Ayurvedic Morning Routine: Daisy's Daily Self-Healing Habits

Many of us rush through mornings and then wonder why energy, digestion and mood feel unsteady. Daisy believes a short list of small habits, repeated daily, does more than any single remedy. In this video she walks through her own morning from waking to breakfast. She also says plainly: “Don’t copy my routine”.

Copper water, squatting and meditation

Daisy wakes about eight hours after she falls asleep. The first thing she does is use the washroom. Then she drinks a cup of copper water while sitting in malasana, a deep squat, in front of her garden.

She drinks before brushing. Ayurveda calls this ushapana. Daisy says the mouth makes enzymes and helpful bacteria overnight, and swallowing them tells the immune system and gut what the body needs. She says people with IBS, with bloating or loose or hard stools, could try it for a few months.

Squatting, she says, is comfortable, helps gas and stools pass, and improves bowel movement when done daily. She admits it feels awkward for the first four or five days. Next she meditates for 20 minutes in bed, mostly gratitude. She likes doing it half asleep. She says it took two years before she stopped dozing off.

Eyes, tongue, oil pulling and tooth powder

After her amla juice is made, Daisy fills her mouth with water and splashes her eyes. She says this is good for eye health. She then cleans her tongue with a copper tongue cleaner.

Next is oil pulling, called kavala or gandush. She mixes 1 part Arimedadi thailam with 4 parts sesame oil, keeps the blend in a bottle and swishes it while she gets ready. Daisy has a separate playlist on oiling practices, including oil pulling.

She brushes with herbal tooth powder, not toothpaste. Her reason is that colourful, sugary gels are swallowed in small amounts twice a day. She compares this to medicines placed under the tongue, which are absorbed quickly. Her powders are edible and made with things like cardamom and clove. Use about half to three-quarters of a teaspoon with a few drops of water, mixed on the brush.

Sunlight, pranayama and breakfast

Daisy calls morning sunlight her biggest health game changer. She walks about 30 minutes, often on grass, with bare skin, no sunscreen and no moisturiser. She says to step outside rather than sit by a window. She says her mood and focus dip on days without it.

She believes sunlight within an hour of waking sets cortisol, the alert hormone, and melatonin, the sleep hormone, to the right times. She suggests it for people who wake at 2 or 3 a.m.

Back home she does 15 minutes of kapalbhati, 10 of anulom vilom and 5 of balayam yoga mudra, which she says helps hair follicles and premature greying. She finishes with yoni and kaki mudra, which she calls anti-ageing.

Breakfast is ambuli, a fermented millet drink, on an empty stomach. She carries a mud pot when she travels. She then works out and showers.

Food, workouts and her own rules

Daisy varies her workouts: yoga, squash, weights, calisthenics, cycling and brisk walks with leg weights. After her shower she eats one fruit. Her heavy meal comes near 2 p.m., when the sun is high. In the evening she might have ragi milk, moringa juice or bean soup.

She eats twice a day on most days, three times on very active days, and once on sedentary days. She says this keeps her weight steady without yo-yoing. If you take medicine for diabetes or another condition, keep your doctor in the loop before changing how you eat.

Her whole routine takes about four hours. She sees it as “free health insurance”, with each habit paying a small premium. On busy shoot days she squeezes in a sunlight walk or pranayama wherever she can.

What research says

Some of this has research behind it. Small trials of oil pulling with sesame oil suggest it may lower plaque. One 8-week trial of 40 people found a modest benefit over water, though the authors warned of possible bias. A larger review of 25 trials found probable gum benefits but rated the evidence very low in certainty.

A review of mechanical tongue cleaning found it can reduce breath odour and tongue coating. Light is the strongest signal that keeps the body clock on a 24-hour day, according to a chronobiology review. That supports morning light for sleep, though the studies do not test Daisy’s exact method. Research on ushapana, malasana and the mudras is limited.

Daisy’s tips

• Take the essentials, then adjust to your body, health and office hours.
• Drink your water before you brush, and expect a few days of adjustment.
• Use tooth powder in tiny amounts, with a few drops of water.
• Go outside for sunlight. Do not sit by a window.
• Keep a routine you can follow on busy days, even in a shorter form.

Daisy shows the whole day in the video above. It takes about 27 minutes.