I haven’t met Sahara but I do believe we have spoken over a dozen times. We connected on instagram upon Sara Awwad’s insistence and I loved what Sahara was doing in the wellness sphere with her website and her counseling sessions. She has recently published a book called the Idiot’s Guide To Ayurveda, (which is available in bookstores worldwide August 8) actually has two full chapters on morning routines and nightly rituals. I was thrilled when she took some time out to share her day on a plate with us.
8-9:00am: I wake up around 8:00-9:00am, depending on what time I slept (I do most of my writing at night) and before I open my eyes I recall my dreams. I believe that dreams are a reflection into our subconscious minds and through understanding our dreams, we have a better scope of our own state of consciousness. My dreams are always speaking to me on what I need to be focusing on or on the look-out for (they’ve revealed to me some crazy stuff!) As a Vata Dosha, I have very vivid dreams so I can normally remember them in the morning if I recall them first thing. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t remember your dreams at all, try keeping a dream journal- it’s a skill everyone can develop! If you don’t know your Dosha or mind-body type, take my free quiz on my website.
Once I’ve opened my eyes and adjusted to the light, I check in with my body and do a full head-to-toe scan. I then set my daily intentions and list the things I am grateful for, which I’ve found is the best way to start your day. I am always grateful to wake up by the beautiful beach of Santa Monica, which I can see right from my I am grateful for manifesting true love and living in alignment with my higher purpose. I then set goals for myself to prepare my energy for today’s tasks. As an entrepreneur, it’s really important to set foundational blocks for yourself otherwise your energy can become diminished due to stretching yourself out too thin. Also, as a Vata I tend to be doing 20 things at once but I find just by setting an intention for “Today is a creative day” or “Today is a networking day” I am much more productive in my endeavors. As soon as I move, my puppy, Chubby (who is literally a real-life teddy bear.. yes he has an Instagram), normally pounces on me and playing with him is pure meditation.
After I go to the bathroom, I set the tea kettle to start boiling hot water. Then I brush my teeth while doing hip-circles and shoulder rolls to get my Shakti (divine feminine) energy flowing. I am very connected to my inner feminine and always seek to bring out the Goddess in me, which I know you are also all about Jia!
I always brush my teeth with plant-based, fluoride-free toothpaste, scrape my tongue with a stainless steel tongue scraper to remove toxins, and take my daily supplements with some room-temperature water (never iced, as it diminishes your digestive fire.) Then I put a spoon of coconut oil in my mouth for an Ayurvedic practice I write about in my book and on my blog called oil pulling, which further draws toxins from the system. After oil-pulling, I drink hot water with lemon, following by a tea of ceremonial grade matcha and hormone-balancing Ayurvedic herb ashwagandha.
10:00am I always start my day with Vinyasa Yoga. A yoga practice at the first thing in the morning is an absolute must for me. An open body is an open mind and I’m so much better able to tap into my highest self when I’ve physically opened the blocked channels in my body.
12:00pm After yoga, I make a low-glycemic smoothie with tons of greens, avocado, berries, raw vegan protein powder, maca and coconut or flax milk. In the morning, our systems aren’t ready to break-down hard-to-digest foods and I’ve found I have much more energy if my first meal of the day is liquid form. I’ve lately been trying new ingredients like broccoli such as in this recipe of mine, Low-Glycemic High-Vibe Strawberry Broccoli Smoothie, which has been surprisingly delicious!
I also practice intermittent fasting (meaning I don’t eat for 16 hours a day and keep my meals in 8 hour windows) so this smoothie is both my breakfast and lunch. I’ve noticed dramatic INCREASES in my energy from practicing intermittent fasting. I studied ashtanga yoga in India and the number 1 rule is NEVER practice with any food in your system. You can’t go as deep into the practice, especially with twists and other detoxifying poses, if there is any food in your body. Since I am a night-owl and my best work is done in the moon-lit hours, my first meal ends up being later than the traditional Vedic suggestion but it works well for me. I actually can’t eat heavy meals during the day or feel a huge slump in energy. I often do any food photography for my Instagram and Blog at this time when the sun is out.
12:30pm: I begin my work! Each day is different, but since I’m launching my book The Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda in a few weeks and currently hosting my #31DayTransformation Challenge with my mentor, Deepak Chopra, it’s mostly been focused on PR recently. I also run a 12 Week Eat Right For Your Mind-Body Type Program, which teaches participants step-by-step how to heal their relationships with food and find the right diet for their bodies so I’m constantly creating new material, meal plans and lessons for that. I’m also working on my next book, which will be a modern, refreshed Ayurvedic cookbook but with all new ingredients (not your Grama’s Ayurveda) so that’s also been taking up a lot of time these days! No two days are the same and it’s really important I remain focused to be able to handle all of the tasks thrown at me.
4pm: I’ll typically have an afternoon snack such as sunflower seed butter (my favorite nut-butter replacement) with celery, some fresh local berries from the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, avocado wrapped in seaweed, raw vegan crackers with sprouted hummus, fennel salad, babaganoush and cucumbers or something else. I really like high-fat, low-carb living so my diet really reflects that. I feel so much more energized, nourished and satiated by eating lots of healthy fats. They’re great for our mood, hormones and brain-health and something we all could use more of (plus they’re delicious!)
6:30: I’ll take a break from work to take a nice long walk with my puppy Chubby right by the Pacific Ocean. It’s so important for me to take a break to disconnect with all the happening on social media and reconnect with nature. I receive most of my downloads from the universe on these walks, which later become my Highest Self Podcast Episodes.
