Simple Healthy Routine

समदोषःसमाग्निश्चसमधातुमलःक्रियाः।

प्रसन्नात्मेन्द्रियमनःस्वस्थइतिअभिधीयते॥

– Sushrut Samhita, Sutrasthan, Ch. 15, Shloka 10

A person is assumed to be healthy only if there is a perfect balance in his doshas, agni, dhatu and mala. Along with this, blissful condition of soul (atma), satisfied senses (indriyan) and a happy state of mind (manas) is called a swasthya or healthy person.

For acquiring Holistic Health, one need to develop and maintain a proper lifestyle. A holistic lifestyle basically has two aspects.

  1. Morning Routine (Dincharya)
  2. Night Routine (Ratricharya)

The morning routine is the ideal daily schedule that we do from morning till evening and the night rituals are practices done from evening till bed. Ayurveda believes that dincharya or morning routine and Ratricharya or night routine are disciplines of the body and the mind. This strengthens our immunity and purifies the body from unwanted toxic matters.

 

The aspirant for health should wake up in the morning at ‘Brahmamuhurta’. The simple meaning of ‘Brahmamuhurta’ is the time before sunrise. The environment at this time is generally flawless and beneficial for health. Hall Elrod, in his book “The Miracle Morning”, describes the six habits that transformed his ill body into a healthy body and helped him to attain great heights of success.

 

  • Silence: The first habit is the practice of silence. Pray with silence. Give thanks to the nature for today’s life.
  • Affirmation: The second practice is Affirmation. Affirm yourself strong positive sentences like – “I’m healthy”, “I’m happy”, etc.. Have a positive conversation with yourself. Ask yourself how you want to see yourself in the field of life, why you want this change and what things are needed for it.
  • Visualization: In Visualization, make a mental observation of the measures to achieve your intended goal. See the process of the work to be performed.
  • Exercise: Exercise removes physical and mental laziness. This causes the secretion of serotonin hormone in the body, which makes the mind happy and the body active. Practice of Yoga is a better option.
  • Reading: By reading books or swdhyaya, a person starts his extraordinary life journey. A person from Swadhyaya starts living the lives of many people in this one single life. On an average, reading 10 pages per day, a person can read 3650 pages in a year which is equal to 18 books.
  • Scribing: With daily diary writing or journaling, one can find out the actual distance from our set goal and make a new practical plan. From this one would have a description of what are our achievements and what are required to be achieved.

The ultimate goal of human life is the attainment of dharma, artha, kama and moksha. These four are possible only when the human body is holistically healthy. It requires one to follow natural laws. We should follow the night routine or ratricharya  along with the morning routine or dincharya. The main points of the ratricharya are:

  • Dinner: Take dinner 2 hours before bed. Food should be digestible. Prohibit heavy food.
  • Self-Assessment: Before bed, evaluate the day-long activities through self-assessment or Tatvabodh and thank them for today’s day.
  • Meditations: If possible, pray at night. Then go to bed. Practice ‘Prayer Meditation‘. Prayer Meditation refreshes entire body and mind.

Adequate sleep is necessary. This determines the routine of the next day. A simple healthy routine cleanses the body and mind, balances the doshas (vata-pitta-kapha), strengthens the immune system and preserves the youthfulness. .

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