Immunity is your body’s ability to prevent and destroy disease. A healthy person has strong immunity. If you have high immunity you are at your “ideal” body weight, you digestion is good, and you are emotionally free. In other words, you are vibrant, happy, and having good relationships with others.

If you have poor immunity, on the other hand, you may be overweight, obese, very thin, have poorly developed muscle or bone, be sensitive to stimulus, and have weakness and exhaustion. Your relationships suffer due to your lack of vibrancy.

The BIGGEST reason that I see people experience poor immunity is call “prajnaparadha” or a crime against intelligence. This is when you knowingly do something that is bad for you. You choose to participate in a thought, word or deed that causes you harm. This is violence to self. This is making the less-nourishing choice with intention. This crime presents as follows:

Misusing the senses organs…eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin. Examples include watching violent movies, listening to loud music, taking in cloying smells or smells of chemicals, favoring the sweet and salty tastes of America, and too much or too little contact through the skin.

Misusing speech. This includes gossiping, talking too much, and being untruthful.

Misusing time. This includes spending your time doing unnecessary things or things that you don’t really want to do. The constant running and choosing to go to places and participate in events that don’t agree with you are examples. Wasting time doing meaningless tasks like watching TV.

I love this concept of “crime against the intelligence.” If you pause at the crossroads of choice-making, you can always ask yourself, “Is this choice moving towards my soul’s growth or away from my soul’s growth.” If you ask this quietly to your heart, you will be surprised by the commitment and strength there. For me, it makes choice making much easier as I realize that I want to stay on my path to Moksha or liberation.

Here is an Ayurvedic routine for ALL doshas that will create balance in your day and help you to use the organs, your mouth and time in a better way. You have and will receive routines by dosha, but this is the one that all doshas remember and is easy to turn into habit.

  • Arise daily 1 – 2 hours before the sun comes up. Use this time for yourself.
  • When you get out of bed, evacuate the bowels.
  • Drink a glass of room temperature water. You can add triphala powder to the water the night before, 1 teaspoon, in the morning it will be settled to the bottom. Don’t stir it up, just drink the water on top. It does taste bad. Sorry.
  • Brush your teeth with Neem toothpaste.
  • Swish your mouth with Sesame Oil and Water (oil pulling)
  • Scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper.
  • Wash your face with neem soap and then massage Brahmi Oil on your face. This will facilitate meditation and is good for the skin.
  • You may begin a practice of placing ghee on the eyelids. This is anti-aging and good for eyes.
  • Place a few drops of Nasya or Sesame or Brahmi Oil in each nostril
  • Meditate for 20 – 40 minutes using “so hum.”
  • Practice Yoga for a minimum of 7 minutes.
  • Go for a walk every single day regardless of weather. Treat it as a walk with a friend…nature.
  • Experience a full body oil massage daily before or after bathing.
  • Meditate again at night before bed.
  • Spend some time in self-study and reflection through journaling.
  • Sleep well.

*The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda, yoga, and meditation. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. Check with your doctor before taking herbs or using essential oils when pregnant or nursing.