Mira Manek On Her Ayurvedic Evening Routine For Better Sleep

 Why Trust Us
 

Disclosure
sleep

Struggling to get enough shut-eye? In Ayurveda, sleep is one of the three pillars of health, otherwise known as ‘nidra’. We need sleep to rejuvenate us and re-energise mind, body and spirit. Here, chef and author Mira Manek talks us through her Ayurveda inspired tips that will help prepare you for a peaceful night’s sleep…

Prep your environment for sleep

When you enter your home in the evening, lighting is the first thing that sets the tone and the mood. Bright lights can be stimulating, so try and have lights that dim or have a couple of lamps that you can use at night.

Cut down on stimulants before you sleep

What you’ve eaten during the day will, of course, have an impact on how well you sleep. If there is any caffeine in your system, it might prevent you from getting into that very deep sleep, so try not to have any coffee or anything with caffeine after around 3pm. Chocolate also contains caffeine. Having a small piece might be okay, but having a whole chocolate dessert or ice cream might affect your sleep.

Ayurveda for Sleep

Turn off your phone

You may well find this difficult (like me) but try not to look at your phone for at least an hour before you sleep. The brightness of the screen and engagement with others on social media stimulates the senses and keeps everything ‘on’ rather than helping you to wind down in preparation for total switch off. When you go to bed, turn off your phone or don’t take it into your bedroom. If you need to, switch on the alarm on your phone half an hour before you get into bed so that looking at your phone screen isn’t the last thing you do before your head hits the pillow. Mobile phones are wonderful things but they can be disruptive for our sleep.

Prioritise relaxation

What is it that relaxes you? For some, it might be playing a guitar and for others it will be listening to music while cooking. Do what relaxes you and brings you into a meditative state. All these things from cooking and listening to music to going for a walk to writing a journal or playing an instrument can be meditative, if it is what you love and enjoy. Schedule this time in, even if it feels selfish, because there will always be other things to do, people to meet, places to be, but if you never switch off from this, from the noise, from others, from the world, you will lose your connection to you and the essence of your own self.

Ayurveda for Sleep

Find stillness and meditation

For some, a meditation practice, whether it’s long or short, can be incredibly therapeutic. I’ve expanded on this below and on the following pages with mantras to chant and different ways to get into a mode of stillness.

Make time for journaling and writing

Jotting down your thoughts can be a wonderful form of therapy and healing, making sense of all the fragmented thoughts and emotions, bringing them together in one place and finding a release.

Sip on soothing drinks

Sipping on hot milk with a little saffron and nutmeg can help induce sleepiness. Saffron not only helps you sleep but can even help with depression.

Mira Manek Ayurvedic Evening Routine
Courtesy of Aysegul Sandford owner of Foolproof Living

Mira Manek says to add some sesame oil

Rub sesame oil on the palms of your hands and bottoms of your feet – another Ayurvedic sleep remedy. You could also use ghee.

Focus on your breathing techniques

Taking deep breaths, or practising ujjayi breathing, can be very calming and allow you to enter a state of relaxation. I often listen to podcasts by philosophers and thinkers or switch on my Indian classical playlist while I do my breathing exercises.

Mira Manek Ayurvedic Evening Routine

Take yourself for an evening walk

Getting some fresh air, clearing the head and walking in the outdoors can be a wonderful way to de-stress. It might also be something you can do with your partner or a friend, a time to laugh and chat and re-energise the soul as you walk.

Run a hot bath

Having a bath, perhaps with some candles, can be incredibly meditative and relaxing. For me, it’s often just 10–15 minutes, but I put on some soothing music or an inspiring podcast, I light a candle, sip on a herbal tea or a cup of lemon, ginger and honey, and close my eyes. Adding Epsom salts into your hot bath will additionally draw out toxins from the body, and Epsom salts also contain magnesium which enters the skin and muscles and helps us relax even more. This is great for when you’ve been lifting weights or just working out a lot. If you have a cold, then adding a little eucalyptus and camphor oil to your bath could be just the thing you need. Baths are a wonderful way to send you into sleep mode before bed, but they’re equally brilliant to warm the entire body in the winter, when you’ve just got home in the evening and it feels like the cold has penetrated into your bones. Try not to expose yourself to bright light after the bath so you stay in this relaxed state and get into bed as soon as possible after bathing.

Mira Manek Ayurvedic Evening Routine

Make time for a steam and sauna

I love using a steam room and sauna especially in winter, first and foremost to warm up, and then to soothe any aches and pains and feel entirely relaxed. My skin also feels great after a short time in a steam room, because the sweating opens up the pores and helps to remove dead skin cells and toxins. In Ayurveda, the steam bath, called Swedana, increases circulation, helps remove toxins from fat cells, reduces stress (the heat and relaxation stimulate the release of endorphins), gives the heart a workout and helps clear sinuses.

Mira Manek says prep an evening playlist

This eclectic collection of songs, for me, is infused with relaxed energy, mantras with upbeat rhythms to immediately bring the mind into evening mode and lift the mood, and with a sense of spiritual mystery.

‘Hanuman Chalisa’ – Keerti Mathur
‘Mul Mantra’ – Snatam Kaur
‘Reunion’ – Anoushka Shankar
‘Morey Pya Bassey’ –Cheb i Sabbah
‘Bangles’ – Niraj Chag
‘Ong Namo’ – Mirabai Ceiba
‘Pashupati’ – Sharon Gannon
‘Nataraja’ – Jai Uttal and Ben Leinbach
‘Gayatri Mantra’ – Deva Premal
‘Hari Om (Tiruvannamalai)’ – Janet Stone and DJ Drez
‘Long Time Sun’ – Snatam Kaur
‘Purnamadah’ – Shantala
‘Jai Radha Madhav’ – Deva Premal
‘Water Sign’ – East Forest
‘Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha’ – Edo & Jo
‘I am (Krishan Liquid Mix)’ – Nirinjan Kaur
‘Rudrashtakam (Shiva Stuti)’ – Krishna Das

Liked this article on Mira Manek On Her Ayurvedic Evening Routine? Read PRAJNA Ayurvedic rituals for happiness by Mira Manek. For more information visit www.miramanek.com

Get your weekly DOSE fix here: SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

+ posts

Hettie is the editor and co-founder of DOSE. A keen runner, she’s also partial to a blast of high-intensity and hot yoga. A country girl at heart, she divides her time between London and the lush rolling hills of North Devon. When she’s not jetting off on her next adventure, Hettie can be found in a candle-lit alcove with a laptop, a spaniel and a full bodied Malbec.

Related Stories

Share the Article

Want 3 Free Spirituality eBooks?

Your Daily Dose of Spiritual Guidance, Personality Quizzes and a glimpse of what the future holds for you – right in your Mailbox.

Ask a Question

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *