from your scalp to your toes.
2. Take more oil and spend some time on each area of your body.
3. Use circular movements over the joints and long strokes over the long areas of your body like the forearms and thighs.
4. Spend some time where there are nerve endings including your scalp, hands, and feet.
5. Massage your abdomen in a clockwise motion for improved digestion.
6. Put some love into your self-massage and take your time.
10. Allow Yourself to Sweat
Your skin is the largest organ of detoxification. For a good Ayurvedic Diet, when pores are exposed to heat they enlarge and allow impurities to be released from the body through the sweat glands. Sweating also increases circulation and helps your body get rid of excess water weight. Sweat mobilizes the toxins in your body, which then release through your pores. So, whether it’s hitting up the sauna, at the gym, or taking a hot bath, get your sweat on. Just be sure to hydrate while doing so.
11. Rest up to Restoration
Resting up is one of the great things you can do and it’s free. While doing it, all your cells are in the process of restoration. For it, make your environment conducive to sleep by getting your bedroom as dark as possible.
Even the little glowing lights on your alarm clocks and cell phones can affect the quality of sleep. So, don’t be afraid and shut it all down. Before, you can take a warm bath with some salts and soothing essential oils and give yourself an oil massage afterward. Wake up early, preferably at sunrise, and go to bed at a decent time.
Around 9 or 10 p.m. is best. All of these and more can be learned in our Ayurveda Retreat in Rishikesh, here you can have a diagnosis of your health condition. You can use the sauna, receive messages, and get explained about meals and Ayurvedic food. This post about the Ayurvedic Diet and 12 expert advice on how to improve your health is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or treatment.
Conclusion
So, we recommend you always seek the advice of a qualified ayurveda specialist. What do you think about our advice? Have you already started any of this? Let us know which one and how you have felt about that. We would like to know your opinion about the Ayurvedic Diet and don’t forget to share this article on your social media.
Maa Yoga Ashram is an ayurvedic treatment center in Rishikesh. The center also provides 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training In Rishikesh, 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training In Rishikesh and 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh. It is 100 years old and helps people with a proper diet plan, therapies and exercises, our ayurvedic doctors will make your body good to go. Reducing excessive fat and making your body clean with the proper balance of energies within you is what our Ayurvedic practice is all about.
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Or email us at maayogaashram@gmail.com anytime to know more and more about this.