Regulate your nervous system - Create a daily routine

This is an excerpt from my book "Rhythm"; a free guide to creating a daily routine to regulate the nervous system. Routines create a safe space for our nervous system. When the body and mind feel safe, you are more capable of handling life's circumstances and sitatuions in a steady, balanced manner.

While I share here my own daily routine, I encourage you to create your own that suits your individual needs.

Enjoy the read!

"... This final section of the book is the closest to my heart. Just writing about it makes me relax into my feminine and connects me to my inner mother to feel safe, pampered, nurtured, and tended to.

Our human body feels safe when it knows what to expect, and while life can throw at us unexpected events, we can be proactive and create a daily routine that suits our individual needs and yet provides structure to our day to make us feel safe and nurtured emotionally and physically. When the body and mind feel safe, you are more capable of handling life’s circumstances and situations in a steady, balanced manner.

The way you design your daily routine is very personal and should suit your individual needs and life dynamics. I have touched upon this in the “circadian rhythm” section, but now I will talk about it in the context of Ayurveda. Dinacharya literally translates to “to be close to the day,” which means syncing to the Earth’s natural cycles, and in my own words, tuning to the Earth’s rhythm. Below, I present my own daily routine, which will give you an idea of how to approach yours—take what resonates with you and leave out what doesn’t. You can then design your own depending on your needs.

The day starts around sunrise, and as explained earlier, waking up when the sun rises and going to sleep as it sets, syncs our body to the natural circadian rhythm. Creating a morning routine that prepares you for the day literally sets the tone of your day, so it is worth creating a morning routine and waking up a bit earlier to ensure ease and flow to your day. I start, of course, by cleaning my face and brushing my teeth, and another recommended Ayurvedic activity that goes with that is tongue scraping. As you sleep through the night, the body goes through a detox, and one place where these toxins can be found is on the tongue, so creating a habit of scraping your tongue in the morning after you wake up removes any white coating on your tongue, which is “ama” or toxins. The act of scraping also stimulates the internal organs, getting them ready for the day. You can easily buy a tongue scraper online. Many people, at this stage, perform “abhyanga” massage, which is oiling the body and taking either a cold or warm shower, but I prefer doing that in my night-time routine to prepare me for bed. I will go deeper into what abhyanga is when I talk about my night-time routine.

At this stage, I have prepared the body to start the day. The next step would be to prepare the mind; this is where a “sadhana” comes in. Sadhana is a form of ritual that you choose for spiritual purposes, that could be a prayer, yoga, breathwork, chanting, meditation, or any other form of connection to the Divine or your Higher Self. This clears the mind and neutralizes it, preparing it for the day. It can be as short or long as you desire. Any form of sadhana will clear the subconscious habits or beliefs accumulated in the day before and centralize your life force, making it readily available for creative endeavors.

After you are done with your sadhana, you can prepare the first warm drink of the day, whether it is coffee or herbal tea to stimulate the digestive system and encourage elimination. In Ayurveda, elimination is central to a healthy body. A body that does not eliminate daily, preferably at the same time in the morning is an indication of an imbalance. I personally rarely drink coffee as I have a sensitive nervous system, and coffee overstimulates me and makes me jittery, so I prefer herbal tea and quite often start my day with holy basil or tulsi tea. Tulsi tea is excellent for overall health. This is also the time to take any other herbal supplements, enzymes, and probiotics that you usually take.

After elimination, you can have your breakfast if that is part of your diet, and in Ayurveda, it is generally recommended to keep it light. Syncing to the rhythm of Earth, the sun is highest in the sky at noon, which in Ayurveda indicates the time where the fire element in our body is also the strongest; this is the recommended time to have your largest meal of the day, unlike common modern-day practices around the world where the largest meal is kept for dinner. Having heavy meals for dinner puts your body to work in order to digest the meal in the night, which affects the quality of your sleep. Sleeping is the time for rest and restoration, and if the body is busy using energy for digestion, it will not have enough energy for renewal and regeneration. During the day, it is recommended to sip on herbal teas or infusions that you prefer, either directed towards a specific goal or just for general health and wellbeing.

Your diet is very individual, and as discussed earlier, making sure you eat nutritious whole food that aligns with your elemental constitution (dosha) and with the seasons, not only the annual season but also the lunar cycle and your own season like the season of your life (for example, the elderly eat differently, depending on their body needs at an old age,) is the holistic way to approach health and wellbeing. If you are going through a specific life situation that is very “air or vata,” and you feel anxious, be kind and compassionate to your body and increase the “heavy foods” to give yourself support and steadiness. Always listen to your body and it will convey its needs clearly.

As we approach the end of the day, we start preparing ourselves for sleep with an evening routine. The evening is an excellent time to go for a walk. Walking is very underrated in our society today, although it is the most natural kind of movement designed for our bodies. It is also an excellent way to reflect on your day. The body loves to move, and the more it moves in natural ways, the more it gets tired and the better the quality of sleep at night. After I finish my daily walk, this is the time I usually indulge in my abhyanga ritual. Abhyanga is a self-oil massage that balances the mind and body, relieves fatigue, enhances sleep, improves the luster of skin, and increases longevity. In Ayurveda, oil is love. The Sanskrit word for oil, “sneha,” means love; to oil the body is an act of self-love.

Start by warming the oil of your choice, coconut oil is recommended for summer and sesame oil for winter, and there are many blends now in the market, which you can buy for specific doshas and skin types. Apply warm oil to your hands, and massage the whole body for 10-15 minutes. Make sure you also massage your feet and palms as there are lots of nerve endings there. When you massage your tummy, massage it in a circular motion starting from the left side to the right and down. Skin is the doorway to your nervous system; with some warmth and touch, you can soothe the nervous system and relax. Once you’re done, you can shower with warm water, avoiding harsh soaps that may strip the skin of the oils—keep it soft and nourished. (Some people prefer doing the abhyanga in the morning and using cold water to shower instead; this will stimulate and strengthen the nervous system, getting you up and going for the day.)

By now, the body and mind are relaxed and unwound. Switch off gadgets and screens at least an hour before sleep, and prepare the environment by dimming the lights and maybe even lighting a candle. Make a nice warm herbal tea such as a golden elixir, chamomile, or rose tea, and have it while reading a book. That will absolutely make you drowsy and drift you into a good night’s sleep. A golden elixir is a fabulous drink to have before sleep as it contains turmeric (hence the color gold,) which is an excellent antioxidant; you can combine it with almond or hemp milk, cardamom, and cinnamon, which makes it fantastic for the winter. One of my personal favorite teas is rose-petal tea. I’ve always loved roses, they are sensual and exotic and have traditionally been connected with the Divine Feminine; a warm rose-petal tea infusion encourages feelings of love and sensuality, what a beautiful way to end the day!

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As I mentioned earlier, every person gets to create their own routine based on their individual needs. Not everyone has time to do all the above, so find a routine that suits you and your schedule. Many people find it hard to stick to a routine and do not like it, especially “air people” who are usually on the go and don’t like to stick to routines, but they are usually the ones who most need some sort of rhythm in their everyday life to bring them balance. Creating a daily routine is creating a rhythm to your day and a rhythm to your lifestyle. This centers the life force within the organism and aligns you to your purpose and who you truly are, so rather than leaking energy here and there because of erratic thoughts and emotions, you center them, creating a rhythmic, slow, steady current of air that keeps the mind in balance, and a slow and steady rhythmic flame that drives you towards your purpose, and a slow, steady, and rhythmic flow that is filled with ease, love, and joy, manifesting in the most extraordinary ways..."

You can purchase the book here.