Every day, time is given to us as a gift, but we never seem to have enough of it. To create a better mind, body, and spirit, we can connect ourselves with time rather than trying to regulate it. In order to achieve optimal health, ancient Ayurvedic wisdom instructs us to adhere to a daily regimen of eating, sleeping, working, and exercising in accordance with natural doshic rhythms. This is considered to be the ayurvedic clock. Let’s dig deeper into this concept.
Understanding the Ayurvedic Clock
The Ayurvedic body clock, which is connected to the functioning of our genes and hormones, is essentially what modern science now refers to as our biological clock or body clock.
Ayurveda outlines the relationship between our body’s energy and the energy of the doshas (elements) that are dominant during one of six blocks of time per 24-hour cycle in order to recommend the best times for eating, sleeping, and working (along with many other activities).
Based on the sort of energy that is most prevalent in our bodies and nature during each four-hour window, the clock is divided into four-hour cycles. We go through the vata, kapha, and pitta doshas twice each day. The more closely we synchronize our daily cycles with those of nature, the more we are able to support our well-being. Our health is harmed when we work against the energy’s regular daily cycles.
How Does This Clock Work?
Blocks of time according to ayurveda clock :
- Vata time is from 2 to 6 in the morning and evening.
- Kapha hours are from 6 to 10 in the morning and evening
- Pitta time is 10 to 2 pm
Vata Time Exercises
Because the ether and air elements are a part of the vata dosha, the two-time blocks with high vata dosha are frequently excellent times to communicate with the ethers. The best time to meditate is in the early morning between 2:00 and 6:00 – when the barrier between the material and spiritual realms is most permeable.
When there is less bustle around you and everything is calm and ethereal, you can connect to stillness and tranquility more readily. The high vata energy in the afternoon, between 2:00 and 6:00 pm, gives you an excellent time to engage in creative activities. During this afternoon cycle of vata dosha, the properties of air and ether are naturally more playful and light.
You can adjust your routines in little ways to fit the vata rhythm:
- When nature calms down at dusk – between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm
- Meditate between 2:00 am and 6:00 am.
- Mingle and have stimulating talks between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.
If you have cravings or low blood sugar during the vata afternoon hours, make lunch a larger meal.
Kapha Time Activities
Earth and water, which are by their very nature heavy, make up the kapha dosha. This translates to the energy that is heavier, slower, and denser at this time of day and evening.
We aim to bring prana (life force and intellect that travel on the breath) into the body in the morning between the hours of six and ten in order to nourish and awaken not only the physical body but also the other layers of the body via the five koshas (energetic sheaths).
We are most suited to winding down from the day and allowing the heavier energy to carry us to sleep during the evening kapha time. Since we are about to enter a state of rest and repair, our bodies naturally have less energy at this time of day.
Small adjustments you can make to your routines to match kapha time include:
Exercise early in the morning or no later than 7 pm during the kapha evening cycle to give your body time to unwind and prepare for bed.
By taking a bath or shower in the evening and using warm oil massage techniques, you can encourage the heavy, drowsy feeling that comes with the evening (Abhyanga).
- Turn off your devices and pick up a calming book no later than 9:00 pm
- Sleep before 10:00 pm
Pitta Time Activities
Fire and water make up the Pitta dosha. Our digestive fire is at its peak in the morning from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. We aim to eat our largest meal of the day during this four-hour window since, at this time, our body has the most bile to aid in the digestion of meals.
As the fire of our body’s repair mechanism starts to ignite in the evening, we want to be sleeping by the end of kapha time, which is 10 o’clock, so that we may let the whole processing of the day occur on an involuntary and cellular level.
You can adjust your routines in small ways to fit pitta time:
- Take your largest meal of the day at pitta time in the afternoon.
- Eat dinner earlier and lighter so that the pitta fire in the evening can concentrate on cell repair and digestion of largely mental material.
- Plan your most demanding physical or mental chores for when it is daylight outside.
These are the main ways that the ayurveda clock supports us, while it also aids in our alignment with other mental, physical, spiritual, and natural processes.
Follow the Ayurvedic Clock to Avoid Illness
For our health and longevity, it is crucial that our ayurveda daily routines match the body’s natural 24-hour circadian rhythm. Because of their work on the body clock, three scientists shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
According to The New York Times, the study’s findings suggested “the misalignment between a person’s lifestyle and the rhythm set by an inner timekeeper — jet lag after an international flight, for example — could affect well-being and over time could contribute to the risks for various diseases.”
Conclusion
With the kind of lifestyle we have, incorporating the ayurvedic clock might be difficult. It is important to start with small changes and head towards a complete change in order to lead a healthy lifestyle without getting overwhelmed.
