Nourishing the Soul: Ayurvedic Cooking and Yoga Flows for Busy Mums
As a mum’s we are looking after the kids, the family, friends and often we forget to nourish our own soul and wellbeing. We constantly put others before ourselves and neglecting our own signals of how we feel. Looking after YOU is as important as being there for your family and friends and it’s essential to deal with the demands of being a mum.
Wouldn’t it feel great to nurture both body and soul and have the energy for all your mum chores and also doing the things you enjoy in life?
Combining yoga flows with ayurvedic living can be the recipe to success for a lifestyle that can bring you balance and improve your wellbeing so you can live your life to the fullest and be the healthiest and best version of YOU.
In this blog we will dive deeper into how you can reach these goals by merging both these principles into your daily routine.
Ayurvedic cooking
Ayurveda is often referred to as “science of life” and it’s the world’s oldest healing system which has its origins traced back to India several thousand years ago. Incorporating ayurvedic principles into your daily routine as a busy mum offers you a holistic and individualise approach to health and wellbeing. It helps you manage stress, optimise energy and promote a more balanced lifestyle. It emphasises on preventative medicine naturally derived from plants, so you address the issue before you get sick.
As life as a mum is buys, we often feel stressed and don’t listen to what our body needs, which isn’t good for us. If we learn how to listen to our signals from our body it will guide us on how we feel when we eat certain foods, also if we are full or need more food. Your body knows exactly what you need so it’s important to honour the signals we get to make choices that nourish us and support our overall well-being.
Here are some ayurvedic tips you can incorporate into your cooking.
Ayurvedic cooking emphasizes the use of fresh, seasonal ingredients and the balancing of different tastes to support optimal digestion and overall health.
Focus on whole foods and unprocessed foods that are rich in nutrients and life force energy. These include a variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and healthy fats to ensure a balanced intake of essential nutrients.
Aim for including the six tastes of salty, bitter, sweet, pungent, astringent and sour into each meal to satisfy the body’s nutritional and sensory needs.
Eating mindfully and chewing your food thoroughly.
Eat cooked foods over raw for easier digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
Don’t drink too much fluid during the meal, instead save it to afterwards. Drinking too much cold drinks or iced beverages can reduce your ability to digest your food properly.
Some good food tips to include in autumn are warming soups and stews, such as lentil soup with seasonal vegetables or butternut squash curry with aromatic spices like turmeric, cumin, and ginger. A great breakfast food to sustain your energy as a busy mum is one of my favourite oatmeal porridge. Prepare your oats as you like and add some spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger and top with seasonal fruits and some honey and nuts and maybe some milk or yoghurt.
Yoga Flows for Busy Moms
Carve out a few moments each day to reconnect with your body and breath through simple yoga flows. As busy mums, time is never enough but doing some shorter flows will still bring you the same benefits as a longer class. Consistency is important so you can build on your strength and balance and integrate this into your daily routine.
If you practice regular yoga flows, it will help your emotional balance. It’s a way to cultivate balance and resilience so you can respond to the day-to-day challenges with calmness and clarity. Yoga will also help you create a better posture, increase your energy levels and relieve muscle tension. Some good poses to focus on in your flows are the ones releasing tension, increase flexibility, and cultivate a sense of inner peace. This may include gentle stretches to relieve tight muscles, energizing sequences to boost mood and vitality, and restorative poses to promote relaxation and stress relief. As busy mums often our shoulders, hips, and lower back are taking a lot of heavy lifting, and we often suffer pain in these areas. Doing regular yoga practice will help you build strength and relieve the discomfort you might feel.
As we in the southern hemisphere are getting into autumn it’s beneficial to balance vata dosha that symbolise qualities as dryness, coldness and movement. A Vata-balancing yoga practice focuses on grounding, calming, and nurturing poses to help bring harmony to the Vata dosha.
A sample of a vata yoga practice could be:
Centering and Pranayama:
Begin in a comfortable seated position. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to center yourself.
Practice Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) to balance the flow of energy in the body and calm the mind. Inhale through one nostril, then exhale through the other, alternating sides.
Warm-up:
Cat-Cow Stretch (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana): Flow between Cat and Cow poses, moving with your breath to warm up the spine and release tension.
Gentle Neck Stretches: Slowly move your head from side to side, forward and back, to release tension in the neck and shoulders.
Standing Poses:
Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, grounding through all four corners of the feet. Lengthen the spine and reach the crown of the head towards the sky.
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): From Mountain Pose, step one foot back and bend the front knee, extending the arms out to the sides. Sink into the hips and gaze over the front fingertips, finding strength and stability.
Seated Poses:
Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana): Sit with legs extended in front of you. Inhale to lengthen the spine, then exhale to fold forward from the hips, reaching for the feet or shins. Keep the spine long and the breath smooth.
Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana): Sit with the soles of the feet together and knees wide. Inhale to lengthen the spine, then exhale to fold forward, bringing the chest towards the feet.
Restorative Poses:
Supported Bridge Pose: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart. Place a bolster or folded blanket under your hips for support. Rest your arms by your sides and close your eyes, allowing the body to relax and release tension.
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani): Sit close to a wall and swing your legs up so they are resting against the wall. Support your lower back with a blanket or bolster if needed. Close your eyes and focus on deep, belly breaths to calm the nervous system.
Final Relaxation:
Corpse Pose (Savasana): Lie on your back with arms by your sides, palms facing up. Close your eyes and allow the body to completely relax. Stay in Savasana for 5-10 minutes, focusing on deep relaxation and surrender.
Integration and Self-Care
As active mum you might find it hard to incorporate changes into your already busy routine, but what if these new changes can make a significant difference into your life?
This doesn’t mean you have to change everything, but you might modify a few things to start with to see and feel the difference.
Finding ways to include some ayurvedic recipes and yoga flows into your daily routine, even amidst a busy schedule is possible and can be life changing in how you feel and show up, and it even will have a flow on effect to the rest of the family. Batch cooking and meal prepping can save time and make it easier to enjoy nourishing meals throughout the week.
Create dedicated spaces in your home for yoga and self-care, even if they're small or temporary. Set aside a few minutes each day to practice yoga, meditate, or simply take deep breaths and center yourself.
Remember that self-care isn't selfish—it's essential for replenishing your energy reserves and being able to show up fully for your loved ones.
