Simple Practices and Dietary Suggestions to Optimize Various Aspects of Healthy Eating

These methods seem very simple but they go a long way.  They are based in ancient medicine principles, particularly Ayurveda.

I have touched on these briefly but here is a list.


1.  Wake up early in the morning.  The pre-dawn atmospheric energy is soothing and conducive to the brain for contemplation, memory, meditation and yoga.  Any time between 3 to 6 am is ideal.  The day will unfold in a smooth and rhythmic manner if one practices getting up early.  Of course there are many exceptions to this, but one has to use common sense.  Even if practiced a few days a week, will make a big difference.  Those who are sleeping regularly til 10 am to noon and so will eventually find themselves in a dull or less than optimal state of mind over time.  Those who must work overnight shifts have to be careful to get some night time sleep at some point to help their natural bio rhythm of sleeping at night.-----and must be more careful to balance their system.

2.  Shower or soak as much as possible in the mornings.  Water clears away physical impurities but also the energy of water helps to wake and clear the subtle energy system for the day.  One usually feels more fresh if one showers in the morning to help create an optimal day.

3.  Massage the head/hair before and after shampooing with almond, sesame, coconut, mustard oil, eucalyptus oil or neem oil-(-small amount of these strong oils diluted into sesame oil) One can even dilute a small amount of menthol and camphor into a neutral oil and use this------this rigorous finger massage through the hair and on the scalp known as abhyanga brings vital conditioning to the scalp and hair and awakens the brain's energy capacities if practiced regularly.  One will feel more alive and energized if one practices this method.  Tap the sides of the head with medium firmness to also stimulate the blood vessels in the head to awaken the intelligence for the day.  After massaging, do not fully shampoo out the oil---rub the hair with a towel and style the hair--one will see that the hair is remarkably conditioned ---not greasy and oily as modern advertisements depict.

4.   At night, soak the feet or the whole body in a combination of epsom salts, sea salts, lavender oil, rose oil or other very fragrant flower oils.  Not only does this relax us for sleep, these salts have electrical properties that will pull away negativity and negative thought forms that our aura is exposed to and bombarded with on daily basis.  We are so used to negativity in our lives:  shouting bosses, witnessing of negativity, arguments, various difficult characters to deal with ---all of these energies sometimes get lodged into our subtle bodies and remain there.  Soaking like this releases these energies into the salt, fragrance and water.  One may find more peaceful dreams even--because sometimes our dreams are based on negative thought forms and entities that have attached to us and are influencing our subconscious and unconscious minds.

5.  Avoid heavy fats meat, dairy, eggs, heavy sugars and white flours in the mornings.  Drink some warm water first with some cumin, lemon or lime, and a small amounts of turmeric, ginger powder or pieces or black or white pepper.  This simple practice opens what are called the shrotiyas---the energy channels that carry nutrients from the stomach to the rest of the body. They coincide with the mesentery membranes and vessels that connect intestines to the rest of the body to carry nutrients.

Heavy foods as mentioned above block these shrotiyas and the net result is a physically clogged body over time of many difficult substances to process--cholesterol, accumulating bile and so on.

By doing this, after some minutes appetite usually increases because Agni, the digestive fire is increased and awakened.  Agni is a deity that is worshipped as external fire but also internal fire.

Contrary to traditional american breakfast, begin the day with warm or tepid liquid foods first.  This means any kind of cook cereal, diluted with any kind of vegan milks like almond, rice, hazelnut, and so on.  Drink warm vegetable consomme soups or vegetable soups, including Miso and other vegetable based broths.  Make some fresh vegetable juices or fruit juices.  Take gluten free breads and other products in the morning, well toasted ----raw cold breads actually aggravate the system in most cases.  One can then even eat steamed, slightly seasoned vegetables in the morning.  Wheat gluten free vegan protein patties and less soy (made with pea protein) are also a good start for the day's digestion.

Also one can eat bean consomme soups of any kind known as kanji as described in other blogs.  This is simply taking any bean or lentil, boiling them and drinking the mixed cloudy essence of the water mixed with some salt and spices'

After these light foods, then engage the stomach with heavier foods if needed.

6.  Simple portion control:  eat a meal that fits between your two cupped hands.  Eat more frequently if needed but the amount that is comfortable within two cupped hands is the ancient measuring for how much an individual stomach can handle.  Or, fill the stomach to half, then 1/4 liquid and the rest leave for air---this way one does not overeat, particularly if one has portion control problems.  If one practices this, then one will see they cannot go back to larger portions, the body will feel uncomfortable and even ill.

7.  Get used to drinking a variety of herbal teas throughout the day.  Learn about their properties and even make fresh decoctions from the plants themselves:  peppermint, spearmint, tulsi leaves, mango leaves, oregano, basil, parsley...These are not juices but leaves that are boiled and then the fresh water and plant essence is sipped.  This can be done with already made herbal  teas.  The key is to keep a set of these with us and drink them for their various properties:   immunity, decongestants, liver cleansing, urinary cleansing, blood cleansing and so on.  Taken daily---we can easily feel better and help nature keep our bodies clean--and invigorated

8.  Study products and you will see a majority of products have corn syrup, dairy, eggs, white bleached flour and saturated fat.  We have heard this over and over again till we are tired of it.  However the more we can avoid these the better.  It is my intuitive opinion only that this combination of constant exposure to eggs, corn syrup and white flour and sugar will draw more and more attention to the awareness that ongoing consumption of these not only leads to diabetes and other heart diseases, but I feel that these circulating ingredients lead to low grade allergy and immune problems that wreak havoc and cause chronic inflammation.  These are already publicized and studied but I feel it will become more and more apparent on these in the near future.

more later