When exhaustion becomes the new normal
Many new parents tell me that even when they try to eat well and take care of themselves, they still feel like their body isn’t quite functioning the way it used to. Or that they never really felt totally well, even before becoming pregnant, and now feel even worse.
There can be a sense of heaviness, stiffness, or simply feeling slowed down. Sleep is often interrupted, routines change, and suddenly the small rhythms that once supported your well-being are harder to maintain. You might notice digestive discomfort such as bloating or constipation, along with a foggy or dull feeling that lingers throughout the day. Perhaps you’ve also noticed a coating on your tongue in the morning or an unpleasant taste in your mouth. You might be feeling down and out. Your bowel movement may be irregular. You may feel like you have no energy. You might experience anxiety.
In Ayurveda, these can be signs of accumulated ama in the body. Ama is often described as metabolic toxins that develop when digestion isn’t working optimally. In Ayurveda, the disease process begins with accumulated ama and imbalanced dosha.
Ama doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It’s usually a signal that something deeper in the digestive system needs support. When we begin to understand and address the root causes of ama, it can make a meaningful difference in how we feel, and live, day to day.
Why digestion often struggles in early parenthood
One of the most common contributors to ama is a weakened digestive fire.
In the early years of parenting, meals are often rushed, skipped, or eaten while caring for a baby or toddler. This adds to high vata, which is connected to weak agni (digestive fire). Sleep deprivation, stress, and irregular eating times can all affect digestion and our general balance. Poor food combining will lead to fast-accumulating ama. Imbalanced and unprocessed emotions will also disrupt the digestion. Ayurveda is incredible in that it acknowledges mental and physical ama. When we are not able to process emotions and life, it will affect our physical bodies.
When food isn’t fully digested, it can linger in the digestive tract longer than it should. Over time, this can create a heavy, sticky residue (ama or toxins), which disrupts the body’s natural balance. You can think of it like a drain that slowly becomes clogged. When debris builds up, water can’t flow freely. In a similar way, ama can accumulate and slow the body’s natural processes.
Simple ways to reduce ama and restore energy
The good news is that supporting your digestion and clearing ama does not have to be complicated. In Ayurveda, small daily habits can make a meaningful difference over time.
For new parents especially, the goal is not perfection, but gentle consistency.
Start the morning with warm water
Before breakfast, drink a cup of warm water. This simple practice can help awaken digestion and support the body’s natural cleansing processes after sleep.
Reduce caffeine
Before I tell you to ditch the coffee, I’ll gently say to really reduce it to start. Reduce to one cup before noon, then reduce to 1/2 a cup. You do not need coffee to maintain energy. It is a drug that lifts you up, then brings you to a crash and you end up believing you need more. It also contributes to high vata, and what we need now is a calm system working well. Have a warm cup of ginger tea, or a warm barley drink with oat milk instead. I like to have a warm drink like this in between breakfast and lunch- it makes me feel warm and cozy in between client calls. What will support you with energy is clearing out ama, getting to bed early, eating well throughout the day, and asking for help.
Choose warm, cooked foods whenever possible
Warm, freshly cooked foods are much easier for the body to digest than cold, raw, or heavily processed foods. Soups, stews, porridges, and simple grain and lentil dishes help support digestive strength while providing steady nourishment. If eating meat, consume it at lunch when the digestion is stronger. Remember to use a 60/40 ratio with meals. Breakfast can be simple- a porridge or homemade bread or muffins.
Eat three meals a day
We recommend eating three meals a day, without snacking, to give the body a chance to process and digest the prior meal. Meals are 4-6hrs a part. This helps to avoid the accumulation of ama. However if you are breastfeeding, snacking may be very well necessary, depending on your appetite and constitution. In this case the snack falls 2-3hrs between the meals (ie: breakfast oats at 7am, a muffin and tea at 10am, lunch at 1pm, dinner at 5pm, evening milk at 7/8pm, asleep at 8/9pm). Yes, early to bed tired mamas!
Use digestive spices
Simple spices such as ginger, cumin, coriander, fennel, black pepper are traditionally used in Ayurveda to help kindle digestive fire. Cooking with these spices regularly can help the body process food more efficiently and reduce the buildup of ama. There is also CCF tea that you can purchase on Banyan Botanicals that is nice to drink throughout the day that clears ama.
Support daily elimination
Regular bowel movements help remove ama. Drinking warm water upon waking, eating fiber-rich cooked vegetables along with grains and legumes or a small amount of meat, and taking a short walk after meals (even around the house with the baby) can encourage natural elimination. Avoid processed food- it isn’t nourishing, and tends to get stuck in the system for too long. Reducing stress & calming vata dosha with pranayama and meditation can support with regular elimination.
Create small rhythms around meals
New parenthood can make schedules unpredictable, but even a little consistency helps digestion. Sitting down for meals, taking a few slow breaths before eating, and avoiding rushing through food can support better digestion and absorption.
Prioritize rest whenever you can
Fatigue and sleep deprivation can weaken digestion over time. Even short moments of rest during the day help the body restore energy and maintain balance.
Mental Ama
In Ayurveda, ama can accumulate not only in the body but also in the mind—often called mental ama. For new moms, this can show up as mental fog, overwhelm, irritability, emotional heaviness, or feeling “stuck” after long periods of stress and little rest. Supporting the mind gently can help clear this subtle form of ama.
Here are a few tips that relate specifically to clearing mental ama:
Create Small Moments of Quiet
Even a few minutes of silence can help the mind digest the day’s experiences. Sitting quietly while the baby naps, stepping outside for fresh air, or taking ten slow breaths before the next task allows the mind to settle and release accumulated stress.
Limit Excess Mental Input
Too much information—news, social media, constant messaging—can build mental ama. New moms benefit from simplifying what they take in and focusing on calming activities.
Practice Gentle Breath Awareness
Slow, steady breathing helps clear emotional stagnation. A few minutes of simple breathing (in through the nose, out through the nose) can calm the nervous system and help process emotions.
Express and Release Emotions
Talking with a trusted friend, journaling, or even crying when emotions arise can prevent experiences from becoming “undigested” in the mind.
Step Into Natural Light
Time outdoors, especially in morning light, helps clear mental heaviness and supports emotional balance. Even a short walk with the stroller or sitting by a window can help reset the mind.
Favor Calming Evening Routines
Mental ama often builds when the mind stays overstimulated late into the evening. Soft lighting, warm tea, gentle stretching, or quiet music before bed helps the mind digest the day and settle into rest.
Be Compassionate With Yourself
Ayurveda recognizes that self-judgment creates more mental ama. Speaking to yourself with patience and kindness helps the mind stay lighter and more resilient during the early parenting years.
Energy returns when digestion is supported
In Ayurveda, energy and digestion are deeply connected. When digestion improves and ama begins to clear, many people notice that they feel lighter, clearer, and more energized.
We want to digest food, but also our life experience.
For new parents, this doesn’t require a strict cleanse or complicated routine. Often, it begins with simple, nourishing meals and small supportive habits that fit into daily life.
Over time, these gentle shifts can help restore balance and bring more vitality back into your days.
I recommend healing meditations with Myra Lewin on Insight Timer for releasing energies that no longer serve you. We’re offered in every moment an opportunity for freedom.
If you need more support, schedule a call with me on Maven Clinic.
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