Learn the Daily routine in Ayurveda with the Barberyn Physicians at the Home of Barberyn’s Institute of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine.
The beautifully restored 100-year-old house is the backdrop where the Physicians are explaining the routine – the Daily Routine, Seasonal Routine and the Code of Conduct which enables us to maintain a healthy way of life.
They will also demonstrate an Ayurveda oil application that you can practice on your self or your loved ones.
Doctors Script:
Ayubowan!
I am Dr. Haresha, a researcher from Barberyn Ayurveda Resorts and Institute of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine. In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, Dr. Chamal and I researched Covid-19 with the Ayurvedic medical system.
Five thousand years ago, our great sages had spoken about such infectious diseases as Janapadodwansa diseases. Sage Charaka says this is mainly due to moving away from a healthy state. My colleague Dr. Pushpa has already explained about a healthy person described in Ayurveda.
We all know that prevention is better than cure while there is no medicine for Covid-19 as of now, we have found several important facts regarding the current outbreak through our research. Some of them are proper & nutrient food, a healthy lifestyle, a pleasant mind, and good immunity. Among them, enhancing the body’s natural defense system (Immunity) plays a vital role in maintaining optimum health.
We are pleased to inform you that we have prepared some medicines that are mentioned in our authentic Ayurvedic texts which enhance immunity. One such preparation is chavana-prashavaleha. It is a sweet, energizing paste we made at this Institute. We will give it to you once you come here meanwhile we hope you remember the coriander and ginger tea which we suggested in our first mail-out, that is also an immune booster.
Advancement in society or its scientific progress leads to altered lifestyle which has many implications on human health and may lead to many disorders such as Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Ischemic heart disease and obesity. Those diseases are called lifestyle disorders or diseases of civilization. Lifestyle diseases are different from other diseases because they are potentially preventable and can be lowered with changes in the diet, lifestyle disorders or diseases of civilization. Lifestyle diseases are different from other diseases because they are potentially avoidable and can be reduced with changes in diet, lifestyle changes and environment.
As I mentioned before a good lifestyle helps in enhancing our immunity.
Let’s think about what is a good lifestyle?
Ayurveda talks about the ideal routine for our life. There are 03 aspects.
- Dina charya (daily regimen)
- Ritu charya (seasonal regimen)
- Sadvritta (codes and conducts)
Today I will deal with the Dina charya or daily routine.
Dina chariya starts with waking up early morning before sunrise. Early morning before sunrise is called Brahma muhurta which means the hours of gods. I know this could be difficult for some of you. But try to wake up as early as possible.
Once you get up early in the morning you have to drink some lukewarm water. Then you may ask how much water should I take? The water that you can hold in both the hands which makes a concavity.
The next point is bowel evacuation.
After waking up you will feel the urge for urination and bowel evacuation then you will go to the toilet. Do not delay and always do not force to evacuate the bowel.
If you don’t feel the urge to evacuate the bowel in the morning or if you are constipated you should take healthy food specially enriched with high fibre content. You should examine your diet if you are continuously constipated.
If constipation persists you can take some Ayurveda pills or powders like Triphala powder or triphala tablets.
It is important to eliminate the stools in your bowels because the stools filled in bowels may develop toxins that can lead to Gas bloating, Flatulence, acid reflux and several other diseases as well.
The second point is expressing gratitude and meditation. Once you wake up, you can spend even a few minutes expressing your gratitude to the universe and your life through chanting or through meditation. Early morning is a good time to meditate.
You can meditate for at least 5 minutes and feel the surroundings and nature. Meditation after waking up helps you to get positive energy and make your day more constructive, joyful and energy fulfilling. It also prevents all stress disorders, depression and anxiety in your life. This will help you to have a better sleep too.
Next is the cleaning of the tongue and teeth. In Ayurveda it is called dantha davana and jihva nirlekhana.
Ayurveda recommends the use of plant twig from particular medicinal plants such as Salvadora and special herbal powder. We have already made the herbal powder and now we start to make the herbal brushes from the Salvadora plant at our Institute.
We recommend using a silver tongue scraper for cleaning the tongue.
You can gently scrape the tongue. Scraping of the tongue in the correct manner brings valuable results such as prevention of frequent mouth ulcers, hyperacidity, peptic ulcers, gastritis and increase of the secretions of digestive enzymes.
Next point is oil pulling. In Ayurveda it is called gandusha.
During oil pulling, take a small mouthful of such oil and hold it in your mouth without any gargling or movements. Virgin coconut oil is ideal unless sesame oil can be taken as an option.
You have to hold the oil in your mouth for about 2 minutes then throw it out.
The next thing to do is oil application. In Ayurveda it is called Abhyanga.
We can apply oil on our head and body. Oil application on the head brings many benefits such as;
- Improve the eyesight
- Prevent insomnia (lack of sleep)
- Improve the memory and hair growth
- Reduce the stress, anxiety and depression
- Enhance the general well being
Body oil application is also beneficial as it relieves the body pains, tiredness, debility and disabilities along with aging and improves the blood circulation.
Oil application plays a main role during Ayurveda treatments too.
The next point is exercise. This is referred to in Ayurveda as Vyayama.
Your body is not made for a sedentary lifestyle. Due to the current scenario most people are suffering from lifestyle disorders such as IHD DM HTN HL. Exercise or yoga asana for at least 30 minutes a day can make a big difference in your health.
Next is taking a bath. In Ayurveda; the bathing is called as Snana.
The bath apart from cleaning a body it improves your appetite, vigor, strength and life span. Hot water should not be poured on the head. But you can use lukewarm water for it. Warm water is suitable for the lower body.
There are 03 vital points in our body that we should pay attention to.
- Crown of the head
- Heart
- Lower abdomen
These areas of the body should always be protected.
That concludes my part on Ayurveda daily routines, I will hand you over to Mrs. Thilaka to demonstrate the shiro-abhyanga, that is head oil application. It is something you can learn to do yourself.