Aligning with the Doshic Clock
How to bring ease and flow into your day by aligning with the Doshic clock.
Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that originated in India thousands of years ago, long before our smart watches and our modern day schedules.
This means people were much more attuned to the fluctuations and shifts throughout the day and were able to live in alignment with the shifts. Things are a bit more complicated these days. All of our modern conveniences can leave us in a time bubble and yes, although it’s amazing to be able to grocery shop from your phone on a Sunday night, most of the time, the world being open 24hrs a day can make us feel like we too need to be on all the time.
The Doshas are a key concept in Ayurveda, these three different types of energy make up our bodies and minds but they are also reflected in the season, the time of day and the time of life we are in. Ayurveda believes that we are a microcosm of the world in which we live.
The doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
Each dosha has its own unique qualities, and they influence our physical, mental, and emotional health. For example, Vata is associated with movement and can take up space in the mind, Pitta is associated with transformation and is key for our digestive fire, and Kapha is associated with stability and is reflected in our ability to love and be present. Ever feel like you’re ready to fall asleep standing up at 8pm and then have this burst of energy at 11pm right before you decide to go to bed? According to Ayurveda that's because 8pm is a kapha time of day where we feel more grounded and stable and 11pm is the beginning of Pitta time when we have to fire to get moving. Vata is active in the early morning hours, from 2am-6am (ever wake up at 2-3 am with racing thoughts, yeah, that's vata taking up space in your mind and allowing it to move without containment.
The Ayurvedic body clock is a way of understanding how the doshas fluctuate throughout the day.
Understanding the doshic clock and aligning ourselves with rituals to help balance these natural rhythms helps us to live in flow with nature.
Here are some tips for book ending each doshic time block with a ritual or cue to align your day.
Kapha time: 6AM – 10AM / 6PM – 10PM
Wake up early: Kapha time starts at 7am so you may find it harder to actually get out of bed after 7am because naturally slow moving, grounded Kapha wants to rest. During the Kapha time of year (spring) this can be extra difficult. The best way to combat this is to get up before Kapha time starts (6am) and get moving, which can be easier during the summer (pitta time) Lean into this energy, move slowly, stay grounded in an early morning meditation, a grounded breathing practice and some self care. During the Summer (pitta time) I find I have more energy to get up and go before it gets too hot outside. If you have a morning movement practice you may feel phlegmy or congested during this time too because Kapha lives in the lungs and chest. Now is also the best time for warm, fiery, bitter food and drinks… Yes, I’m describing coffee but also warm lemon and ginger water is Kaphas friend.
Rituals and Routine:
My kapha time ritual most mornings starts with warm lemon and ginger water followed by some abhyanga and a meditation while my house is still asleep. I may try to get in a sweaty workout before my daughter gets up or I may leave this for around 9am when she's at school. We have a nourishing breakfast together and then ... .a delicious, quiet, morning coffee after I drop her off. Cue the slow motion frothy milk pouring into a cup (chefs kiss) I swap out coffee for adaptogens in the summer because summer is pitta season and too much of the bitter taste can push my own pitta out of balance. If you have a lot of Kapha in your constitution, coffee can be a lifelong lover.
Kapha time is also the perfect window to plan and prioritize the day and have happy connections. Send your friends a “thinking of you” text, give your team congratulations, all the warm and fuzzy things come easily and heartfelt during this time.
Pitta Time 10AM – 2PM / 10PM – 2AM
It's 11am and officially Pitta time. Pitta, which is a hot and fiery dosha give us the ability to transform, to lead, to get focused and analytical and basically get shit done. 11am is power hour.
Ritual and Routine
Since Pitta lives in all the fiery parts of our body like our stomach and liver, now is a good time for a liver loving, stress busting adaptogen drink while you power through your to do list. I usually save all the stuff I dread doing, or require focus for my power pitta morning. Tough meetings with colleagues, data driven assignments, give it to pitta, she's literally burning to do these things.
The best part is that pitta time is also during our traditional lunch hours and because this fiery little bombshell of a dosha loves to digest and transform, now is the time to eat your heaviest meal of the day. Go ahead, carbs on carbs on cards Pitta can handle it.
Vata time 2AM – 6AM / 2PM – 6PM
Starting to feel a bit of that after lunch scatterbrain? That's because Pitta time is winding down and welcoming in fun, creative, floaty Vata . This is the fun part of the day that welcomes movement, meditation and creativity. Keep this in mind if you wake up before 6am, Vata wants to move and take up space, but as it consists of Air and Ether it needs containment, a canvas to create on. Otherwise Vata energy can be up at 4am simultaneously making food, scrubbing the cabinets and oh yes, some other task it forgot about in the next room.
Ritual and Routine
If the weather is nice enough, I usually move my body with a meditative walk. I connect to nature, I go slowly and I reflect on the morning and what my evening will look like. (or I just think about what I’m going to cook for dinner)
Vata being air and space needs to be contained or she will flow everywhere. Now is the perfect time of the day to work on creative projects that don’t require a lot of structure. (Structure is something Vata will take a hard pass at) Making crafts with your kids, writing projects, visual projects, anything that feels more fun than work.
Evening Transition
Once the clock strikes 4pm I start to winding down with a glass of tart cherry juice (which helps to naturally produce melatonin in the body) Kapha time won’t officially start till after 6pm but I find I need to give myself the end of day cues well in advance or I end up going from laptop to cooking dinner without taking a breath.
Kapha time once more 6AM – 10AM / 6PM – 10PM
At around 6pm I light a candle, I put on soft background music and I start ushering in beautiful calm, grounded Kapha. This is the sweet part of the day that should be reserved for slowing down and becoming softer. We eat a light dinner because Kapha being earth and water traditionally has a weaker digestive fire. After dinner I turn off the overhead lights and turn on the floor lamps, I put on my uber chic blue light glasses and spend time with my little girl. On the nights where we’ve had a smooth bedtime, or I’m feeling particularly energetic (during ovulation usually) I give myself an abhyanga massage and take a bath and if I really need to bliss out ( usually during my period) I make myself an Ayurvedic sleep tonic that you can find HERE and settle in for a sweet slumber before 10pm.
Living in alignment with this clock works most days but keep in mind, life happens, seasons happen, it's ok to fall in and out of flow.
This outline is here for you to pick up whenever you feel called. Each season has its own dosha and each season of life has its own dosha and according to Ayurveda these factors need to also be considered when designing the ideal lifestyle for YOU.
