Ayurveda Wisdom with Jeffrey Duval
Most Yogis are familiar with setting an intention before a yoga practice begins, but did you know that you can also set an intention at the beginning of the day, upon waking?
This ritual tradition is cross-cultural and also part of the Daily Routine that comes from the tradition of Ayurveda. Routines help us stay grounded and focused and can help us create a radical shift on our health, outlook and optimism in life.
Before I started this practice I would often wake up with scattered thoughts, or even negative thoughts, the worst of all, perhaps being “I don’t want to get up, I hate my life”
While it’s natural to feel a spectrum of emotions and feelings upon waking, one of the best habits to get into upon waking is saying a gratitude prayer. Gratitude shifts our awareness from one of lack and unhappiness, to one of abundance and contentment.
Before you get out of bed, take a moment to count your blessings and be grateful for your life, for another day, and for all the beautiful things in your life. Avoid going over all the things in your life that are not working, the morning is a magical time to pray and set the tone for the day.
I usually remind myself of the basic things in my life that I am grateful for such as a roof over my head, a comfy blanket, my 2 beautiful cats, and then get more specific. Shifting your awareness towards gratitude has been scientifically proven to synchronize higher brain functioning and flexible thinking, creates resilient energy, syncopates your brain and heart rhythms into entrainment, and releases the “feel-good” chemicals into your bloodstream, which is why when you really feel a wave a gratitude it feels like a water fall coating your body, kind of like a warm “spine-chill”.
Here are two standard prayers you can begin your day with, or you can feel free to make up your own. Remember the way you start your day has a big impact on how your day unfolds, so you don’t want to force yourself to do something unnatural. If praying seems unnatural, or you are an atheist, then it’s okay to use take a few moments and think about the things in your life that you are grateful for, sometimes a gratitude journal is also great.
This first prayer is from the Ayurveda tradition that I leaned from Dr Vasant Lad from the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico.
“Dear God/Goddess,
You are inside of me, within my very breath, within each bird, each mighty mountain.
Your sweet touch reaches everything and I am well protected.
Thank you God/Goddess, for this beautiful day before me, May joy, love, peace and compassion be part of my life and all those around me each day. I am healing and I am healed.”
(After this prayer touch the ground with your right hand, then to the third eye, then to the heart with great love and respect for Mother Earth.)
The second prayer is from the Dalai Lamma XIV:
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
