According to Ayurveda beliefs, one should not stand and drink water because when you stand your nerves are in a state of tension.

It is important that we continually drink water in order to maintain the balance of approximately 70% water that makes up our total body-weight. The human body cannot store water, and as we are continuously losing water due to perspiration, sneezing, coughing, urinating and other normal bodily functions, we must replace it in order to stay hydrated and healthy.

The body needs water to build and maintain every single cell, to regulate body temperature, to improve blood circulation, to enable waste to move out of the body, to maintain spinal and cognitive health, and much more.

Practitioners of Ayurveda, an ancient medical treatise summarising the Hindu art of healing and prolonging life, believe that what you eat, when you eat and how you eat are important, and this extends to the drinking of water. They believe that the way one drinks water is a science that must be practiced to allow the body to thrive.

Ayurveda practitioners believe that posture when eating or drinking is important; when you stand and drink water, your nerves are in a state of tension, which activates the sympathetic system, or the fight system – your body is under the impression of fighting against danger.

Dr Dhanvantree, an Ayurvedic expert, suggests that: “The notion of standing up and drinking water is closely related to the speed at which water is drunk. The two are interrelated and the speed of drinking the water is extremely essential.”

Dhanvantree believes that standing up and drinking water accelerates the speed of drinking that water, and this causes problems like arthritis and joint damage: “Any food item must be eaten slowly. Eating slowly facilitates the digestion process and the same is true for water. Water must be taken like air, slowly and steadily. Drinking at a fast rate may lead to lack of oxygen in the wind and food pipe, this could potentially give rise to heart problems and lung issues.”

The best way to drink water then, for maximum effect, is to sit comfortably and sip the water slowly.