Practicing Ayurveda At Home

• India has amazing wellness and Ayurveda retreats and anyone who has spent some time at this retreats will vouch for their peaceful air, well being, relaxation and the tranquility these retreats provide.

• Ayurveda means the knowledge and science of life, where Ayur means life and Veda means knowledge or science. This practice is 5000 years old with a history of curing all medical alignments.

• It seeks to restore balance and promote healing in the body. Ayurveda includes everything from oil treatments to diets prescribed specially for you.

• Ayurveda works on three principle that is Pitta, Vata and Kapha. They aim at holistically healing you, they not only treat your illness but also protect your from falling sick again and build your immunity against that disease.

• According to Ayurveda each body is different and each person has their Doshas which need to be balance to treat their illness.

• I know you’ll must be wondering why am suddenly telling you’ll about Ayurveda drifting away from clothes and jewelry.

• But the reason why I am writing this blog is because Ayurveda helps in getting you some mental clarity, boosting your immunity, making your skin healthy and glowing, and making your hair shine as well.

• I know replacing the whole experience of Ayurvedic spa at home will be difficult, but there are still number of ayurvedic practices that can be undertaken at home and the best part is you do not even have to go searching for ingredients for the same, you will find it in your kitchen.

• Just be consistent in these treatments and you will notice a change for the better.

 

1] Pranayama – Deep breathing exercises

• The most essential foundation of Ayurveda is inhaling more oxygen and exhaling toxins along with carbon dioxide.

• Simple breathing exercise will help you achieve this. I suggest do this everyday in the morning around 7 or 8 am sitting in the sun for 15 minutes. This will help you rejuvenate and replenish your body.

How to do Pranayama

• There are multiple ways to do pranayama, but I shall tell you the simplest one.

• Take a comfortable seat. Make sure you are not cold, maybe wrap a shawl round yourself or use a meditation shawl. Sit up straight and tall and close your eyes.

• Close the right nostril with the thumb and take a deep breathe and hold for 5 seconds, then close the left nostril with your index finger and exhale. Repeat this procedure for 15 minutes and due to the increase in oxygen level in your body, you will feel rejuvenated.

• I will tell you another simple way of Pranayama

• Take a comfortable seat, keep yourself warm and sit up straight and inhale. While inhaling count 6 then hold your breathe for 8 seconds and then exhale for another 6 seconds. This is a simple deep breathing exercise.

• Trust me do this consistently for a month and you will yourself want to continue it.

2] Abhyanga – Deep tissue Massage

• Yes you can enjoy a deep tissue massage at the comfort of your home as well. This massage will help you increase the blood flow and will be very relaxing after a long day of work. You will need the following things to do this massage

1.  Luke warm oil in a squeezable bottle
2.  A pot of warm water
3.  A larger towel to wrap yourself with.
4.  A warm space so that you do not feel cold.

• Start with selecting your favorite massage oil, I generally prefer olive oil or almond oil. Put the oil bottle in the pot of warm water so that the oil stays Luke warm.

• Squeeze a little oil in your palm, rub your hand together and start by massaging your forehead, cheeks, chin, and neck in upward circular motion. Take small amount oil and massage the nose and ear canal as well. DO massage your collar bones and shoulders.

• Firm long strokes while massaging will help release your stress and rejuvenate your skin.

• On the hand move from the outside to the inside of the body to increase the blood flow.

• Massage your whole body in a similar manner.

3] Nidra – Good night sleep.

• This is the simplest, you just have to sleep right. Nidra is the most important aspect to have a healthy life. A good night sleep is essential for the body balance it keep the skin looking younger and keeps the dark circles away.

• Tuck you self in at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am. This will give you a proper 8 hour sleep which is needed to rejuvenate your self. Incase you cannot sleep at 10 pm, please do make sure you are at least having 8 hours of sleep everyday.

• Incase you have insomnia like me then try massaging your feet with oil or night cream before you go to bed. You can also play meditating sleep music on a low volume on your phone while you sleep. This music has sound of water and instruments and will help you sleep instantly.

4] Turmeric

• Turmeric naturally has inti-bacterial qualities, it is anti-inflammatory and has lots of anti-oxidants. Please try and drink the golden milk everyday before bed.

• Mix 1 spoon of turmeric powder, ¼ spoon of black pepper, ½ spoon ghee in one glass of warm milk. Drink this mixture everyday.

• You can also mix 1 spoon of turmeric powder, 2 spoon of raw milk 1 spoon of honey and 1 spoon of lemon juice and apply on your face. If you have a dry skin you can add 1 spoon of milk cream to this mixture.

• Keep this face mask for 15 minutes and wash it with cold water.

• This will keep the acne away. Consistent use of this will also help your skin look younger due to the anti oxidants present in the turmeric.

5] Hair loss treatment

• I know a lot of us go through this problem at some point in our life. And who does not love their hair. Luckily the ayurvedic treatment for hair loss and greying of hair is very simple and need very little ingredients.

1. spoon lemon Juice
2. spoons cinnamon
3. 4 spoon honey
4. 6 spoon Luke warm olive oil (do not heat the mixture after adding the other ingredients)

• Apply the above mixture on the scalp and leave for about 30-40 minutes and then wash your hair with normal shampoo and conditioner.

6] Insomnia treatment

• I know everyone has their days where they struggle to fall asleep.

• Well luckily Ayurveda offers a number of solutions for this. Take your pick.

1. Drink a glass of warm milk mixed with green cardamom powder before bed.
2. Drink a glass of warm milk mixed with cinnamon and honey.
3. Heat some water and infuse some mint leaves in it, let the leaves be in the hot water for 5 minutes add half a spoon of honey and drink this mixture every evening.

7] Migraine treatments

• Mix some clove powder to cinnamon oil, make this mixture Luke warm and apply it on your forehead and temple. Leave this for 30-40 minutes and you headache will go away.

8] Cold Treatment

• Are you battling with cold or flu?

• This time try hot water infused with dried hibiscus flower, cinnamon sticks, ginger and honey. Drink ¼ cup of this mixture before bed.

• If you have a soar throat try gargling with luke warm water mixed with turmeric and honey and a pinch of salt. This will definitely soothe your throat.

 9] Skin care treatment

• Who does not want a clear skin? According to Ayurveda breakouts happen due to excess of Pitta dosha.

• Try cooling ingredients like fennel seeds, coriander seeds and aloe vera. Drink aloe vera juice every morning on an empty stomach. You can drink fennel and coriander seed water every night before sleeping.

• You can also cut an aloe vera stem and apply the pulp on you face directly and keep it on like a face mask for 40-50 minutes of until it dries out. Repeat this 3-4 times a week and you surely have a clearer skin.

10] Anxiety Treatment

• Ayurveda can not only treat physical ailment but can also help with emotional and mental wellbeing.

• For treating anxiety Mix rose petals to boiling water and let it cool down until it is luke warm then add a pinch of sugar or honey and drink this water.

• You can also mix the powder of the following

• Coconut, fennel seeds, almond, sugar and black pepper – make a mixture of these ingredients and have a spoon or two of it along side a 1 cup of warm milk.

 I hope these small home remedies help you make a difference in your daily routine. Do tell us about the experiences in the comments below.