AYURVEDIC NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
There are no quick fixes for any disease in Ayurveda, nor are there any medications for good health. Ayurveda teaches us that the body becomes healthy when the mind, body, and emotions are in harmony with each other and with the elements of nature. Here are a few Ayurvedic New Year resolutions for a healthier and happier you.
One home-cooked meal a day
Due to our hectic lifestyle, we get so caught up in unhealthy routines that food becomes the last priority in life. You might be skipping breakfast, regularly eating out for lunch and dinner, not keeping count on the cups of coffee and tea you have been having throughout the day. This year, promise yourself you will eat at least one home-cooked meal per day, come what may. Aim low, and soon, you will find yourself dreading the same old takeout. Also, try to eat all three meals on time, regardless of what you eat.
Be mindful about stress
Today, stress is the root cause of almost all lifestyle diseases plaguing half the urban population. As with food, we often accept stress as part of life, and something inevitable for productivity, which needn’t be the case. Stress makes your body work on overdrive, diverting all energies for flight or fight rather than proper digestion and sleep. Recognize the triggers and patterns of stress and work out what you can do to avoid or lessen this New Year’s stressors. Over a period, you will find yourself more productive and at peace with yourself.
Give yourself a sesame oil massage once a week
Consider your body as your temple, and it’s your duty to keep it in the best health possible. Often, we lose touch with the body and ignore all the red flags it gives us, eventually leading to diseases. This new year, resolve to devote one hour a week to give your body a long, relaxing massage. Ayurveda recommends warm sesame oil infused with frankincense. Take a warm bath afterward. You will feel rejuvenated, and your body supple and relaxed.
Respect your sleep rhythm
Our body clock works according to the onset of night and day, all of which we disrupt very early in life. But the fact remains that we function best when we respect the body’s sleep rhythms. This year, aim at going to sleep by 11 pm at least four days a week, for a beginning. In a matter of time, your body will start winding down by 11 pm every day, even when you don’t feel like it.
Ten minutes of yoga every day
The New Year resolution which gets broken most is to exercise every day, as evidenced by the spike in gym memberships in January. The key is to go for smaller goals, which wouldn’t sound intimidating. Aim at ten minutes of yoga every day, which takes almost no effort at all. Conclude it off with a few minutes of meditation. However, all those minutes add up, and your body will thank you later in life for it. Try to scale it up to half an hour every day and a full-fledged one hour on the weekends.
