What is sadhana?
Sadhana is a way of achieving something. It implies effort and discipline to achieve a goal. In Sanskrit, it denotes practice, the spiritual path. In Buddhism, sadhana is the practice of realizing one’s infinite potential.
The sadhana approach is a mix of activities that brings us closer to our deepest aspirations. It’s a moment for oneself that enables us, through regular practice, to make progress towards our goals.
Personalized
Morning activities are tailored to each individual’s expectations and goals, and to the rhythm of our lives.
Challenge
Of course, the practice of sadhana implies a notion of effort and discipline that is not without its challenges. It’s not easy to get up early and keep up the pace. There will be mornings when fatigue and laziness get the better of you. But that’s the whole point of sadhana: to take up the challenge of getting up earlier, no matter what our state of mind, in order to give ourselves the time we need to make the most of our day.
Why morning?
Sadhana helps to anchor us, energize us and optimize our well-being from the moment we wake up in the morning, by putting us in a positive, confident frame of mind. In this way, we’ll be able to spend the day in a state of full awareness, our mind having been freed from its meanders. If you’re used to getting up at 7 a.m., you’ll need to set aside an extra hour to perform your sadhana, and consequently bring your alarm clock forward to 6 a.m.
Goals
- Sadhana helps to temper the negative mind and slow down the flow of negative thoughts harmful to our potential for self-fulfilment.
- The more regularly you practice a ritual, the more aware you become of your habits and personality. This enables us to sort out the habits that uplift us and those that weigh us down. As a result, it acts as a cleanser for the subconscious and repetitive patterns.
- The self-discipline required leads us to take control of our mind.
- The personalization of sadhana helps us to define the points on which we want to move forward (stopping bad habits and destructive behaviours, attracting love and peace into our lives, arming ourselves against fear and stress…).
Example of an ayurvedic morning routine
Bedtime meditation
- Wake up as soon as the alarm goes off, without delaying it. Don’t hesitate to set your alarm clock so that you have to get up to turn it off. This will prevent you from succumbing to the easy way of “spotting” the alarm.
- Sit upright, cross-legged or in a half-lotus position, with your pelvis on your cushion to make it easier to get into position.
- Do a few breaths of your choice (Ujjayi the victorious sound breath, Samavrtti the square breath with 4 inhalations, 4 retentions, 4 exhalations and 4 retentions, Kapalabhati to cleanse the respiratory tract, tone up, massage the abdomen and strengthen the diaphragm, or Nadi Sodana the alternate breath to balance Yin and Yang polarities).
- Meditate for a few minutes. There are several methods: Vipassana on the breath, SO HAM, visualization, with mudras SA TA NA MA…
Affirmations to boost your mind
It’s best to write down a few simple, affirmative sentences beforehand about what you want to achieve. To make the most impact, let yourself feel the emotions associated with these affirmations, as if they were already there…
Visualization
If you have a particular project in mind, don’t hesitate to add a moment of visualization to your sadhana. As if you were painting a picture in detail, visualize yourself achieving your goals, and see your efforts rewarded by the satisfaction and joy of accomplishment!
Gratitude
As Jonathan Lehman says about us thinking machines, the brain is like putty. Practice seeing the positive in your life by giving thanks for all the positive things you already have, do or the people around you who support you. Notice, too, the beauty of the simple things nature has to offer, and give thanks for it all!
Personal hygiene
In order, here’s what I do. This list is not exhaustive, but is intended to inspire you.
- Teeth cleaning without toothpaste to eliminate toxins in the mouth
- Tongue scraping from back to front
- Mouthwash with sesame or coconut oil
- Eye cleansing with saline solution (one drop in each eye)
- Nose cleansing with saline solution or in a Neti Pot with warm copper or filtered water and 1/2 spoonful of rock salt
- For those needing to drain, you can brush your body with a special massage brush to cleanse the lymph and improve blood circulation. Beware, however, of people suffering from hyperthyroidism, trombosis, lymphoma, cancer, heart or kidney failure, infection and pregnancy). If the brush is too rough for you, you can use a silk glove (garshan).
- Self-massage with warm sesame oil. During the cold season, this is ideal. In summer, coconut oil is preferable, especially for Pitta!
- Cool shower.
Usha Pan, the inner shower
Once my hygiene protocol is complete, I drink my hot copper water. I have a copper carafe into which I pour filtered water the evening before. I heat it in the morning and drink it after my hygiene routine. It’s a kind of indoor shower, effective, among other things, for :
- fighting the cold
- lighten the complexion
- facilitate transit
- prevent headaches
- hydrate the body
Yoga practice
A few minutes is all it takes to stretch like a cat and make your body more supple. A supple body also means a cooler head! If you don’t know what to do, choose sun salutations, which work on different parts of the body. It’s not difficult to find tutorials on the Internet.
Adapt your practice!
Here are a few ideas to get you started…
According to your dosha
Take the test to find out who you are and what mood you’re in!
- For a Vata dosha whose qualities are cold, dry, rough, mobile, changeable, light, choose a practice that is gentle in rhythm, anchoring with postures on the feet and warming with postures for the center of the body. As Vata also suffers from some digestive disturbances, don’t hesitate to perform twists, forward bends such as the pinch, or to bring your knees up against your chest while lying on your back to massage the belly.
