Do you all know about the daily routine?! Ooooo…if you don’t you should because it’s one of the BEST things you can do for your health. Most of it is easy because it’s just making sure you are doing the right things at the right time. No mystery! Just a switching of the clock is all.
I promote the routine to my clients and get asked a lot, “Monica, what does your routine look like? Do you do all that Ayurveda stuff?” So I thought it would be fun to run through my day so that you can see it’s not really that tough to incorporate Ayurveda into a 40-hour work week grind. Did I say grind? I meant…thine lovely waking hours of the day at thee establishment of employment, Monday thru Friday ;) I’ve highlighted everything in PINK that is according to Ayurveda. If it’s BLUE, it’s not Ayurvedic. This is kinda fun since I’ve never written it out before so let’s see how I do.
Please note: It has taken me 3 years to get this far. Slowly I made the changes. If you want to adopt some of these, great!! But do them one or two at a time until they become habit. If you do everything at once, it will not stick. And, as you can see, there is still room for improvement. I’ll always be learning about Ayurveda, forever :)
MONICAB’S DAILY ROUTINE
MORNING!
6:15 a.m. (it’s really dark right now which makes it tough)
• 6:15 get up
• Pee (I don’t poop)
• Brush teeth, scrape tongue, drink warm water
• Take dogs for a brisk 25-30 minute walk, come back and feed them (feed someone else before you feed yourself).
7:00 a.m. The BEST part of the day
• Sometimes I eat an english muffin with ghee at home. Most of the time I make oatmeal with ghee at work.
• Go in our spare room, turn on my yoga salt lantern, my “facing east” pandora station, and write “morning pages” (based on The Artists Way) for 10-15 minutes
• Then I sit and do So-Hum for 10 minutes OR kapalbhati for 5-8 minutes
• Kiss George goodbye as he leaves for work
7:20 a.m. Personal Hygiene
• Shower. I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap (natural) and shampoo with chemical crap in it.
• Get out of the shower. Our 2 dogs that were sitting on the floor mats come over to lick the salt off my ankles and the cat jumps in the shower to play in the water (animals make us happy)
• Quickly apply almond oil to my legs, arms, torso and with what is on my hands, I do a quick eyebrow and cheek massage. If I was following Ayurveda, I would do this before my shower. I will work on making this change.
• I don’t wash my face in the morning, I just rinse it with warm water. I use Rose Du Jour moisturizer by Simply Divine Botanicals (natural & awesome), unless my skin is really dry and then I use Amazing Face moisturizer.
• Take 2 amalaki tablets (detoxification, rejuvenation, heart tonic, pitta & vata balancing)
• Dry hair w/blowdryer, use non-Ayurvedic hair products (Aveda, which is based on Ayurveda but owned by Esteé Lauder. So I count them as a no). Get dressed.
• Go to kitchen, grab leftovers for lunch and heat the chai I made last night in the microwave, then put in my to-go cup
7:55 a.m. Commute
Drive 5-10 minutes to work. Yeah, not really a commute…
8:00 a.m. Work Day!
• Say “Good Morning!” to Marshall, Sharon & Lisa. Put my stuff down, turn on computer. Go get a warm glass of water (I have not pooped yet) and make my oatmeal with ghee that I borrow from Gavin’s desk (he only has ghee ’cause of me anyway…)
• Sip my homemade chai
• Go through emails, listen to voice messages, do all the easy things on my list, poop (the water works every time!), help people get jobs (even with positive thoughts), be nice to coworkers, clients and talent. Sip warm water, sniff lavender
12:00 Lunch
I usually eat my leftovers at my desk (this is not Ayurvedic, I should take a full hour and I should eat away from my computer). Sometimes I come home for lunch and eat on our porch with the dogs. That’s the best!!!
• Do the challenging work and meetings in the afternoon.
• By 3:00, I’m antsy. I usually wave my arms around, stretch, yawn (loud, stick my tongue out), sigh, look at coworkers through binoculars (two fists around my eyes making to peek through) and sometimes I go lay on the floor of someone’s cubicle and then leave with a happy butt dance. I end all of this with some tea and go back to my desk.
5:00 p.m. Quittin Time!
• Get home, kiss George and take the dogs for another walk together 30+ minutes. We talk about our day.
• 3-4 days a week I do yoga or ballet workout after the walk
6:15 p.m. Making Dinner
• Dinner! George usually picks up ingredients for a vegetarian friendly dinner together and we make enough so I can take leftovers the next day. We always eat a light together, at the table and sometimes while watching football.
