Contrary to popular belief, working from home can be quite stressful. It takes great self-discipline and motivation to get up each morning and commit yourself to the day’s ‘to-do’ list. But with the COVID-19 threat lurking, EVERYONE is working from home. Household help is also self-isolating, making it especially challenging to juggle both household chores and work. This makes for an especially stressful situation. Staying calm during this lockdown can be difficult however, as with everything else, Ayurveda can come to your rescue. Begin your day with Yoga Set aside just 20-30 minutes every morning for Yoga. Practice deep breathing, declutter your mind and bring it to a complete state of calmness and then focus on your breathing. Starting your day with a sense of calm in the morning will fortify your mind and body to handle stress better for the rest of the day. “Choose a quiet spot in your home and practice Padmasana. Cross your legs at the knee and place the feet on the opposite thigh. Place the wrists on the knees, close your eyes and focus on your breathing or something imaginary, like a flower. Think of nothing else. Do this for 10 minutes,” says Dr. Tarun Gupta. At the end of the day, pick a calm spot and practice Shavashana. It’s a simple asana. Just lie down supine on your back and close your eyes. Breath Ditch your regular cup of caffeine! Tea is the ‘go-to’ beverage in any Indian household. Now that we’re all at home, naturally, we’re consuming more tea than usual. But instead of the caffeinated version, try this ayurvedic chai Or tea recipe. For 400ml of Ayurvedic tea – Add 7-12 tulsi leaves, 5gm ginger slices (crush fresh slices to release the flavour), 5gm cinnamon sticks and 5gm toasted coriander seeds to 1 ltr of water. Boil it until the concoction reduces to 400ml. Strain & store in a thermos. Drink this ayurvedic chai twice during the day; sip a half-glass each time. Extremely simple to prepare and a much healthier alternative to regular tea. This ayurvedic tea gives you a natural boost of immunity and countless benefits instead of calories and caffeine! Eat smart! Stress is a manifestation of excess Vata in your body. When Vata increases in your body, you automatically start experiencing more stress, anxiety and panic. It may also lead to sleeplessness, pains and aches. And at a time when you have to spend most of your time indoors, you need to keep stress and anxiety at a minimum. Choose Vata-pacifying diets. A general rule of thumb for choosing Vata-pacifying diets is to pick moist, juicy, warm, sweet and sour food items over pungent, bitter or astringent food items. Avoid deep fried, dry or very spicy items. Sleep well Give your body ample rest. Sleep on time. It’s easy to lose track of time when you are working alone at home. Rub your palms together and place them over your eyes to rejuvenate them. Stretch and touch your toes. Do waist twists and a few gentle squats in between work. Walk away from your workstation and gaze at nature for two-three minutes to realign your eye muscles that have been focusing on your laptop. Before going to bed, add a teaspoon of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm milk and drink it. This will help you sleep better.
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