Dinacharya is the daily routine, one of the key concepts in Ayurvedic practices. It is the foundation on which our lives are built and that foundation is necessary to bring a positive change in body, mind and consciousness. Dinacharya helps to maintain optimal health by removing the wastes from the body that would otherwise clog the channels. Physical and mental purity, saucha, are prerequisites to conduct all other activities in life with success and in harmony with the environment.
The manifestation of most imbalances occur as a result of habituation to a diet and lifestyle that goes against the individual’s constitution. Ayurvedic practices can re-establish a balance in one’s altered state of imbalance and bring one back into a state of wellbeing and beyond in the form of Dinacharya, daily Ayurvedic practices.
“Nityam hitahara-vihara-sevi samikshyakari vishayeshvasaktah
data samah satyaparah kshamavan aptopasevi cha bhavati arogah”
This aphorism from Ashtanga Hrdayam, one of the three great classical texts of Ayurveda, describes how a person that is without disease always eats wholesome food, enjoys a regular lifestyle, remains unattached to the objects of the senses, gives and forgives, loves truth and serves others. It is a beautiful example how everything we do can bring us closer to our true nature – a state of ultimate health.. Ayurvedic practice is a means of bringing total awareness to every thought and action. In the end it is that pure awareness that shows us the path to good health, which means a state of balance between body, mind and consciousness.
The instinct of plants and animals keeps them in sync with the seasons and their own biological clock. Therefore their behavior is more fixed, more cyclical and compulsive. We human mammals, having successfully evolved into more conscious sentiency must consciously create these rhythms if we want to enhance our wellbeing from the core.
This rhythm is time. We have chronological time which is governed by the rotation and cycles of the earth which creates day and night, seasons, etc. We have psychological time which is the movement of thoughts that generate a sense of ‘becoming’ and there is biological time.
The Ayurvedic daily practices of Dinacharya, are related to biological time, which is connected to hunger, thirst, sleep, cardiac rhythm, rate of respiration, secretion of particular neurotransmitters, hormones and digestive enzymes at certain times of the day. This daily biological clock is regulated by the hypothalamic area of the brain governing our circadian rhythm and it accounts for variations in our physiological and psychological behavior. The hypothalamus regularizes the personal body clock and aids digestion and metabolism. Building an appropriate daily routine allows one to live in harmony with the cycles of nature which brings self-esteem, peace, and longevity.
Ayurveda is one of the sciences that gives great emphasis to Dinacharya, which needs to be customized according to the individual’s needs and is based on the person’s basic constitution as well as the present altered state of that constitution, the age, strength, the season and stress load. However there are general daily Ayurvedic practices that are a wonderful foundation to maintain health.
These are some of the most important Ayurvedic practices to improve your health, which one can practice at home!:
It is good to wake up before dawn, to enter a new cycle, awake and alert, when there are subtle and clear qualities in nature that bring peace of mind and freshness to the senses. Sunrise varies according to the seasons, but on average vāta people should get up about 6 AM, pitta people by 5:30 AM, and kapha by 4:30 AM. Right after waking, look at your hands for a few moments, then gently move them over your face and chest down to the waist. This cleanses the electro-magnetic field. If we wake up before 6, the colon and bladder are active and proper urination, defecation and flatulence is stimulated. To sit on the same toilet at the same time helps with constipation, as well as altered nostril breathing and squatting.
It can revolutionize your day to start the very first moment upon waking with remembering the mystery of consciousness, connecting with the divine in any or without form conveying your intention in seeking truth, acknowledging the permanency of embodied existence and set an intention to live this day to the fullest, to love, to be consciences, of service and to laugh.
Splash your face with cold water and rinse out the mouth. Wash the eyes with cool water and massage the eyelids gently rubbing them. Blink the eyes a few times and rotate the eyes in all directions to then dry the face with a clean, soft towel.
Drink a glass of room temperature water, preferably from a pure copper cup filled the night before. This washes the GI tract, flushes the kidneys and stimulates peristalsis. This is better to feel your natural state for a while in the morning, drinking just water rather than starting the day with tea or coffee and an acquired wakefulness, as it drains the kidneys and stresses the adrenals. Eventually habitual caffeine intake first thing in the morning, systematically dries out the mucus membrane of the colon and causes constipation.
Gently scrape the tongue from the back forward, until you have scraped the whole surface for 7-14 strokes. This stimulates the internal organs, helps digestion, and removes dead bacteria. Ideally, vata can use a gold scraper, pitta a silver one, and kapha copper. Stainless steel can be used by all people.
Always use a soft toothbrush and an astringent, pungent, and bitter toothpaste or powder (roasted almond shell powder for vāta and kapha, ground neem for pitta). The traditional Indian toothbrush is a neem stick, which dislodges fine food particles from between teeth and makes strong, healthy gums. Licorice root sticks are also used.
To strengthen teeth, gums, and jaw, improve the voice and remove wrinkles from cheeks, gargle with warm sesame oil. Hold the oil in your mouth, swish it around vigorously, then spit it out and gently massage the gums with a finger.
Putting 3 to 5 drops of warm oil into each nostril in the morning helps to lubricate the nose, clean the sinuses, and improve voice, vision, and mental clarity. The nose is the door to the brain, so nose drops nourish cellular communication and enhance intelligence.
Oiling your whole body daily will help pacify the dosha, calm the nervous system, give longevity, keep the skin soft, and when done before bedtime will induce sound sleep.
Bathing, beside removing sweat, dirt, and fatigue, brings energy to the body, clarity to the mind, and holiness to life. Ayurveda explains at length the importance of wearing clean clothes to bring beauty and virtue, flower garlands, jewels and ornaments. Regular adornment attracts more prosperity, going by the law of like increases like. The use of natural scents or essential oils brings freshness, charm and joy, improves vitality to body and mind and improves self-esteem.
Yoga
Regular exercise, especially yoga postures, improves circulation, strength, and endurance. It helps one relax and have sound sleep, and improves digestion and elimination. Exercise to half capacity, which is until sweat forms on the forehead, armpits, and lower spine.
Appropriate exercise according to your constitution and current imbalance can be done either in the morning or evening, whichever best suits your schedule.
Most yoga postures can be performed tri-doshically with appropriate adjustments during the practice. For asana, the physical limb of yoga, it is not that people must accommodate themselves to yoga, but rather that yoga must be tailored to fit each person. Therefore a good yoga teacher looks at the student from an Ayurvedic perspective – what are the needs of the individual to heal and evolve.
Breathing
After exercise, sit quietly and do some deep breathing exercises.
Meditation
It is important to sit in the morning and evening for at least 15 minutes in the way you are accustomed to, which enhances singular concentration that leads into the continuous flow of meditation.
Continuous silent, peaceful watching of the breath eventually slows down the thinking and one can perceive the space in between two thoughts. That gap can in time expand into vast silence, in which the perception of the universal consciousness starts appearing. In meditation, the tissues become relaxed, the enzymatic system is activated and digestion is promoted, circulation is improved and the channels dilate. The parasympathetic nervous system activates and stress is managed. This silence works as a vacuum and helps the doshas move back into the gastrointestinal tract. Meditation brings balance and peace into your life.
Enjoy the day!
The spiritual journey starts here
Originally from The Netherlands, Robin Voss is a graduate of The Ayurvedic Institute’s Ayurvedic Studies Program, Levels 1 and 2. Seeing clients on a daily basis serves him in supporting students in developing their clinical knowledge and skill. Robin loves being amidst the joy of learning, discussing and discovering Ayurveda’s timeless principles in the classroom. His past experience as a vegetarian chef makes the material come alive.
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