Martha So er

The guru of glow shares her ayurvedic-inspired prescription for a warm and wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season.

It’s important not to eat before you meditate. It’s easier to transcend without food in your stomach.

Daily Essential

“First thing in the morning, I scrape my tongue Surya Copper Tongue Scraper ($17, suryawellness.com). At night, according to ayurveda, the body moves ama, or toxins, onto your tongue. So it’s important to scrape it off and take the ama out. This also ensures your taste buds are clean, so digestion will improve. After this, I do oil pulling with Surya Herbalized Pulling Oil ($48, suryawellness.com). You put some of the oil in your mouth and swish it around until it feels like water. When you spit it out, you’ll see the oil has changed color. Then I recommend swishing with a bit of salt water. You just pulled so much bacteria in the mouth, and you want to make sure to kill it. The salt also leaves your mouth refreshed for the day.”

Glow Getters

“I make Surya Balancing Face Oil ($185, suryawellness. com) with 55 to 60 herbs, and it takes about four days. After I apply my face oil, I massage with my Kansa wand. When you work on your face with it, it moves the acidity out of your skin. Then I apply Surya Balancing Collagen Cream

($195, suryawellness. com). This is based on my grandmother’s recipe. My whole family uses it. If you look at my mom, you’d never guess she’s 81. When I get out of the shower, I spray Sacred Rose Water ($33, sacredrosewater.com) all over — it has the most beautiful scent.”

Power Up

“I use Garshana gloves or a dry brush to boost circulation. I brush up from my feet and hands toward my heart, and then try to brush my back, too. Garshana gloves are something we use in ayurveda. They are made of raw silk and create an incredible amount of energy. When you move them quickly, you can feel the heat and friction; sometimes you’ll even start to sweat. You might even notice a smell as you move the toxins out with the lymphatic system.”

Root Boost

“In the winter, ayurveda recommends eating more warm foods, like soup. The earth, by itself, has grown all the right vegetables to put in soup — all the root vegetables — because you need to be ‘rooted’ this season. So something like beet soup with apple would be perfect.”