Ayurveda & Self-Care - Part 2

Well these past 2 weeks with my daily Dinacharya - or daily routine - has gone pretty well. I will admit that some mornings were harder than others, especially if I went to bed later than I had hoped. But I persevered! Every night I would set up my clothes, water and bag for the next morning, and then every morning I would do my morning ritual:

1. Wake up and drink a glass of room temperature water
2. Go to the bathroom
3. Wash my face
4. Scrape my tongue
5. Brush my teeth
6. Put in contacts (I learned that after the 1st time I tried this. It is MUCH better to put in contacts BEFORE applying the oil...duh!)
7. Moisturize my face
8. Apply my dosha oil all over my body

This simple change to my morning has really helped me start my day in a more positive light! Now, I will admit that throughout the day, people can and did get on my nerves. There were some days when I was pretty angry and depressed as the day dragged on - BUT I feel like I was able to get out of that funk much quicker than I had before! So that made me happy! Also, I never started my day in a bad mood because of this extra "me time" that I started my day with. I plan to continue this daily routine for the rest of my life! I am running EXTREMELY low on my oil. I did order some more but it still wont get here for a few more days. So lately I have been using just a drop or 2 for each limb, trying to make it last until my order arrives. 

I gave myself 2 weeks to practice this Dinacharya because that was what was required for my homework for my Ayurvedic training. I took a picture of myself before, after 2 days of Dinacharya, and now a picture after 2 weeks.

Before

2 days in

After 2 weeks

Okay, honestly, I can't really, really see a big difference. But I do think that my skin in my 2 week picture has a little more glow and it isn't as pink. Which may signify that I am slowly getting my Pitta Dosha (fire-y personality) on track, so I am not as high strung and red-faced. I do feel better and my skin feels softer and as long as I feel good, that is all that really counts right? 😉

Dancing for Self-Care

Another thing that I have adapted is doing something just for me - something that I think I shouldn't do but want to do. I have been trying to be conservative with spending money. I have not been to a dance technique class in years and my creative side REALLY wants to start taking at least one class a week.  But I feel guilty about spending the $20-25 on a dance class, when I should save that $$ for groceries or something. But in reality, we can afford this, so I don't know why I am stressing!

So this past Friday, my friends Anthony and Erech, came with me to a Ballet class and it was awesome! Anthony and Erech are performing with me in the Rockaway Cafe show in November, and there is A LOT of dancing in it. So we banded together and decided to take dance classes on days we don't have rehearsal to stay in shape and because Hey! It's fun!

We went to Ballet Arts and took Richard Marsden's Beginner Ballet class and hoo baby! It was a tough one! I have not been to ballet class in over a year and I felt muscles that I forgot I had! But the boys and I had a great time! We laughed, we twirled, we jumped, but most of all - we SWEAT! The next morning all 3 of us had tight calves and hamstrings, but it was a good pain! We are going to keep this going and have invited more friends to join us this week for a Beginner Jazz class at Broadway Dance Center.

Anthony, Erech, and I before Ballet Class! Bright eyed and bushy tailed

Anthony, Erech, and I after Ballet Class! Exhausted and oh so sweaty!

To sum up, these past two weeks have been great! Even when I am down, my morning routine and my dance classes are little treats that I give myself that make me happy. It is hard to remember that it is okay to splurge a little if it gives you a little more joy, but I am working on it! So if you are reading this, I encourage you to find a little something that will give you a little more joy to your week and go do it! ❤

Namaste!