Do these 3 Ayurvedic practices every day to improve your overall health

Doing all 3 takes less than 10 minutes

Irene Chu

Mar 31, 2024

Hi everyone, welcome back for another edition of A Joyful Life! Thank you so much for joining us every Sunday. 🤗

Here’s a quick update on my week before we dive into today’s edition:

This was my first week at work! It was packed with meeting the senior team, meeting my pod, live training, attending client calls, and a research task to help me prepare to write next week. Overall, I had a fantastic first week. Everyone was super welcoming, friendly, and eager to answer all my questions.

I had Friday off because 🎉 it was Good Friday! On that day, I went to a BBQ with my boyfriend’s family. The weather was lovely. We played ping pong, sat in their backyard catching up, and celebrated my birthday—His family made me two cakes! 🤤

Then I spent the rest of the long weekend going on walks, researching clients, and preparing for work on Tuesday. Oh, and I watched this old Asian drama called Gods of Honour. Throwback to my childhood, haha.

How did you spend your long weekend?! As always, feel free to respond and let me know.

Do these 3 Ayurvedic practices every day to improve your overall health

I became obsessed with Ayurveda about two weeks ago.

Since then, I’ve started to read two popular Ayurvedic books.

As a result, I’ve been adding more Ayurvedic practices to my daily routines.

Here are three simple—and super quick—Ayurvedic practices I’ve been doing every day to improve my overall health.

Tongue scraping

I used to wake up, brush my teeth, then scrape my tongue once or twice with my toothbrush, without giving it much thought.

But now, I use a tongue scraper before I brush my teeth.

So first, what is a tongue scraper? It’s a small U-shaped tool that scrapes the surface of your tongue.

The purpose of using a tongue scraper is to remove all the bacteria on your tongue that accumulate overnight. The bacteria is the white or yellowing coating on your tongue that consists of food debris, bacteria, and dead skin cells.

According to Ayurveda, if you don’t remove these bacteria, your tongue reabsorbs them. Then they enter your gastrointestinal tract, which weakens your digestion, immunity, and nutrient absorption. This can lead to weight gain, acne, illness, bloating, gas, and constipation.

The good news is that tongue scraping is simple, takes less than one minute, and has many other benefits (like removing bad breath!).

Try this: Buy a stainless steel or copper tongue scraper. Before you brush your teeth, stick out your tongue. Place the scraper on the back of your tongue. Gently scrape the surface of your tongue from the back to the end. You should see the white or yellow mucus on the scraper. Do it about 10 times. Rinse the scraper. Then brush your teeth.

Dry brushing

I used to use an exfoliating glove in the shower.

But now, I scrub my skin with a dry brush to remove the dead skin cells off the top layer before showering.

Why the change?

According to Ayurveda, there are two main benefits of dry brushing before you shower.

One, dry brushing promotes detoxification. One-third of your body’s toxins are excreted through your skin. But your skin can’t breathe and excrete the toxins if it’s covered in dead skin cells.

Two, dry brushing stimulates your lymphatic system. When you dry brush, you stimulate your lymphatic vessels. This helps your lymphatic fluids—which are carrying waste and toxins—flow more efficiently to your lymph nodes, where they’re then removed from your body.

Try this: Buy a natural, firm bristle brush. Dry brush before you shower. Use long, slow strokes that go toward your heart.

Starting your day with a hot drink

In the past, I’d wake up, drink cold tap water, and then an iced Americano.

But now, I start my morning with a hot drink. Sometimes, I’ll have green tea. Other times, I’ll make cumin water.

Why the change?

According to Ayurveda, hot drinks are more beneficial for your body than cold ones for three reasons.

One, hot drinks are more hydrating for your body because your body more easily absorbs hot water.

Two, hot drinks stimulate your digestive fire so you’re better able to digest, break down food, and assimilate your meals.

And three, hot drinks cleanse your body because they help remove toxins from your system.

Try this: Start your day with something hot instead of drinking something cold!

Final thoughts

These are three simple—yet powerful—Ayurvedic practices that can help improve your overall health.

Now, you don’t have to do all three of these practices right away.

My advice would be to start with just one. Pay attention to how you feel and notice any differences in your health.

Once the first practice becomes a habit, then you can introduce the other two.

Over time, these three Ayurvedic practices will improve your digestion, detoxification, and overall health.

You’ll be one step closer to feeling your best every day. 🤗

This week’s recommendations

JoyFull: Cook Effortlessly, Eat Freely, Live Radiantly (A Cookbook) by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty — This book has more than 125 plant-based recipes!!! Plus, Radhi shares her daily wellness practices like tongue scraping, dry brushing, and drinking something hot in the book too. I used this book as a reference and source when I wrote this email.

Ayurveda (Idiot's Guides) by Sahara Rose Ketabi — This was the second book I referenced when I wrote this email. Sahara goes into so much more detail about each of the practices I shared today, so I recommend reading this book if you’re interested in learning more about Ayurvedic principles and practices.

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