7:30 p.m. Down Time
• Any mix of: Heymonicab projects & blog posts, practice violin, study, reading
• Sometimes I do my yoga or ballet here
9:00 p.m.
Most of the time, I follow my own guidelines and turn off the computer. Sometimes I’ll get in bed and read, which always feels luxurious.
10:00 p.m. Bed!
• Wash face with Black Velvet skin cleanser and moisturize with Amazing Face.
• If it’s dry or I’m feeling old (hah!), I put a little almond oil at the corners of my eyes
• I lay on my right side and do So Hum…I don’t know how long because usually I fall asleep
That’s my day in a nutshell. The great thing is that I don’t stray too much from it, which balances my vata. Vatas need routine. I’ve changed my eating habits to include warm meals (to balance vata and my varied digestion) and I often bring my lunch from home, which also saves money. I have more energy because I get up early and the almond oil in the morning feels awesome on my skin. Using high quality facial soaps and moisturizer is KEY to keeping skin hydrated and wrinkle free! A job is a job is a job, so I make it fun for myself and the people around me. Life is too short not to have fun! Walking the pups and getting some exercise feels like recess and I can catch up with George then too. Dinner is usually light and full of warm veggies mixed with pastas, noodles or rice. Bed time is key! If I’m not in bed by 10, I’m up until 1:00 a.m. and a tired, crabby disaster the next day.
Try some of this stuff!! These are good, fun, easy tools you can try. If you try it, really commit to doing it for two weeks. You will notice a difference. Share your stories with us – we all want to know!! You have a big cheering squad, so go for it! Be well my friends. XOXOXO!
14 responses so far ↓
1 Kimberly // Oct 26, 2010 at 5:49 am
Monica,
I LOVED hearing about your day. It made me feel like I was there with you. Think of you often. Blessings to you and George! Quick question–just warm water? Do you ever add lemon or honey? I sometimes add honey for my pitta. Is that ok? Or sometimes just Yogi tea with ginger. Also–Pitta oily skin–can I use the almond oil too? or too much oil? It is CRAZY vata in the Badger State today, I’ll be doing a class of grounding poses for sure. Love you- miss you!
Kibba
2 Deborah // Oct 26, 2010 at 11:25 am
Leftovers? I thought that was an ayurvedic no-no. And since leftovers are my favorite food, I’m delighted to know that you’re eating them, too. Is there a clause that makes some leftovers okay?
3 Monica // Oct 26, 2010 at 1:38 pm
I miss you too!! I do plain warm water mostly because I don’t have lemons at work :D But, you can do lemon if you want! It’s tridoshic and great for digestive fire. Honey is actually heating/scraping in quality (surprised!? It has what is called prabhava which means “unique property”) so it’s best for kapha and vata is okay too. Good question about the oil! For your pitta skin almond oil is probably okay in the winter (cause you are also vata) but if it’s too oily you can use Safflower oil – it’s light yet makes skin really soft. NO sesame oil for you – it is heating and will make you itchy :) Thank you for writing!! Much love to you and the fam!! xoxo Mon
4 Monica // Oct 26, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Hah. Well here’s the thing. Ideally yes, Ayurveda says fresh foods at every meal. However, in 2010 when most of us work, leftovers from dinner are MUCH better than going out for lunch every day. And better than stressing out about finding fresh food. YOU made that food, there is love in it. And you made it with good ingredients (riiiight?). And you’ll have peace of mind when eating because you don’t have to “quickly grab something.” THAT is huge in the way of Ayurvedic eating too – it’s not just what you eat, it’s also how you eat.
I would just caution that leftovers should be eaten the next day so they don’t get tooooo old. Does this help???
