Creating a Sattvic Day
Sattvas is one of the three gunas of Hindu philosophy. The gunas are the modes of being, or qualities of nature we all know and observe around us. We are composed of all three gunas, and live in varying degrees of all three gunas. That is the nature of our life here on Earth.
Sattvas reflects the positive, peaceful, and virtuous aspects of nature. Light colors, fresh food, and charitable feelings all have to do with sattva.
Tamas deals with the heavy, material, and stable aspects of nature. Darker colors, heavier foods like root vegetables, the earth, the soil, all have to do with tamas. Your body and consistent behaviors all create tamas.
Rajas deals with the active, flowing aspects of nature. Bold colors, rich flavors, and desire all have to do with rajas. Your goals, ambitions, and sensual nature all create rajas in your life. Without rajas, there’d be no movement to life. Life would become stagnant and too tamasic. Without tamas, there’d be no stability to life. Too much rajas and tamas, and now you begin to stray from sattvas. Too much sattvas, though, and you begin to live too divorced from reality. It’s all about balance.
When you create a balance of all three gunas within your body and your environment, you achieve a more “sattvic” lifestyle. So how do you create this kind of lifestyle? One way is from the ground up. It all starts with your day.
Creating a sattvic daily routine is a very potent way to create balance. When you create a sattvic daily routine, you cultivate more peace and harmony in your body and life.
Everyone’s day is obviously going to be different. It will be filled with varying degrees of stressors, family or social obligations, and workloads. Most of us, though, can peg our day to these three “tent poles” without too much trouble. If you do, you’ll give yourself a good head start to creating more sattvas in your life.
Rise at 6:00 a.m.
Eat lunch at 12:00 p.m.
Go to bed at 10:00 p.m.
Why rise so early? The ancient Sanskrit scriptures designate 6:00 a.m. as the ideal rising time. It likely has to do with the high level of qi or life force, in your body and the environment. The earth is more quiet and peaceful at this time. Take advantage of this time of day to get up and carve out time for your body and mind. This means meditation, yoga, pranayama, and a light walk to get the blood flowing. After your practices, dress yourself in light-colored clothing. Fill the center of your house with flowers to lighten the energy and start your work for the day.
Why eat lunch at 12:00 p.m.? Eating lunch at 12:00 p.m. helps you avoid inertia later in the day. At 12:00 p.m., the sun is at its highest point in the sky, and your agni, or your digestive fire, is operating at its highest. Taking advantage of eating at this time allows you to process food most optimally and avoid sleepiness later in the day. This is also the time of day to connect and be social. Schedule social lunches with positive friends and colleagues. Later in the afternoon, get moving. This is the best time to get high-impact exercise in.
Why go to bed at 10:00 p.m.? This hour gives you enough time to sleep before you rise. It’s also a time when your body rhythms are beginning to shift down as the sun has set hours ago by this time. In order to get yourself to really sleep now, ideally you would have shut down your computer an hour ago, and put your phone away. Light reading, nourishing milk drinks, or maybe even a short walk to calm your body is helpful to ease yourself to bed.
