A Day Around the Doshas: What I Learned When I Followed the Ayurvedic Clock

I’ve planned my day around the Ayurvedic clock and this is what I’ve noticed. But first…

Have you ever heard of the Ayurvedic clock?

That’s okay, a lot of people haven’t. In a nutshell, it’s the cycle of the doshas throughout the day and depending on what time of dosha it is can affect your mood, your energy levels, and even your digestion!

Let’s take a step back for a moment. If you aren’t familiar with Ayurveda, it can be defined as a traditional Hindu medicine that uses diet, herbs and pranayama (breathwork) to keep all bodily systems in balance.

Ayurveda has been around for thousands of years and is the oldest form of medicine. It literally translates to the science of life.

In Ayurveda, it is believed that there are three energies, or doshas, that are the makeup of everyone: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

We all have these three energies within us, just in different amounts physically and mentally.

For example, I am Vata dominant. If you aren’t sure what your dominant dosha is there are plenty of dosha quizzes online to help you figure it out.

Each dosha carries certain traits. Here is a very basic chart I put together of the dosha characteristics:

Now that you have a basic understanding of Ayurveda and the doshas, you might be wondering how this can affect the time of day?!

Each dosha rules a certain time of day. Basically, the characteristics of that dosha will affect how you feel during the corresponding time of day.

So, how do I plan my day around this calendar?

Disclaimer: I do my best, but it is not always possible due to the schedule I maintain for my daily 9-5 (more like 6-4 but you know what I mean).

Morning

On most days, I wake up around or a little before 6 in the morning. From 6-8 in the morning, I move slowly.

I make myself a warm comforting beverage (nettle chai yum!) and sit with myself. I may do some light meditation or easy yoga to get the fluid moving in my body. Really, I just take it easy, just as we should, during the Kapha period.

I do this with my son as well, who usually wakes up around 7:30/8 and it helps him be in a better mood for the rest of the day.

Mid-Day

I have a light breakfast and then by 10 am, hello Pitta, it’s time to get down to business! This is when I am the most productive at my day job.

Or, when I am at home, this is when the chores are completed, like laundry, dishes, and grocery shopping. We have a nice big lunch to fuel us up to keep going (because this is when our digestion is the best, according to the clock). This is also perhaps I get a little work on my website done or film a couple of yoga videos.

This timeframe is also the time of day that I will take my son to the park to play because he is the most energetic.

Once 2 pm rolls around, the focus begins to wane. This is the Vata time frame, so it is our time to be creative.

During my day job, this is the time where I will work on something that requires a little more creativity. Or if I am home, I will write, draw or have a dance party with the little guy!

Evening

Around 6 pm we are entering back into Kapha. I try to eat something light for dinner as we start to wind down. This is where we start to go slow again. During this time, I will take a nice bath or put on a mud mask and read a little. I make a point not to have the T.V. on after dinner so that we can all start to totally relax.

Lastly, I always make sure I am in bed asleep before 10 pm because that’s when we enter Pitta again and get our second wind.

Again, I am not always able to hold to this calendar as I wish, but I will tell you this…

When I can keep to this kind of schedule, especially the morning and night routines, I feel more energized during my day. I feel more balanced, focused and at ease.

When I fall out of these timeframes and get all over the place, that is exactly how I look, feel, and act: ALL OVER THE PLACE!

The most important piece is being asleep within the Kapha time. This is the one aspect of the Ayurvedic clock that makes the biggest difference for me and likely for you too.

I really do believe there is something to this science of life and I would encourage you to, at the very least, start planning your bedtimes according to the Ayurvedic clock.

Give it a try and see how you feel. You will never look back!