5 Ebony // Oct 26, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Thank you so much!!! Your blog is beautiful, realistic and inspirational. Lest not forget PRACTICAL. I am going to read the blog to my children whom I practice walking silent so-ham mantra pranayama’s before school. We also try to incorporate a daily ritual in the morning. Over the years we have also added and modified different practices . Your awesome, hearing this serves as inspiration for our family. Now that it’s Autumn we have been trying to nurture our Vata more too. It’s been a little bit of a battle, so reading your blog was wonderful a blessing today. Thanks so much
6 Monica // Oct 26, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Ohhhh Ebony!! This totally warms my heart. Thank you!! I love that you are sharing with your children and doing pranayam! What a wonderful mom you are :) If you have questions about calming your vatas, let me know. I’m full of ideas and happy to help. Many many blessings to you and your family!! Namasté <3
7 Torrie // Oct 26, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Love this post!! Thank you, Monica! My own daily sadhana has make a big, big difference in how I respond to life. Now, since I travel twice a month for work, my challenge is to find more ways to incorporate ayurveda into that routine. I’m pitta all the way, but know that travel creates a vata imbalance. (My vedic teacher tells me “you are pitta, but your life is vata”). Anyway, any posts on travel (food, routine, re-balancing) you come up with in the future would be much appreciated! For me, that is the most challenging part of my practice.
Thank you for the very generous way you share your knowledge and experience!
8 Monica // Oct 26, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Hey Torrie! Thanks for the love :) I did write a post not long ago on jet lagging and travel. Check it out, maybe it will help you: http://heymonicab.com/2010/02/jet-lagging/
Let me know if you try these things and if they help!! xo
9 Amy // Oct 26, 2010 at 9:24 pm
hi. of course you are brilliant and even these comments make me realize how much i have to learn about all of this. i don’t have a pranayam or a sadhana but think maybe i should.
here is my question.
your day in the life sounds heavenly. all that time to yourself to juice up and give yourself what you need.
the trick i need you to teach me is this:
how do i incorporate these learnings and teachings when a day in the life of me is so different than a day in the life of monicab? i have a 6 year old in a full leg cast (and the wheelchair and walker that goes along with it), an 8 year old, a husband who works and travels, an ailing mother, a pregnant best friend, a full time job (and a part time one), etc. i’m sure this isn’t out of the ordinary, i just need guidance.
most of these things are blessings in and of themselves but still, when i get home from work it’s all downloading the day and homework and dinner and clean up and don’t fight and no more candy and bathtime and yes it’s already time for bed and what did you say, babe, i can’t hear you over espn and the girls singing and was that just the phone and whoops, no, i didn’t get the dry cleaning and man i need to call these six people back and check email and pop a load of laundry in and get halloween costumes and where are we going for thanksgiving and which party do we hit first this weekend and who wants a playdate and i love you so much too, goodnight, and then it’s 11:00pm and where does the ayurveda go?!?!?
much love and respect.
:)
10 Deborah // Oct 27, 2010 at 7:28 am
Thanks for the clarification of leftovers, Monica! Good points about the quality of the food, and I love that I no longer feel guilty about eating last night’s pasta for lunch today.
11 Torrie // Oct 27, 2010 at 7:29 pm
YES! Thank you!
12 Monica // Oct 28, 2010 at 8:54 am
whoooosh!! That’s a lot going on my friend. And you are correct, I have NO IDEA what it’s like to have kids (yet) and everybody’s lives are different. I just put mine up there as a general guide since I’m not one who meditates for 2 hours a day :)
I would love to turn this into a larger post and answer fully so that everyone can see. I have some suggestions for you (one is, there are 3 other people in the house who can help you!) and I would love to share with the readers.
Hang in there and I’ll be back with an answer soon.
xo!
13 Tejinder // Dec 16, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Hi Monica, I met you last night at the LWL event, with Courtney. I love your website, I have a question, you seem to use a lot Ghee, I’ve always heard its very “fattening” but would like to use it, what is your opinion on the pros/cons of Ghee.
14 Monica // Dec 18, 2010 at 9:32 am
Hi Tejinder! Know what? This is such a common question that I’d like to answer it as a blog post if that’s okay with you. Bottom line ghee is an oil, a fat. Too much of it and yes, one could gain weight. But if we treat it as an oil or butter and use the appropriate amounts (no more than 2-3tblspoons per day) it will work wonders. In Ayurveda it also depends on the person eating the ghee because some people (kapha) are more prone to weight gain than others. Kapha people have enough lubrication, fat and oils naturally and don’t need a whole lot of help from ghee. Makes sense then that ghee could imbalance them. Vatas and pittas however really benefit from ghee because of it’s lubricating (for dry vata) and cooling (for hot pitta) properties.
The magic about ghee is that it actually increases digestive fire (agni). So it helps digest food and revs metabolism! In a nutshell, that’s the story but I will come up with a pro & con list of ghee. I think that’s a great idea!! Great meeting you and thanks for visiting the site :)
Leave a Comment