Start Your Day the Ziva Way
This wonderful lady is Emily Fletcher from Ziva Meditation. She ran into meditation and found out how it improved her life and followed inspiration. She’s now teaching others to do the same and that’s what Ziva Meditation is about. Enough about that though and let’s get in to this wonderful morning routine that prepares you for your morning meditation.
What is she doing in the video?
Step 1: Swishing Oil
This is known as Oil Pulling. Oil Pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic dental technique that requires you to swish 1 table spoon of oil in your mouth for 10-15mins on an empty stomach.
Let’s back track a little bit, though, and talk about what Ayurvedic is:
Ayurvedic medicine evolved in India, and is considered to be the world’s oldest healthcare system. It is named for the Sanskrit word Ayurveda, meaning the “science of life.” If that sounds like an all-encompassing definition, it is. Ayurvedic medicine is entirely holistic.
Source
So, yes, oil pulling is an ancient practice, but it’s still as effective as it first started. Well, there have been debates, but there are people who swear by it. Just ask Hollywood actresses Gwenyth Paltrow and Shailene Woodley who are big fans of the practice according to Hello Magazine.
Some of the benefits that you’ll get:
- No more bad breath
- Whiter teeth
- Clearer skin
- Improves Oral Health (no more bleeding gums and cavities)
- Improve the immune System
- Recommendation: For added benefits, you can add drops of essential oils to your 1tbsp of raw coconut oil. Try doTerra’s peppermint, onguard or oregano essential oil.
Have questions on doTerra essential oils? Ask me.
Reminder:
While swishing the oil inside your mouth, you can do other stuff like what Emily is doing on her video – make the bed, brush your hair, go to the bathroom and so on. It doesn’t have to be what Emily is doing exactly, but make use of your time! You’ll be swishing for 10-15mins, might as well make yourself useful while swishing.
Step 2: Acupressure Mat
After I watched this video, I got curious with the mat she was stepping on. This is called an acupressure mat. I got one of my own and it came with a pillow. I recently wrote a review about it which you can read here.
Before her morning meditation, Emily steps onto the mat to wake up her body. The acupressure mat (and pillow) is said to:
- Reduce pain naturally
- Increase energy
- Improve blood circulation
- Relax the body and the muscles
- Provide stress relief
The last I used mine was when I had a headache. Again, you can check my review here.
Step 3: Swishing Done. Brush Teeth.
Emily then spits out the oil after a good 10-15mins of swishing. She then brushes her teeth which, I imagine, feels really clean.
Step 4: Warm Water
The next thing Emily does is to get warm water (2/3 hot, 1/3 room temperature in a mug). Now, why is she drinking warm water? Because there are some unexpected benefits to drinking warm or hot water:
- Helps with weight loss
- Helps with nasal and throat congestion
- Promotes body detoxification
- Aids in digestion
- Enhances blood circulation
Maybe we should all think about drinking warm or hot water if it has this many benefits, don’t you think?
Recommendation: I’m all for added benefits so I add in a drop or two of doTerra’s lemon essential oil into my warm water. The lemon oil helps boost my immune system as well as help elevate my mood.
Ask me more about doTerra’s Lemon Essential Oil here.
Step 5: Ayurvedic Breath Exercises
Emily talks about these exercises in another video (which you can see below). It’s basically done to bring in more oxygen into your body and to prepare you (physically and mentally) for your morning meditation session.
Step 6: Morning Meditation
The last step is for you to do your morning meditation. As for how you can actually meditate, there are plenty of videos on YouTube and blogs that teach you how. As mentioned, Ziva Meditations teaches people who to meditate so it would be helpful if you go to Emily Fletcher’s sites:
