Yes. I know it’s hard, rolling out your mat in the morning and actually getting on it. (I’ll tell you why if feels so hard in this post)
So maybe you’re a lunch time yogi. Or you wait until you come home and have a nice little evening flow.
But what time is actually best to practice yoga or work out? And while we’re at it: what is the best time for a big meal, a creative meeting or even asking for a raise? Ayurveda has the answers!
First of all, you need to know that Ayurveda has divided the day in 6 parts. Each part has a different dominant element or dosha, just like our bodies have a different dominant element or dosha.
These different elements give the moment of the day a specific feel, energy and function.
I’ll explain : )
6am – 10am earth & water moment
This is the heaviest moment of the day. Think of a day when you woke up after 10 am. You probably felt lazy and sluggish. That’s because you slept through the heaviest time of the day and sleep itself is heavy too. Heavy plus heavy is stuck in the mud! (Water & earth together create mud ; )
So this time of the day is perfect for activities that create a feeling of lightness & energy. Or the elements air & fire.
And movement is a great way to creat that feeling. So yes, it’s hard to practice this time of the day, but it’s the best moment.
best time for: yoga & workout
worst time for: sleep & lots of food
10am – 2pm fire – water moment
If your boss has an intense a-type personality, you might have noticed that he’s a lot happier after lunch.
This is because your intense boss provably has a lot of fire in his constitution and lunch time is the fire moment of the day. The sun is highest, so it’s the time our digestive fire is highest too!
So no, don’t ask for a raise at this moment of the day! It will make your boss furious if he hasn’t used that digestive fire yet to burn food.
best time for: biggest meal of the day
worst time for: working out or intense yoga practices (fire + fire is an explosion!)
2pm – 6 pm air – space moment
That afternoon dip in focus is not because you haven’t had enough coffee. It’s because air & space are elements that make us dream, create & communicate.
But not focus so much : )
So if you’re looking for a moment in the day to plan a creative meeting (not a boring one that requires concentration), this is your moment.
During this time of the day, people are most creative & want to talk to each other.
Working out is not great right now: the air & space element make us feel a little weak. If you have to, work out as close to 6 as you can.
best time for: creativity & communication
worst time for: focus & concentration
6pm – 10pm second earth & water moment
Yes we’re back to earth & water, which makes this the second best time to workout or practice yoga.
There’s a difference between the morning earth – water moment and this one: this time around we can actually use the heaviness to wind down from the day & prepare for bed.
Have an evening ritual that includes a small, easy digestible supper as close to 6pm as possible (the later the smaller it needs to be), some relaxing yoga or a very light workout, a bath or warm shower + massage and maybe some breathing meditation.
This will set you up for amazing sleep!
best time for: light workouts & relaxing yoga and evening ritual
worst time for: big dinner
10pm – 2am second fire – water moment
Is your bed time later than 10pm and do you have difficulty falling asleep? This is why! You went to bed in the second fire moment of the day, which means your inner fire got stronger & you got a second wind.
This time the strong digestive fire should be used for the digestion of our day, not our food. That’s why you can’t sleep well & wake up tired if you’ve had a big, late meal: your body is working to digest your food instead of recover from the day.
Use this time to sleep. Period.
best time for: sleep!
worst time for: everything else (food, workouts, work, creativity)
2am – 6am second air & space moment
By now you’re hopefully asleep. If not and you woke up during this time, it will be very hard to get back to sleep.
Remember, sleep is heavy and these elements right now are light. So it will take some effort to fall back to sleep at this moment of the day.
If you woke up close to 6pm, get up & take advantage of the creativity of this moment! The risk of falling back to sleep after 6 is that you’ll end up in the heaviness again which is hard to get rid of.
Plus: air & space create worry. So if you’re laying there, analysing things, everything will only seem worse! Get up & have an early start with a nice cup of tea & some yoga!
best time for: sleep & slowly waking up with the sun around 6
worst time for: analysing your life, you’ll get stuck in your mind and things will seem worse
I hope you’ll find this schedule helpful. Let me know in the comments if what change you can make to optimise your day & health!
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