Would you like it if you went to bed and were awake all night with sleep eluding you? Nobody likes that. So to avoid a sleepless night here are a few evening rituals in keeping with ayurveda that could help with a peaceful night.
Ayurvedic Rituals
According to ayurveda experts the reason why today most people have difficulty sleeping is because they are highly stressed with their current lifestyle. This in terms of ayurveda means having excess vata and the mind is hyperactive which does not allow it to relax. So ayurveda suggests some rituals that can enhance and boost sleep, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Consuming an Ayurvedic Dinner
The last meal of the day or dinner is important as far as what one eats. It should essentially be light and healthy and eaten two hours before calling it quits for the day. A light dinner could be a soup or a quinoa recipe. This helps with proper digestion of the food. No caffeinated beverage should be consumed.
Taking a Bath
Bathing everyday has always proved to be beneficial and refreshing. It becomes more refreshing the moment magical herbs and perfumes are added to it. Adding two essential oils namely, rose and jasmine have a wonderful benefit which releases stress and negative emotions from within. It also opens the heart and has a calming effect on a person. These calming and relaxed states naturally are effective in inducing sleep.
Light Exercises
Light exercises could essentially mean yoga. They are indeed effective. Yoga asanas like child’s pose, spinal twist pose and corpse pose are some of the poses that can be practiced. Along with yoga, meditation for 10 minutes also brings a deep calming and relaxing effect that helps the mind, body and soul to achieve equilibrium.
Deep Breathing or Pranayama
Deep breathing is also effective. For this, one has to sit on the bed with closed eyes, while closing the right nostril and inhaling through the right. Then the left nostril is closed and exhaled through the right. Next on, inhale through the right nostril and close it. The exhalation should be done through the left nostril. This method of deep breathing should be practiced for a good 10 minutes as it aids in reducing vata and balances both the hemispheres of the brain.
Alternatively there is another breathing technique called the brahmari breathing. In this method, one simply has to inhale and exhale extremely slowly uttering ‘om’ for 5 minutes.
Feet Washing
Washing the feet could also be part of that ayurvedic bedtime ritual that aids with sleep. It washes away not only the dirt, but also all the stress and strains of the day. It brings about a relaxing effect on the body.
Abhyang
Self-massaging or abhyanga is another beneficial ayurvedic practice that induces sleep. As ghee is a cooling and calming massage medium, it should be used to massage the temples and the naval areas. It effectuates the hydration and oleation principles on which abhyanga and panchakarma therapies of ayurveda are based. It balances the vata and takes the edge off pitta with its cool and sweet properties.
Other areas of that body that need massaging before bed are the scalp and the feet, both the extreme points of the body. With over 7,000 nerve endings on each foot, that area will definitely help to relax the entire body. As the scalp is the starting point of those numerous nerves, that area too will benefit with a deep massage.
Consuming Warm Milk with Herbs
Just before retiring for the night, ayurveda stresses on the concept of consuming a glass of warm milk with a pinch of turmeric or haldi or nutmeg powder. Milk, with its active ingredient of L-tryptophan, an amino acid, induces sleep. However, it should be remembered that old milk will have no effect as a glass of warm milk will do.
Smelling Essential Oils
Smelling your favourite essential oil can have a profound effect on the human body as far as sleep is concerned. A few drops of that oil can be sprayed or poured onto the pillow or on the wrist area where the pulse can be felt. It helps to soothe and calm the mind and body. This opens up the heart and encourages sleep according to ayurveda.
Avoiding Gadgets
To turn out for the night, one essentially needs to disconnect first to reconnect. Now what does this mean? It means to switch off all gadgets and disconnect from them to reconnect with your loved ones before going off to bed.
Conclusion
With so many tips and tricks of ayurveda, here is wishing you a good night of rest and supercharging up for the next morning.
Also read 9 Ayurvedic Evening Rituals for Happiness and Good Sleep
