National Ayurveda Day: What Is Your Daily Life Doing to Your Health?

A prayer on Ayurveda Day is meaningful. But what happens the next morning, when we rush through breakfast and begin another day of ignoring what our body has been telling us?

For years, we Ayurvedic physicians celebrated this day on Dhantrayodashi, offering prayers to Lord Dhanvantari on his jayanti. Ayurveda Day is now observed on 23 September. The date has changed. The question I find myself asking my patients has not: Are your everyday habits helping you live well?

This year, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shared a verse from the Charaka Samhita:

हिताहितं सुखं दुःखमायुस्तस्य हिताहितम्।
मानं च तच्च यत्रोक्तमायुर्वेदः स उच्यते।।

It asks us to look at life as a whole—what helps us, what harms us, and what it means to live well. That is a much larger conversation than which medicine to take.

A patient may come to me because of acidity, poor sleep or constant tiredness. Of course, I want to understand the symptom. But I also ask about the rest of the day. When do they eat? How much time do they spend sitting? Do they go to bed when they are tired, or spend another hour with the phone? Is there a worry that seems to grow louder the moment the room becomes quiet?

There is no judgment in those questions. Most of us are trying to manage busy lives. And our health has to be cared for within those lives, between appointments.

Ayurveda gives importance to dinacharya—daily routine. It also recognises that people differ. A routine must fit the person, their health and their circumstances. The elaborate plan you abandon by Thursday is less useful than one small change you can live with.

So take a look at an ordinary day. Not your ideal day. The real one. Could you sit down and give a meal your attention? Move a little more in a way your body allows? Make more room for sleep? If your mind is constantly occupied, could you pause for a few minutes of comfortable breathing?

Choose one thing. Try it again tomorrow.

One caution matters here. “Natural” does not automatically mean safe for everyone. Persistent symptoms deserve proper assessment, and Ayurvedic preparations can carry risks. If you have a medical condition or take prescribed medicines, speak with qualified clinicians before starting something new. Please do not stop essential treatment on your own.

Today, as we remember Lord Dhanvantari, I hope we carry our respect for Ayurveda into the next morning too. Notice what helps you feel well. Notice what may be making life harder. Then take one sensible step.

Ayurveda Day comes once a year. We live our lives every day.

Dr Ashok Rathod, M.D. Ayurveda

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