Unlocking the Benefits of Ayurveda Intermittent Fasting with 6 Simple Steps
Updated: Oct 7
Discover a simple, gentle, and natural strategy for achieving balance in everyday life with our 6-step framework. Explore our unique method of daily intermittent fasting, seamlessly integrated into the Ayurvedic way of living for simplicity and sustainability.
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Ayurveda's Approach to Intermittent Fasting.
While intermittent fasting is a hot new health trend, it is actually a practice that has been around thousands of years, rooted in Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is often thought of as one of the oldest holistic systems of natural medicine, and that is an important part as we all need to be mentally and physically healthy. Yet, that system of medicine is only one part of the vast path known as "the knowledge of life." Ayur, life, Veda, knowledge. To know the nature of life itself--that is Ayurveda.
Today, Ayurveda's Ancient Knowledge of Intermittent Fasting is Now Acknowledged by Modern Science.
John Hopkins Medicine recently rediscovered what Ayurveda has known all along and published Intermittent Fasting: What is it and how does it work?
According to Ayurveda, intermittent fasting does more than burn fat. Ayurveda has known fasting can prevent, and in some cases, reverse conditions and diseases. When there is a gap in the digestive process, it provides critical cleansing time for the body and mind to purify. The brilliant process of cellular purification is compromised when there is a constant supply of food moving from one end of the digestive tract, to the other.
It is only relatively recent that humans had 24/7 access to nearly all foods imaginable. Reflecting on my own ancestors, it was only a generation ago that they grew and raised all their food. Living in a remote area, there was no convenience stores or all night markets.
Raised this way, I observed how to eat seasonally, that food abundance or scarcity ebbed and flowed naturally with the seasons, which built in fasting experiences. The term ritucharya in Ayurveda speaks to this. Ritu means season and charya means rhythm.
Simply put, it is following the natural rhythms of the season year-round. This is in stark contrast to having whatever one may want all the time. When there is a constant supply of foods, and foods that are not produced by a particular season, it can lead to health issues. How is it that in modern life with brilliant medical advances, there are so many chronic diseases? According to Ayurveda, there is a connection.
Digestion consists of four processes: ingestion, digestion, absorption and elimination. What happens when the roadway of the digestive system is constantly processing? (See: Poop Analysis with Ayurveda: What Your Poop Says About Your Health.)
Think of it as a rush hour pile up--all sorts of health problems occur mentally and physically when flow is not optimal.
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6 Steps for Ayurvedic Intermittent Fasting
1. Breakfast. Well, that’s pretty clear, break-fast.
2. Let space exist between regularly timed meals.
According to Ayurveda, intermittent fasting naturally occurs in the space between meals. This break allows us to optimize metabolism and the digestive process. We’ve all heard it, avoid snacking between meals.
The time between your last bite and your next bite IS, according to Ayurveda, intermittent fasting. Here’s the genius of Ayurveda’ approach to intermittent fasting, all day, every day, we are intermittent fasting by giving our digestive system a rest between meals.
Learn more about Pitta Dosha: The 5 Sub-Doshas and Cooling Heated Digestion | GERD
3. Lunch is the main meal of the day. This is when the sun (think digestive fire) is strongest, stomach acid is ready for its main event, and it’s when we need the energy. Healthy fat, protein and lots of vegetables can fill the plate. Dinner, or supper, is a light meal. Eating with others? No problem, just eat less of what is served and focus on the lightest foods.
Learn more about Saumya Ayurveda’s Healing Trifecta: a Framework for a Balanced Life
4. Earlier dinners are a delight for the mind and body. Ideally, we have our last meal of the day around 5:30p.m.
"When we flow with this rhythm, we create a natural, effortless intermittent fasting from 6:00p.m. to about 8:00a.m. creating a fourteen-hour intermittent fast. If life requires eating later, then the later the lighter.” – Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
5. Eat foods that are supportive. When we know how to eat correctly for us (specific to stage of life, climate, season, and for our unique doshic picture), we experience satiety. Less becomes more because our food is now medicine. Book your free phone consultation to learn more.
6. Recognize hunger. It sounds obvious, but it’s not. Learn how to recognize actual hunger versus grazing and nibbling out of boredom or anxiety. Emotional and habitual eating may drive behavior. Explore the nature of the hunger and trace it back to its root.
“When Saumya clients learn how to turn their food into medicine, and the doshas are balanced, they feel satiated and nibbling and emotional eating fades away.” – Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Related Readings: How to Detox Emotionally|10 Ayurvedic Practices for Emotional Cleansing 30 Reasons Why You Need an Ayurveda Emotional Detox
Intermittent Fasting and Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
What is balancing, supportive, and healthy for each dosha is different and with Ayurvedic intermittent fasting it’s no different. Equally important is that what is balancing for everyone is different. The doshic picture, current symptoms, family history, and many factors need to be skillfully assessed through by an experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner.
In general, Kapha predominant people can do a longer fast, Vata the least long, and Pitta, somewhere in the middle. Now, if someone has a Pitta imbalance that high Pitta fire if not fed, just might lead them to biting someone’s head off. Bottom line on what’s a balanced fasting time—it depends.
Other Considerations According to Ayurveda
It is important to take into account both physical and mental aspects. For instance, fasting for a long period is not recommended for individuals with diabetes. Similarly, fasting for an extended duration may not be beneficial for those who are anxious, restless, or prone to panic, as food provides grounding and nourishment.
Every time we allow our digestive system to rest between meals, we are practicing continuous intermittent fasting throughout the day. The fasting window from our last evening meal until we break our fast is typically around 14 hours.
Ayurveda's wisdom is evident in this consistent daily approach to intermittent fasting. The ancient Ayurvedic method of intermittent fasting is gentle, time-tested, and seamlessly integrates into our daily lifestyle in the long term.
Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day 10 Ayurvedic Evening Rituals for a Calming Night
Start Unlocking the Benefits of Ayurveda Intermittent Fasting with 6 Simple Steps. Reduce ama (toxins) and balance your agni (digestive fire)..
There is a saying, "The mind is more in the body, than the body is in the mind." The Saumya 3 step meditation process shifts us from fight-flight-freeze mode, to rest-restore-relax mode. Give it a try for forty days and observe the changes. The more grounded and relaxed we are, the smoother life flows.
"The breath is the connection between the mind and body, so by training the breath, we become calm, focused, and grounded, we slow down the aging process by decreasing stress. These practices are so simple and easy to have as part of our daily life. We actually feel and look younger."
- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
1. Learn Diaphragmatic Breathing and Change Your Life. When we re-learn to breath diaphragmatically, we move from the flight-fight-freeze mode, to rest, restore, relaxation mode from where we want and need to live.
2. Daily Guided Practices: 11 minutes in the morning and in the evening, as anchors of your daily Ayurveda routine.
3. Ayurveda Daily Routines: --Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day
"Choose a couple of practices from the routines that provide you with the greatest support. Perform them while applying our two minute meditation technique and your mundane tasks, just transformed into a mellifluous meditation. This is meditation applied to daily life." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
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Unlocking the Benefits of Ayurveda Intermittent Fasting
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MEET VEENA: YOUR AYURVEDIC GUIDE
Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
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