Daily Routine for Autumn

I love this time of year. Most people like spring! I can understand that, the time of year when the trees begin to bud, flowers bloom and that which is dead, seems to come back to life. But I love autumn. I always thought that it might be the strong memories of high school football games, the state fair, the smell of dirt after a field has been plowed. This was also a time when my parents would take my sisters and brother and I to Boise to go school shopping. This was usually the only time of year I got new clothes so I guess that equates in my head to being nurtured. I also considered the fact that I am pitta (the body predominantly made up of the fire and water elements), and it may just be the cool weather after a hot summer.

It is a little hard to think about cooler weather when it is still 95 degrees out, but fall is coming. The start of a new school year and getting back into routine. Then it dawned on me that it was probably just the routine….Oh, how our bodies love routine. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that throughout my entire life it has been in the autumn, not the spring, when I seem to manifest new habits. (Or like I always say, you don’t create new habits you just replace the old ones with better ones).

Settling in to routine and even better, a new refined routine, seems to bring with it a sense of calm. Dr. Claudia Welch talks about the world being “decision exhausted”. She explains that we are making hundreds of decisions every day. Sooner or later during the day, we get tired of making them, and we become complacent. At that point, the decisions we make are not well thought through and we suffer the consequences. Explains “late night” eating! However, when we have routine, there are no decisions to be made. We already know what we are going to do before the time comes to think about it. That equals saved energy, better decisions, and no surprises. Now I am not saying create a rut and just go hang out in it, but during the two most stressful times of day, early morning as the day is just beginning, and late evening as the day comes to an end, can be routine. In fact, following a daily routine (dinacharya), allows the body to get into a rhythm, which your body will tend to stay in all day. You then meld into your evening routine which helps make it easier to fall asleep. Smooth sailing all day, and “yes”, you can still get a good cardio workout, weights, and yoga in….just in a much more enjoyable way!

Nurturing can come in many forms. I will share with you my morning routine, my evening routine and some general ideas I live with, ones that serve me; hopefully you will be inspired and come up with some personal ways that will serve you. If so, feel free to share them with me and others.

Morning Routine:

5:00am

  • Wake up and do some stretching in bed.
  • Take pulse.
  • Drink cup of warm water with lime
  • Eliminate
  • Tongue Scrape
  • Skin brush and abyhanga (oil skin with triphala oil)
  • Fix and eat Breakfast (take herbs for digestive fire)
  • Brush teeth, floss, and coat gums with triphala oil
  • Shower (I use a travel Neti-Pot in shower-warm water with Neti salt and Neti Wash Plus)
  • Use Nasya oil (oil the membrane of nostrils)
  • Oil face, comb hair and dress

5:45am

  • Out the door to gym to personal train clients (6:15 to 7:15)

7:30am

  • Do personal cardio/weight workout

8:15-10:30am

  • Teach classes (Spin, Yoga or Pilates)

11:00am

  • Back home to do my personal Yoga practice

11:30am

  • Shower, oil, dress for day

12:00pm

  • Prepare and eat Lunch (take herbs for absorption)

Evening Routine:

5:00pm

  • Begin to cook dinner

6:00pm

  • Eat dinner (take herbs for absorption)

6:30pm

  • Family time (go walk if weather is nice)

8:00pm

  • Personal Yoga practice/Meditation

8:50pm

  • Make and drink rasayana of warm milk, spices, and herbs for balance

9:00pm

  • Brush teeth, floss, and coat gums with triphala oil
  • Wash face in summer (take a warm bath in winter)
  • Oil face (oil body in winter)

9:30pm

  • In bed

10:00pm

  • Sleeping

Some of the other things I do, or often suggest to my clients:

    • First and foremost, believe that what you do matters. Believe how you think matters. Believe you are capable of healing yourself. You are exactly where you have chosen to be. Don’t like it there? Make different choices…believe you are in charge.
    • “Do-overs” are awesome! This allows you to set the bar high, but also to try many things without penalty or guilt. Give them to yourself often and also to those you love.
    • Live 90/10…which means 90% of the time you are doing well for yourself, 10%….well this is where the do-overs come in! As Ayurveda says, if you can’t do 90/10, then do 80/20. If you can’t do 80/20, then do 70/30…you get my drift. Do what you can!
    • Spend as much time in nature as you can. You are nature, and the closer you are to it, the more balanced you will be.
    • Eat and Drink clean! Remember alcohol is “fire water” and toxic. (No this can’t be your “do-over %”).
    • Work every day to build your 1st chakra. Spend quality time with your family. Talk to each other. Texting and email doesn’t count.
    • Turn off the television, the radio, the computer. It sucks more energy out of you than you may realize.
    • Change up your workouts….add something new. Just remember you need some sort of cardio for heart, lung and blood vessel health and weights for muscle and bone health. Now that it is getting cooler, I am playing more tennis and wanting to do some horseback riding. You could even go fly a kite with your kids.
    • If your job and/or your commute to and from work are stressful, then do your cardio and weights before work. Let the serotonin release help you get through that stress. Then balance your morning workout by practicing calming, cooling, healing yoga in the evening. Walking into a hot yoga class after a stressful day at work is just adding fuel to the fire….where’s the balance. (Remember, yoga is not your cardio class, your weight training class or your sauna!)
    • Take “stillness breaks” numerous times during the day and just be. Breathe. Digest your thoughts, feelings and emotions. If you don’t they will create veils that will leave your mind foggy and unclear. Seek clarity. Alternate nostril breathing works great here.

  • As often as possible-Smile, Laugh, Cheer, Relax, Strive, Respect, Celebrate, Create, Love, Dance, Hug, Dream, Rejoice, Honor, and Be Grateful! Oh, and Believe!