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Struggling to wake up now the mornings are that bit colder and darker? Aren’t we all.
Here, Mira Manek, wellness expert and author of Prajna Ayurvedic: Rituals for Happiness, shares some tips from one of the world’s oldest healing systems to help you own your morning.
From tongue scraping to oil pulling and drinking warm water from a copper jug, try introducing one of these simple steps to your routine for a little boost that might just transform the rest of your day.
Waking early
According to Ayurveda, we should sleep when it’s dark and wake with the sunrise, so the ideal time to sleep is between 10pm and 6am. These are the hours that are most rejuvenating, when our cells get repaired, our organs get a recharge, our digestive system gets a rest and our short-term memories are consolidated. Our biorhythms are programmed to follow nature’s rhythms, which is why sunrise is the natural time for our bodies to awaken.
I’ve always been a natural night owl and therefore waking early can be a struggle. However, I have changed my pattern and have started waking up around 7 or 7.30am, which for me is definitely early. A decade or so ago, I was working as a travel journalist and writing my novel late into the night, trying to get everything done while the world slept. I was going to sleep at 3 or 4am. However, this often meant nodding off for the last hour or half an hour, making my time highly unproductive.
Once I started waking up early, I realised how much I can get done first thing in the morning, whether it’s opening my little notebook and jotting down inspirations and ideas, or doing pranayama breathing, as well as a few key stretches, or simply taking a little more time to get out of bed. Those few moments before getting out of bed, a few moments of silence with yourself, taking deep breaths and expressing gratitude, are moments that can inject positivity into the day ahead, a sense of mindfulness that you can carry through the day and an all-pervading calmness.
Saying thank you
I always try to begin the day with a spirited and spritely ‘thanks’, at some point before I leave home in the morning. Sometimes I list a few things that I’m thankful for, either aloud or in my head or by writing them down – this was something I started doing when I was depressed and lonely, when I went to sleep and awoke with a very heavy feeling each and every day.
This little gesture or acknowledgement of the small but significant things in life brings about a spark of energy but also makes gratitude a habit, so that there is a sense of abundance, not a lack, on a daily basis. I might not feel this gratitude all through the day – we all have moments of anger, sadness or self-pity – but it remains under the surface, ready to be summoned when I need it. Over time, marking the beginning of the day with a few words of gratitude has encouraged atoms of happiness to spread further, to enter my grasp.
Smiling
There are happy days, there are normal, routine days and there are days when we wake up and we’re filled with sadness or anxiety. By adopting certain practices into our routine, the factors that negatively affect our emotions have a little less impact and our overall wellbeing will improve, one day at a time.
Starting the day with a smile, whether it comes naturally or feels forced, even if happiness feels impossible for you right now, will quickly become a habit; it can make you think of a happy memory, possibly even make you laugh, and by releasing the feel-good neurotransmitters, dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, it can relax your body, lift your mood and potentially even lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
Even if, lying in bed, the sheer act of smiling makes you feel silly initially, this might just make you laugh. This small and entirely effortless act of smiling to yourself can have a transformative power and change your day.
Drinking water from a copper jug
Start the day by drinking warm water ideally from a pure copper cup or jug filled the night before. Copper makes the water ionic, which helps maintain the body’s pH (acid-alkaline) balance. It also helps to balance the three doshas – vata, pitta and kapha, and stimulates peristalsis.
Copper’s antioxidant properties help fight off the free radicals that cause ageing and its antibacterial properties strengthen the immune system. Make sure you get a jug made of pure copper. Avoid scrubbing the copper vessel when washing up; instead, use half a lemon to wash and clean it properly.
Nature calls
Clearing your digestive system first thing in the morning is ideal and will be helped along by drinking a few glasses of warm water as soon as you wake up (Ayurveda specifies around a pint). Eating late the night before and not digesting your food properly could prevent bowel movement and regulation.
Just like in India, the squatting position is great for bowel stimulation and digestion. So, if you have sluggish digestion and suffer from constipation, you could get a short stool to rest your feet on while going to the toilet, as this will mimic the squat position and put a little pressure on the bowels. It’s a tried and tested method that really works! Of course, the yogic squat is also a great position to just sit in for a minute or two – this could also help. Of course, evacuating in the morning is ideal, but it is more important to be evacuating daily, even if later in the day. Constipation can be painful, can slow you down and make you tired. Sitting with your legs folded underneath you is another position that can help with movement in the digestive system.
Constipation, gas and flatulence can be caused by various things from too many acidic foods to how fast you eat and whether you’re drinking enough water. Just remember, keeping hydrated is of utmost importance and drinking alcohol and caffeine can really dehydrate you.
Tongue scraping
Scraping the tongue daily removes the build-up of toxins on the tongue and cleanses ama from your physiology. In Ayurveda, ama is the accumulation of toxins either in the body when we fail to digest food or cleanse properly, or in the mind, in the form of unprocessed emotions.
You can buy Ayurvedic tongue scrapers in silver, copper or stainless steel; copper is best due to its antibacterial properties. This should be done after brushing the teeth. Hold both ends of the tongue scraper in each hand, stick your tongue out and scrape off the white coating from the surface of your tongue 2–3 times. Rinse out your mouth afterwards.
Oil pulling
Take a tablespoon of sesame or coconut oil and swish it around your mouth for 5 minutes to start with, but try to increase this time each day; you can do it for up to 20 minutes. Then spit out the oil and rinse your mouth out with warm water. Oil pulling helps to keep the gums and teeth healthy by drawing out the harmful bacteria produced during the night, it helps eliminate bad breath and purify the taste buds. We tend to also hold a lot of tension in our jaw, so the movement of facial muscles while swishing the oil can help loosen these muscles and release some of that stress.
Oil pulling can be done before or after brushing teeth – I choose to do it before. If using coconut oil when solid, the oil might feel thick at first, but it will quickly become thinner as it melts in your mouth.
Morning Rituals is taken from PRAJNA Ayurvedic rituals for happiness by Mira Manek (£12.99) miramanek.com
