There is nothing easy about giving birth and caring for a tiny human. When my son, V, was born, I don’t know what strings were pulled in my heart but it was love at first sight followed by some of the hardest days, weeks, months of my life.

Not only did my body not feel like my body but I was a constantly sleep deprived, feeding machine for V.

He would wake up when he pleased, cry when he wanted, and want food at the oddest hours. I was the girl who never really had to make sacrifices for anyone but herself. Now, I was making sacrifices for everyone but myself and it was tough, really, really tough.

“Motherhood teaches us to become experts at making sacrifices and putting ourselves last.”

It’s hard to find a set amount of time every day to take care of ourselves. Usually we can’t even close the bathroom door to urinate in peace let alone carry out an elaborate self-care routine! So you probably read my post on a 60 minute Morning Dinacharya, and the importance of developing a daily Ayurvedic routine, and you were like there’s no way I can do that!

Your entire schedule is governed by your children and you almost feel guilty when you do something for yourself.

So this is for the busy mamas, the ones who spend their days working their butts off covered in spit up.

Sometimes you need to take care of yourself too.

7 Step Dinacharya for the Busy Mama

My most valuable tip is to not get used to routine. I know, an oxymoron! But honestly, one day you may sleep the entire night and be able to wake up early, another day you may want to sleep in with your baby. You may have a couple of minutes to yourself at 6am one day and another, you might not get a free moment until 3pm.

Your routine is going to change frequently and it’s just something you must accept. If you beat yourself up over it, you’re going to have a tough time sticking to anything. The goal is to take care of yourself in the little time that you do have.

I like to divide my day into 5 minute blocks and do one 5 minute “activity” whenever I find time.

1

The first 5 minutes I get to myself are for sipping water out of my copper cup (because that’s easy!), then tongue scraping, brushing my teeth, using my neti pot, and doing nasya.

2

Then the next 5 minute block is for 3 sun salutations (surya namaskars), a 1 minute deep breathing (pranayama), and maybe a 1-2 minute guided meditation. I used to save this for when V is napping unless I wake up before him in the morning, but now, I usually just save the meditation for later in the evening. Since he’s a bit older and intrigued by his surroundings, he’ll try to do the sun salutations with me and it is the cutest!

3

Shower never happens in the morning unless I wake up way before V (but that would normally be the next step in your next 5 minute block). Abhyanga (self-oil body massage) is usually saved for the weekends!

4

Then comes FOOD, many times I find myself eating whatever I’m feeding V but what really helps is thinking ahead and meal planning. When I fill my copper cup with water the night before, even just taking out the oats and leaving them on the counter top in a bowl will save me the thinking and thus make making breakfast much quicker.

5

Try to eat your largest meal between 10am and 2pm (hopefully during your child’s nap time). Enjoying your meal is essential but of course, not always possible. Try your best to be in the moment while you’re eating and block out the million other thoughts running through your head.

6

This takes longer than 5 minutes but hopefully you’ll have some help by this time. In the evening, try to eat an early dinner as a family and do something spiritual together. After the kids are off to bed, find time to relax, take a nice shower (maybe do the dry brushing and Abhayanga right now if you have the time) and make yourself a cup of herbal tea. 

7

Try to go to bed by 10pm so that you are ready to take on tomorrow!

Mamas, please leave me a comment and let me know if this was helpful and if you think anything can be done differently to make our Dinacharya more consistent. I would love to hear from you!

Namaste