- For a Pitta dosha, whose qualities are warm, light, slightly oily, penetrating, mobile, liquid and fragrant, prefer calm sequences as if you were swimming, with fluidity and breaths that refresh the body.
- For a Kapha dosha, whose qualities are heavy, cold, dense, oily, viscous and static, it’s best to warm up the body and boost it with more intense sequences than the other two doshas.
According to the day of the week, following Vedic astrology
- Monday is the day of the moon, whose archetype is that of “ the queen, the nurturing mother”. It’s the ideal day to take care of yourself. The Moon is the star of emotions, water, creation, women, intuition… A Yin Yoga session would be in harmony with the Moon’s vibrations and encourage you to commune with it.
- Tuesday is the day of Mars, whose archetype is “ The Warrior”. It’s said that Tuesday is the fiercest day of the week, when it’s not a good time to conclude negotiations or take action. Choose a sporting activity that challenges you!
- Wednesday is the day of Mercury, whose archetype is “ The Prince”. Mercury is the energy of communication, negotiation, verbal expression and intellectual analysis. It’s also a good day for doing business. On Wednesday, choose a new practice that requires you to learn and study.
- Thursday is the day of Jupiter, whose archetype is “ The ready, the wise”. It’s the most suspicious day of the week. We use it to learn, share, socialize, go out and do what we please. Perhaps you can share your practice or sport with someone else outdoors?
- Friday is the day of Venus, whose archetype is “ the princess, the lover, the beauty who saves the world”. It’s the ideal day to create: dance, paint, draw, etc.). We connect with the sacred feminine. In your practice, choose yin yoga or creative dance yoga.
- Saturday, the day of Saturn, whose archetype is “ The yogi, the servant”. This is an energy of introspection, solitude and detachment. It’s the ideal day to meditate and concentrate on developing your spirituality.
- Sunday is the day of the sun, whose archetype is “ the King, the Ruler”. Solar energy is filled with optimism, happiness, responsibility and fatherhood. Take advantage of this day to practice outdoors, or go hiking to fill up on sunshine. It’s also the ideal day to organize your week ahead and set up projects.
Depending on your mood in the morning
Take a little time to observe your energy and mood, and choose a practice accordingly!
- If you’re in a dull, sluggish mood, choose a yoga practice that will energize you with rhythmic greetings and breaths that warm you up and banish negative thoughts (kapalabhati, for example).
- If you’re stressed in the morning and overwhelmed by thoughts, choose a gentle, cocooning yoga with calm, positive music. Yin yoga or slow stretching are ideal for calming your agitated mind. For breathing, opt for alternate breathing, Sama vrtti (square) or even Ujjayi to clear your head.
By season
- In winter, you need to pacify the Kapha dosha. Choose a fluid, gentle practice to energize the body, while respecting the season’s need for slowness and rest. Add an inversion and meditative time to awaken the Ajna chakra, located between the eyebrows and the seat of our intuition, to encourage the winter introspection needed to build the next renewal.
- At the end of winter and the very beginning of spring, it’s time to welcome the energy of Pitta and reduce the expansion of Kapha. This is often the time to detoxify the body. The body is loaded with water. And just as the snow melts on the mountain peaks, our bodies shed their winter water. So we need to invigorate our bodies, which tend to become heavier. Choose a sport that gives you a boost and challenges you a little.
- In spring, we channel our Pitta part and begin to fill up with energy and renewal. It’s a time of opening up to the world. The postures of openness and extension will help you to be receptive to and in harmony with the blossoming of nature. Open the Visuddha Chakra in the throat, too, to promote good communication.
- In late spring and early summer, we keep an eye on our Pitta part by letting our body tell us what’s good for it. Find the right balance between intensity and detachment. Open up the space of the heart, Anahata, the seat of unconditional love. This will enable you to deploy finesse and delicacy in postures and avoid “forcing” too much. Choose mediation in movement. A lyrical, fluid, playful practice, a synergy between gentleness and vitality.
- In summer, we need to calm our Pitta side and welcome our Vata side. The session is carried out in calm and silence, with indulgence, gentleness and abandonment, especially for those with a Pitta profile. We enter the postures without ever constraining the body. Sensitivity, delicacy and creativity are Vata qualities to be developed during this period to help you in this process.
- Indian summer is a period of delicate transition, during which we bring our attention back to the sensations of the body and the breath. It’s time to create the inner space essential for the Pitta and Vata moods. Focus your practice on anchoring and the spine to encourage the circulation of energy in the nadis (energy channels).
- Vata goes wildin autumn! This session is designed to warm up the body as the first chill arrives, and to lubricate joints that are beginning to creak, especially for pure Vata. Focus your practice on the root chakra, muladhara, and choose anchoring postures (on the feet, activating Pada Bandha).
- The end of autumn, the beginning of winter, is a time of year when we prepare our bodies for this time of winter recollection. It’s also a good time to bring fluidity, dynamism and warmth, by performing sun salutations. For Kapha, add postures that strengthen the center.
Now you have all the keys you need to create your own morning routines and boost your body as well as your mind. It’s up to you, yogis!
Sources: Miracle Morning Hal Elrod / Yoga through the seasons