8:30pm: My favorite dinner is the “I Am Whole Bowl” from Café Gratitude which is LA’s best-known organic vegan restaurant and I usually order it at least twice a week. I could literally live on it forever. I always joke that if I was on death-row, that would be my last meal because it contains all Six Tastes in Ayurveda (which I discuss in the book): sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. The whole bowl is a Macrobiotic meal (Japanese health system which originates from Ayurveda) and consists of sea vegetables, steamed greens, sweet potato, adzuki beans (easiest bean to digest), quinoa, sprouts, activated teriyaki almonds and the most delicious garlic tahini sauce. I am hungry even just writing about it.
Afterwards, I’ll have one of my own homemade, vegan, sugar-free desserts, which I’m always recipe developing for my blog, Eat Feel Fresh. I use Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener, which has no impact on your blood sugar levels, doesn’t cause weight-gain or feed Candida, nor does it have the bitter aftertaste as stevia so it’s been amazing being able to eat cookies and brownies every night and not face the repercussions! (Your community is welcome to use my personal discount of 40% off any order with code “sahara”). I have a total sweet-tooth and love having something sweet n’ nutty at the end of my day, paired with a hot cup of herbal tea. It really relaxes my entire system and even Ayurveda states one should have something sweet everyday for mental and hormonal balance. It’s all about making the right choices and choosing low-glycemic options! Lately I’ve been all about making these raw vegan chocolate chip cookies. Too good! Since they’re high in healthy fats and low in sugar, you don’t even want to eat more than two.
10pm: Once the sun has gone down and the yang energy on the Earth has settled, my highest self comes out to play! This is when I begin to record my Highest Self Podcast episodes, which is the project most near and dear to my heart. I am super grateful that Yoga Journal, the biggest yoga magazine in the US, recently listed it as their top 7 podcasts for yogis! It’s all recorded in a divine state of flow: I literally just take the mic, look out the window into the dark ocean and city lights and let my thoughts go. It’s totally unscripted, straight from the heart, and I discuss topics from how I went from eating disorders to healing my body with Ayurveda to finding your life’s purpose. The podcast is raw, unfiltered, unedited and so freeing. I feel the world needs more unadultered discussions like this and I am overjoyed that the podcast has received such a great response. I run a Facebook Group, called Mind-Body Balancers, and everyday we discuss topics from spirituality and alcohol to forgiving yourself after binging which I then partake in after recording episodes. It’s open for anyone to join—I would love to invite your community to be a part of it, Jia!
12am: I typically stop working around midnight (when I was writing Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda, it was more like 3am!) and prepare myself for sleep. I’m a huge fan of baths and love following it up with an Ayurvedic practice called abhyanga, or self-oil massage, which I discuss in my book. It stimulates your lymphatic system, detoxifies your system, tones muscles, makes your skin smooth and supple and prepares your body for rest. I am addicted to using my foam-roller and knead out tight spots on my back and hips every night as well. I use a standing desk, which I prefer to sitting but hours of standing can also cause soreness. I’m super connected with my body and cannot concentrate if I have physical tension. I also drink a hot herbal tea again before bed, recently been doing lots of Pau D’Arco which is great for detox and Roasted Dandelion Root which is great for hormonal health.
1am: I read a spiritual book before sleep, such as something from my mentor Deepak Chopra, my guruji Osho or my current teacher David Frawley at the American Institute of Vedic Studies. I am always seeking to expand my consciousness and take in as much information as I give out.
To remain in a state of flow and creation, energy must move both ways- internally and externally. Some people tend to read a lot but not put out content. Others tend to always be doing but not learning. I always make an effort to remain balanced in between- both learning and teaching, doing and being.
For example, if I shot 30 videos that day like I recently did for Deepak and I’s 31 Day Transformation Challenge, I make extra effort to receive and maybe will just read some poetry. If all I did was read and research that day, maybe I won’t even read that night and instead practice some restorative yoga, such as twists and hip-openers.
I always observe what my mind and body present need to be in alignment. The only way you can be your highest self is when you’re fully connected with yourself. When you are balanced, life just tends to flow and the magic begins to take place. Synchronicities happen in every corner and doors begin to open for you (which I discuss in my podcast episode about how I met Deepak- pure synchronicity!)
I believe your external world is a reflection of your internal state of mind and that we can ALL live our dharmas, life’s purposes, by connecting with our true selves. We were each given unique gifts that we were meant to share with the world and we are doing the planet a disservice by not sharing those. Whether it’s starting a wellness blog or creating jewellery or teaching children, we each have a very important role to fulfil and it’s our duties to live up to our highest potential. The world needs us. In fact, we can only achieve true happiness when we are living in alignment with our mission on this planet. No money, power or success will ever fulfil the gap or purpose in one’s life. Each of our souls chose to incarnate at this present moment, the world of the internet, and we can use this amazing tool to share our voices with the rest of the world and help each other rise.
Pre-order Sahara’s Book The Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda with the foreword by Deepak Chopra here.
Discover your Ayurvedic mind and body type with her interactive quiz here.
Follow Sahara on Instagram @IAmSaharaRose.
Learn more about Sahara Rose here.
Bio:
“A leading voice for the millennial generation into the new paradigm shift.” -Deepak Chopra. Sahara Rose is a mind-body transformation expert. She is the author of The idiot’s guide to Ayurveda , a modern Ayurvedic wellness influencer @IAmSaharaRose and host of the Highest Self Podcast, which was named as top 7 podcast by Yoga Journal Magazine.
