What is a daily dinacharya?
Ayurveda has a set of routines that are meant to help you ground, stay present and focused throughout your life. It is called your daily dinacharya.
Everyone has different needs they will want to incorporate into their daily flow but below are examples of a few ideas. I also wanted to share a few quick practices to help you stay centered each day that won't take longer than 5 minutes if you're someone who time is of the essence, which who isn't nowadays?
DINACHARYA IDEAS
- Wake up at or around 6am
- Say a prayer or as you put your feet on the ground say I’m transitioning from my head space into my heart space. Or whatever phrase is calling to you to start your day with intention.
- Scrape your tongues, wash your face and brush your teeth
- Drink water
- Have a bowel movement (it is suppose to common naturally within the first hour of waking if not look into diet & lifestyle changes to help you become more regular)
- Nasya oil or neti pot depending on the season
- Meditation or movement depending on your dosha and what you need in your life
- Divine Time (solo time checking in with you)
- Incorporate 10 minute medicine into your day as needed
- Self-massage at some point in your day- dry brush or using oils such as coconut oil
- Early lighter dinner (eating something light and done eating by 6-7pm, the earlier the better) & early to bed (in bed by 10pm most nights)
Remember these are just ideas on how you can go through your day. To start playing with a good routine in your day make it practical , fun and make it flow. What is the your favorite way to start and end your day?
5 Minute or less daily practices
Sit in stillness for 5 minutes
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1-3x a day. A great way to start your day is with your morning coffee, tea or water and sit in stillness before others are up in your home.
Eye Exercises
- We are all on screens more than we used to be a great way to break up the eye strain is to look left and right, up & down, at a diagonal & in a circular motion with your eyes. This can be done when you have been staring at a screen for a few hours and need a quick reset.
Take a bite of your food with your eyes closed
- This can be done at any meal but to really focus on the taste, and flavor of the food you're eating. There are 6 tastes in Ayurveda- bitter, astringent, sweet, salty, sour & pungent. See if you can pick out various flavors as you eat & be sure to chew your food to a liquid form to help aid with your digestion.
Feel your prana
- Rub your hands together vigorously and take your hands apart to feel your prana or energy in your body. Do this when you need to reconnect with yourself or shake off stagnant energy.
Light an incense, or candle
- Check in with your scent for the day by lighting a candle, incense or cleansing tool to help you attune your energy to the new day. I enjoy doing this first thing in the morning. If you're not big into lighting things go outside and smell mother nature. There are plenty of scents no matter the time of year to pause and notice.
Conclusion
Your daily dinacharya is exactly that, your's. What works for you in the summer might not in the fall. What works in the winter probably won't in the spring. Each season brings in the new energy and ideas on how to connect with yourself and the energies around us.
At the start of the new season or even month take stock at what's working and what needs tweaking. Some daily check-ins will become habitual like brushing your teeth and pairing it with tongue scraping while others might be more seasonal like neti pot or dry brushing.
For more information on seasonal practices
Check out my new book coming December 7th.
Divine Body Wisdom- An Ayurvedic and seasonal approach to living a mindful life.
Join the waitlist for the book here to make sure you enjoy the free goodies coming to the first few orders of the book!
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