Deep Rest Workshop Notes (fall 2020)

Check out an image of the Doshic Clock here.

1. Embrace the Kapha Time in the evening.

   This is the settling energy of the evening, from 6-10pm in the evening, the sun is setting, it is getting dark. What can we do to feel the tiredness of the evening, embrace it, and surrender to it? It is a sweet and cohesive time, and great time to connect with others, do light activities, reflect on the day, and avoid activities that are stirring up our energy or fighting the tiredness.

2. Habits to consider:

   1. Earlier, Lighter Dinner. Taking steps toward more plants and less animal products in the evening, and shifting dinner toward 6pm or even earlier if that suits you, allows us to fully digest our food before we go to bed. This means when we are sleeping and our body goes through the pitta time at night, it is able to detox our bodies instead of struggling to keep up. This has us wake up feeling light and fresh rather than sluggish and heavy.

   2. Early to Bed. When we feel the tiredness and surrender to it (it takes time and practice both in feeling this tiredness and being able to surrender to it when we are use to staying up late!) we can go to bed early, get more energy from our hours of sleep, more bang for our buck. Wisdom states that the hours of sleep before midnight are worth double.

   3. Utilize Pitta time in the day. 10am-2pm is pitta time, in line with fire element and digestion. Eat your biggest meal of the day in this time, have fat and protein, and set your body up to be able to digest it in this time.

   4. Consider our beverages. Click here to read more about the ayurvedic perspectives on coffee, and click here to read the article “When to Wine?”. All in moderation, and there are things we can do to have any of these beverages work with us rather than against us.

3. How to start: What is the smallest, easiest step forward?

   1. Start small: If you are going to bed at midnight, could you move it up consistently 15 minutes per week until you reach 10pm? 11:45 this week, 11:30 next week, etc. Even a consistent and mindful 5 minutes is a step in the right direction. Avoid perfectionist mindset, one night doesn’t make or break the new habit unless you say it does.

   2. Replace: If you want to minimize screen time in the evening, what can you do instead? Read a book, play an instrument, visit with a friend, do a hobby? Try replacing the habit you don’t want with something you are looking forward to. It puts a reward for not doing the other thing right into the cycle.

   3. Habit stack: what are you already doing that is supporting what you want, and could you add the new habit onto that? Maybe you want to keep your cell phone out of the bedroom, you are already going to the bathroom to brush your teeth right before bed, could you leave your phone on a shelf there on silent mode and walk away?

If these topics and the idea of building habits to support them is of interest to you, and you would like to join a supportive community to gain momentum into becoming the next version of yourself that is more well rested and inspired, click here to send us a message and get in touch! We’d love to hear from you!