Let’s face it; we live in a high-stress world. Our culture has glamorized working twelve-hour days, running from activity to activity, and eating a low-carb diet to fit into the perfect pair of skinny jeans. And although the concept of self-care has become a mainstream buzz, many still think self-care means bubble baths and a glass of wine.
Ayurveda, on the other hand, offers a different perspective on self-care. This ancient medicinal system recommends self-care in the form of daily practices that provide deep rejuvenation for your body, mind, and soul. Rejuvenation treatment in Ayurveda can start simply as improving your oral hygiene, eating a more nourishing diet, and focusing on tonifying herbal supplements, grounding yoga, and breathing.
Types of Rejuvenation Treatments in Ayurveda
Below is a list of various rejuvenation treatments in Ayurveda. After reading, consider incorporating one or two practices that resonate with you and build from there.
Self-Care Hygiene
Rejuvenation treatment in Ayurveda is all about restoring the body’s vitality to its most total capacity. Intentional care and action to personal hygiene are necessary to build this vitality. We all know about brushing our teeth twice a day and flossing, but Ayurveda encourages you to take it further with a full dinacharya practice. A rejuvenating dinacharya typically consists of tongue cleaning, oil pulling, nasya, abhyanga, and dry brushing—these treatments aid in removing toxins from the body and provide nourishment to your system.
- Tongue cleaning is one of Ayurveda’s most well-known practices. By practicing tongue cleaning in the morning before eating or drinking anything, you’re removing toxic buildup from your tongue and cleansing your digestive tract.
- Oil pulling removes toxins from your mouth and digestive tract. Oil pulling is highly rejuvenating and hydrating to the rasa dhatu or bodily fluids.
- Nasya is the practice of applying medicated oil inside the nasal passageway. Nasya creates a protective barrier from outside pollutants, toxins, and irritants as well as calms the nervous system and moisturizes the sinuses. Practicing nasya rejuvenation treatment in Ayurveda will assist in deep sleep and clear mental fog.
- Abhyanga and all oil therapies are highly rejuvenating because oil is heavy, dense, and moist. These nourishing qualities help restore the body’s vitality, and that’s why abhyanga (self-oil massage) is soothing and a massive act of self-love.
- Dry brushing clears stagnant lymph and toxins from your body. It helps exfoliate dead skin cells, accelerate the release of toxins, and encourages cell renewal. Practice dry brush before abhyanga to feel its powerful effects.
Rasayana Herbs
Rasayana herbs are an important part of rejuvenation treatment. Rasayana herbs are a specific class of herbs that provide impressive improvements in the areas of enhancing vitality, improving longevity, and warding off disease. Below are two of the most popular rasayana herbal blends:
- Chyawanprash is a powerful nutritive tonic in Ayurveda with a base of the superfruit amalaki. Providing 30+ herbs, Chyawanprash is full of antioxidants known to promote vitality and provide youthfulness and longevity. This nourishing jam consists of many rejuvenating herbs such as ashwagandha, shatavari, licorice, and long pepper fruit, which help boost and rejuvenate your immune system. Discover more about chyawanprash health benefits.
- Triphala is the combination of three ayurvedic superfruits, haritaki, amalaki, and bibhitaki, which provide the perfect balance to cleanse and nourish. Furthermore, this herbal medicine is influential in regulating bowel movements and removing waste and toxins, which is crucial in rejuvenation.
Morning & Evening Routines
Routines are vital in creating structure and stability in order to allow for rejuvenation. Thus, you can view routines as essential transitional periods for your day. A morning routine sets you up for success by connecting you inward and providing you with a healthy dose of self-care and self-love. An evening routine promotes quality rest and allows you to disconnect from the noise of the day and move into the ultimate time of rejuvenation: sleep.
It’s essential to stay consistent with your routines. Consistency throughout your day and especially with your routines keeps you connected with nature’s cycles.
Yoga & Pranayama
You can find daily rejuvenation treatment in Ayurveda in the practices of yoga and pranayama. While there are many different styles and techniques, rejuvenation will come from grounding, slow yoga, and balancing, soothing pranayama. To build ojas and reduce stress, add this yoga flow and pranayama breath to your morning routine for ultimate rejuvenation.
- Child’s pose
- Cat and cow pose
- Thread the needle
- Sleeping pigeon pose
- Supported bridge pose
- Supine bound angle pose (one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly)
- Supported seated forward fold
- Supine twist pose
- Legs up the wall
Take each of these postures slowly and hold for one minute. Focus on your breath, inhaling deeply, and exhaling deeply.
Follow your yoga practice with deep diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing helps you use your diaphragm correctly to relax and restore the tissues of the body. Furthermore, shallow breathing limits the diaphragm’s range of motion and limits your lungs from getting full oxygen. That can make you feel shortened of breath, stressed, and anxious.
To practice:
- Sit comfortably with your spine tall and shoulder relaxed.
- Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your lower belly, and then take a few regular rounds of breath
- Intentionally deepening your breath, breathe slowly through your nose into your lower abdomen. Your stomach will move out against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.
- Exhale through pursed lips letting your hand and stomach fall back to the centerline of your body. Tighten your stomach muscles, continuing to exhale out all of your air.
- Repeat slowly and intentionally. Allow the worries of your mind to melt away with every exhale out.
Discover more pranayama exercises to add to your yoga practices.
Rejuvenating Diet
Diet is an important factor when considering rejuvenation treatment and can be a valuable tool to utilize daily. First, it is crucial to understand and learn the ayurvedic 6-tastes. Once familiarizing yourself with the 6-tastes in Ayurveda, you can focus on incorporating more nourishing foods. Ayurveda suggests consuming more dates, sweet potato, rice, almonds, ghee, whole grains, root vegetables, bananas, and figs for daily rejuvenation treatment. Furthermore, consider adding chyawanprash to your diet for ultimate rejuvenation.
Lastly, for deep rejuvenation treatment in ayurveda, consider panchakarma or a 7-day ayurvedic cleanse.
Clare Michalik, Ayurvedic Practitioner
