Life After 50
Do you care for your work more than your life? Yes, at the peak of the career everyone has to. But then what about happiness and health when you turn 50? Here’s a simple 20-minute help that can be derived from Ayurveda.
On a busy workday wake up with an alarm but do not get out of bed immediately. Instead, open and close your eyes 10 times. Stretch your legs five times. Stretch your hands five times. Then stretch the whole body for six breaths and then get down for morning ablutions. Does this sound in tune with nature? Have you seen the birds waking up in the morning or a cat after her intermittent naps? They do the shaking due to nature’s rhythm imbibed in them. It is within us as well, but our busy modern intellectual life has forgotten it over the past decades. This simple technique awakens you fully, the circulation begins, senses begin to get aligned, and you feel fresh instantly. So let’s get back to nature with Ayurveda.
Morning ablutions include brushing with sweet teeth whitening toothpaste. Have you tried the astringent toothpaste available in the market? Teeth cleaning and mouth washing using astringent bitter and spicy pastes or Triphala decoction take care of buccal mucosa, tongue, and gums. It not only keeps away bad breath but also rejuvenates the salivation process and helps to regulate digestion. Try it for a week and check for the difference. To maintain the immunity of oral and nasal mucosa oil pulling and nasal painting with coconut or olive oil should be done daily. It takes 2 minutes. Especially after COVID -19, this practice has importance because it works as a barrier for the entry of microbes.
Instead of coffee, would you try a warm long herbal tea? Anything having ginger, mint, turmeric, clove, cinnamon, cardamom in different combinations. It will replenish water requirements and also help bowel movement. Irregular bowel movements, unsatisfactory defecation, constipation, indigestion are the root causes of many non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease, insomnia, joint diseases, and allergies. The simple Ayurveda tea in 300 to 500 ML quantity starts taking care of the digestion process smoothly.
Here come my 10 minutes extra in your daily routine. On the empty stomach perform six Sun salutations. If you do it faster, they can be even eight or 10 cycles and you will sweat. The sun salutation cycles include 12 different postures which strengthen and stretch almost all big and small muscles and tendons in your body. You might feel stretch in the long muscles of arms and legs but the intercostal muscles between your ribs are also stretched. In the serpent position during sun salutation the thyroid and supra-thyroid glands are stimulated too. These 10 minutes make your body fresh for taking any hard work in the office.
My next 10 minutes extra are for abhyanga. It means the quick application of fragrant herbal oil to the whole body. A simple principle is to apply oil in the direction of the heart. It is a very comfortable and natural tendency of stroking. Everyday oiling makes the skin supple, smooth, and elastic. It keeps the wrinkles away, maintains the tone of muscle, and nourishes small joints. Oiling or moisturizing skin gives a protective coat which is a barrier for microbes. It’s part of the new normal. According to your constitution (prakriti) one or two types of oils will suit you best.
After that enjoy a nice warm/hot shower with some refreshing fragrances like rose, lavender, sandalwood, musk, or amber. These fragrances subtly work on your mind and refresh you to take on the new workday. Now you are ready for breakfast. Shower before eating and not after because it brings in a very important change in the metabolism of food.
Do let us know how the 20 minutes of Ayurveda make you happy every day!
The copyright of this article is owned by Dr. Asmita Wele
About The Author
Prof (Dr) Asmita Wele
Dr. Asmita Wele is the professor and head of the department of Rasashastra and Bhaishajyakalpana Vigyan [Ayurveda pharmacology] at College of Ayurveda Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University in Pune, India. She is also an Honorary Professor, University of Debrecen, Hungary… Read More