At the 7th December 2018, Indoindians organised an Ayurveda workshop with Dr. Shilpa Dhoka. It was a well attended workshop.
The workshop was divided into three different sessions. In the first one, Dr. Shilpa gave information on natural ways that the participants could take care of themselves. Other than giving everyday tips of taking care of yourself, she also gave tips to create a balanced lifestyle.
Health tips for everything from brushing teeth, taking a bath, the things to eat until positions of sleep were all explained by her in order to create a healthy lifestyle.
Daily routine: The first step is finding one’s dinacharya-or a daily routine. Whatever routine that you have, it can all be customized according to your body type. Kaphas tend to be more slower, opposite to the Vata which tends to be overactive. Pitta, on the other hand tend to be a mix between Kaphas and Vata characteristics. Regardless, one should be exposed to the sun from the moment they wake up to charge themselves for the day. “When we say “early to rise”, we meant going outside and seeing the sun. Recharge yourself and gain positive energy from the sun. It is the most important thing,” she said. Within the next few hours, it is guaranteed that you will feel more energetic in facing the chores during the day.
Nature’s Clock: Either Vata, Pitta or Kapha each have a different timing in their life. Kaphas are in the morning in which many people would be active in the morning. But if you are getting too active, then it will create an imbalance to your body. Try to slow down by waking up earlier in the morning to take some time for yourself.
During Pitta time, people can eat the heaviest meal as the digestive on working the highest. During Vata time, the digestive system will not be working by then. Rather, the brain will be the most active during this time. You can even charge yourself with a power nap for just 12 minutes.
Nowadays, there are many people who sleep late in order to finish their tasks. It would be much better to sleep and wake up earlier. In that way, you will get the needed amount of deep sleep at night.
Digestive System: For those having a problem with the digestive season, she suggests drinking warm water in the morning, “Food that is kept inside will cause problems and toxins if it is not taken out. Toxins staying inside the body will cause a gases and lead to acid reflex.”
Oral Hygiene: Ayurveda also provides solutions for oral hygiene. Neem sticks are something that can be used by biting the end of the sticks and using it to brush the teeth. Otherwise, she recommends herbal toothpaste which will have antiseptic properties. Using the fingers and rock salt paste is also effective to clean the teeth. Floss is something that should not be used regularly according to Ayurveda as the abrasion could create gaps in the teeth. Instead, it should be used sparingly when there is remaining food stuck in between the teeth.
Oil pulling or oil gargle is another Ayurveda recipe to maintain one’s oral hygiene. You can choose between sesame or coconut oil. This technique could massage the gums and teeth. Oil gargling can also remove bad breath and increase appetite.
Tongue cleaning is the mirror of a well-functioning digestive system. “Doctors will usually look at the patients tongue for this reason”, she explains, “Whites in the tongue can indicate that something is wrong with the digestive season”. The basic thing to do is scrape the tongue with a stainless steel tongue-cleaner for about 5-6 times. If it doesn’t go away by then, she recommends heading to the doctor to get things checked out.
Exercise: Exercise should be done moderately. No matter what anyone’s record is, people should exercise according to their extent. Exhaustion are surefire signs that you are overdoing it. When your joints hurt, then the thing that many could do is lubricate your joints with coconut oil. That way, you are helping them to move easier.
Meditation: Meditation will also help recharge the body. At a time when clearing the mind is difficult in this multitasking era, that is exactly what we should do. Refresh your mind by doing one thing that would make your forget about other things-it can even be meditating, listening to music and coloring. Whatever it is, the activity should give your a break from thinking about your daily activities. In turn, this would benefit your mind as you will be able to concentrate more. Another way is to write down thoughts as soon as it occurs. In that way, you will be able to keep your thoughts without stressing out about it or forgetting it.
Showering: Showering is very important because we need to take it twice a day. Between a cold or hot water shower, cold is much better. It refreshes and relaxes your body. Take it slowly by adjusting the water temperature from warm, lukewarm to cold.
Diet: According to Ayurveda, a person’s diet will need to be consisting of 6 tastes. A mixture of these tastes will help digest other tastes in the food. For instance, sugar can be digested by bitter taste. But eating it in order is not the must. Just by eating a meal that has a lot of taste, then your food can be digested properly.
Sleeping Positions: Sleeping positions could also affect your overall health. Many people have the choice of sleeping on their back, on the left side or the right side. The best position would be to sleep on the left side, as the organs will be on the right position and the acid will not spread everywhere. Sleeping on the right side would spread the acids towards other sides of the body, increasing the chances of acid reflex. Changing body positions while sleeping is completely possible. Even if you only sleep for a few hours on the left side, it is still okay to move to the other side at the middle of the night during deep sleep.
In the second phase of the workshop, Dr. Shilpa gave handouts to each participant. In the first worksheet, participants are expected to fill in the question list about themselves. Afterwards, they will be able to know their body type and customize their lifestyle according to the body type. Participants could be Kapha, Pitta or Vatta.
Finally, participants asked questions for anything that they are curious or confused about. Many of the people in the audience seem to be completely satisfied by the end of the workshop.
