Waking up with the sun

Let us begin applying the ayurvedic touch to the first part of our day… waking up.

What time should we wake up?

We should wake up with the sun. Ideally, ayurved advises that we wake up an hour and a half before sunrise.

For practical purposes, we can say that the range between one and a half hours before sunrise up to the time of sunrise is a good time to wake up. The later we keep sleeping beyond sunrise, the more we drift away from health and life.

Why should we wake up early with the sun?

Our body has three basic functional units, the doshas, vat pitt, and kaf that govern all functions of the body. Each of these doshas has their specific time of action during the day and specific functions. The end of the night, or the time before sunrise belongs to the Vat dosh, and at that time, its main function is to move the bowels. Once we wake up, this dosh is able to do its job well. Staying in the lying down position hinders natural intestinal movement caused by Vat from the top to the bottom towards the anal opening. So, waking up during this time favours regular bowel evacuation as well as urine flow. This paves the way for major clearance from the body. When this happens on a regular basis, the accumulation of toxins in the body is reduced to a good extent and thus, so are diseases. Simultaneously, this also implies that if there is recurring difficulty with motions or urine output, this is what we must first seek to rectify. This is the time for accurate ayurvedic intervention by a qualified doctor. Next, these empty intestines and stomach, along with a relaxed mind, ignite the digestive fire. The major digestive organs like the liver and pancreas are helped to rejuvenate and function well. Needless to say, the body will now be in a good condition to process the next meals we consume. On yet another note, waking up early obviously gives us an extra couple of hours on hand which we can use well for regular abhyang (oil application) to the body and exercise again two extremely health enhancing activities. Follow up on these with meditation and we have given ourselves the best start to the day.