Ayurveda knowledge - how to live better with the sunlight cycle

This morning I woke up when the sun started shining brightly through the window in my face.

It was a happy moment to come back to my body after a night of good deep sleep.

The last days I have been sleepy and lazy,  but today I am so full of energy!

It must have to do with waking up earlier. I remembered what my coach had once told me about:

It is the healthiest to wake up before the morning dawn!

In the last days artificial lights (electricity) and phones till late at night usually kept me away from my natural wake-and-sleep cycle and going to sleep early.

Now I feel motivated to come back to a wake-sleep cycle in harmony with nature and the planet.

Generally and scientifically proven,  people who wake up early feel more positive, optimistic, creative, confident and clear. The most successful people are those who sleep early and wake up early.

Even just logically it makes so much sense to me. If you wake up earlier, you can finish your work more efficiently because you use your clear mind of the morning time. You will naturally feel more creative and confident because you have less time pressure to get done with the "work" (or duty or Sadhna) throughout the day. You can start the day without rush and have a better day,  from then on. Of course you are more successful!

The ancient knowledge of Ayurveda doesn't only align perfectly with these logical conclusions, but also explains them and gives more precise instructions.

For those who don't know Ayurveda: It is a very old Indian science of life with holistic health practices based on it's concept. Ayurveda sees the world in qualities, which define certain (body-mind) constitutions and it offers practices to balance out the constitutions to gain health and balance.

In Ayurveda, everything in the world (gross and subtle) can be associated with and seen as one or multiple of the three Doshas:

Vata (air and space)

Pitta (fire and water)

and Kapha (earth and water).

Even the days (every 24 hours) are,  according to Ayurveda, divided in phases of these three Doshas. Each phase (of one Dosha and its energy) is four hours long. The energy changes 6 times a day.

VATA has a light and clear energy. It is predominant from 2 am to 6 am and from 2 pm to 6 pm. That is why getting up between 2 am and 6 am is the best. At this time of the day it is also easier to get up. 

The mind is clear,  light,  open,  receptive, sensitive and creative like the Dosha Vata itself. The earlier before 6 you make it out of your cushions,  the better! 

You can use that energy and take it with you through the first hours of your day. Therefore it is also perfect to do your spiritual practices in the early morning,  like yoga, meditation, prayers and chanting. Or you use it for creative work.

And in the afternoon between 2pm and 6pm will be another phase of Vata for clear thoughts and very productive work.

Then, from 6 am to 10 am (and in the evening 6 pm-10 pm) KAPHA is the dominating energy. 

Kapha stands for heaviness,  steadiness, dullness. If you wake up after 6am,  the quality might effect you accordingly. You tend to be more dull, lazy and slow at what you want to accomplish the rest of the day.

Between 10 am and 2 pm and between 10 pm and 2 am PITTA dominates. Pittas energy is the energy of fire or power! It makes active and transformative. You are extra productive in this phase. And it is favorable for digestion. But at night you should make sure that you sleep during this Pitta-time. Then your body can use the transformative energy to recover from the day. That's why it is useful to go to sleep before 10  pm! If you stay up too long,  you might experience the Pitta energy as a sleepless night full of energy and thoughts. But before 10 pm,  in your Kapha time,  you are naturally given the perfect energy to go to sleep.

Isn't that a wonderful and absolutely logical concept to tune back in with nature? I really feel the effects of the Doshas on my day and want to use them more, to be more productive, energetic and healthy. Just by timing my day in the natural way.

Just make sure to switch off your electronic devices after 8 pm and you will sleep like a baby before 10 pm.

Trust me, Kapha will do it's work for you and tomorrow you can use the lightness of Vata and the power of Pitta to make the best of your day!

It might feel a bit unfamiliar the first days,  but the effect can not be denied!

You have all this power and productivity and clarity in you - just wake up earlier and you will find it.