Ayurvedic Tips For Drinking Water
Are you drinking adequate water every day? Though water is essential for our health, it is also important to understand ‘how and when’ to drink water. Ayurveda has described several theories and tips for drinking water, which can affect your general health and wellbeing.
According to many Ayurvedic practitioners, water is the essence of one’s consciousness. It represents soma, which is a cooling and nourishing quality that is generally associated with lunar energy.
Water lubricates, nurtures and detoxifies the body when it flows out in the form of urine. It is a universal solvent and exists in the body in different forms like the serum, saliva, plasma, cytoplasm, nasal secretions, cerebrospinal fluids, sweat or urine.
It helps in absorbing all the vital nutrients and maintain life. Our cells cannot survive without water. Our blood contains 83% water, bones contain 22% water, the brain is made of 74% water and our lean muscles contain 75% water.
How much water to drink?
Though the universal water rule states that we need to drink 8 glasses of water, it cannot be applicable to everyone. The actual amount of water that you need depends on your age, weather, diet, amount of physical work and exercise that you do, stress levels, and body type.
Ayurveda states that we need to consider our body as a flowing river and not as a stagnant pond. The water in the river is constantly flowing, which moves all the impurities. In the same way, when we drink small quantities of water throughout the day, we help in eliminating the toxic waste in our body.
Hence, we need to understand the importance of rehydrating ourselves. Based on the fact that water is essential for our very existence, let’s look at some of the ayurvedic tips to drink water.
1. Drink water as soon as you wake up in the morning
According to Ayurveda, it is beneficial to drink warm water when you wake up in the morning. Drinking water on an empty stomach can do wonders, both internally and externally. In fact, it is advisable to drink 1-2 glasses of warm water, which increases your longevity, health and beauty.
Drink 1-2 glasses of water when you wake up in the mornings
Drinking water in the morning jumpstarts your system and wakes you up completely so that you are ready to start the daily grind. Water also helps in flushing out the toxins and cleanses your intestines.
Protip: Do not eat anything for 30-40 mins after drinking water in the morning.
2. Avoid ice-cold water
AVOID ice-cold water at all costs. Ice-cold water affects the digestive fire and makes it sluggish. This can lead to constipation, heart issues, kidney failure etc.
The temperature of the water must at least be the same as room temperature. However, warm water is always better. Warm water is easily absorbed by the body, which aids in circulation and detoxification.
 |
| Warm Water is better for health |
Regular water is absorbed by the body in 5-h, provided all the channels are clear; whereas warm water is absorbed within 3 h and helps in opening the channels.
Protip: Drink warm water whenever you are thirsty.
3. Always sit down before drinking water
It is better to sit down and drink water rather than standing, which helps the kidneys to pace the filtration process.
Your nervous system and muscles are relaxed and can digest the fluids easily.
 |
| Sit down while drinking water |
On the other hand, when we stand and drink water, we disturb the balance of fluids. It leads to the accumulation of fluids in the joints which further leads to arthritis.
Protip: Always sit before reaching for that water bottle
4. Don’t chug water at once
Do not drink a large volume of water in one go.
 |
| Do not chug water |
Take small sips throughout the day. This allows the body to absorb the liquid. It also does not dilute the digestive enzymes and gastric fluids.
Protip: Sip, swallow, breathe, repeat
5. Recognise the thirst cues
Our body indicates its water requirement in the form of thirst. Ayurveda states that we must drink water only if we are thirsty. Every person has a different body constitution, so it is not possible to recommend a universal quantity of water that everyone must drink.
We need to recognize our thirst cues and drink small sips of water throughout the day, which can help us easily satisfy our personal water requirement.
 |
| Recognise the thirst cues |
Our bodies cannot absorb a large quantity of water, so we need to determine our requirements using the below thirst cues -
- Dry and chapped lips
- Colour of the urine - When you are properly hydrated, your urine is clear and straw-coloured. Darker coloured urine is a sign of dehydration.
Protip: Understand your body’s requirement and recognize all thirst cues given by your body
6. Water before/ during/ after meals
DO drink one glass of water BEFORE your meals, on an empty stomach. This can fill you faster so that you eat less and decrease your calorie intake.
Avoid water with your meals, however, you can drink 1-2 sips of water.
 |
| Take 1-2 sips of water with your food |
DO NOT drink a lot of water after your meals. This dilutes the natural digestive juices, which affects your digestion.
Protip: After meals, drink 1-2 small sips of water. Have a gap of 45 minutes between your meals and water intake.
Check out some Harmful Food combinations to avoid
7. Drink the water which has been stored in silver or copper vessels
Always store water in copper or silver vessels overnight.
The silver and copper ions which are leached into this water can positively charge your body.
Furthermore, the copper and silver ions display many antioxidating and anti-bacterial properties, which improves the immunity of the body.
The water in these vessels balances the doshas in the body and aid in digestion.
Protip: Keep a copper water bottle handy, which will remind you to constantly sip water throughout the day.
Check out this Milton Copperas 1000 Copper Bottle, 920 ml which offers the benefits of copper.
If you are looking for a RO purifier that infuses health benefits of copper in 100% RO purified water, Check this HUL Pureit Copper Mineral RO
Bottom Line
Adequate water intake is very essential.
Something as simple as drinking water correctly can have a profound impact on our health and well-being.
Due to our busy lifestyles, we often forget to drink water or follow improper habits.
Choose from the above Ayurvedic tips for improving your water intake.
Check out my video regarding this topic
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank for the appreciation