Dinacharya; Healthy Ayurvedic Daily Routine

A Good Dinacharya to Follow
Ayurveda suggests two types of charyas or routines, Dinacharya and Ritu Charya. Ritu charya is the change in daily routines according to climatic changes.

Dinacharya or daily routine forms the basis of health or unhealthy state of a man (or woman or child). Here is a healthy dinacharya routine that everyone can follow.

Waking up
There is a time to wake up. It is called Brahma Muhurtha, which starts three hours before sunrise. Healthy persons, if they mind their health should rise up before sunrise – Ayurveda Acharyas say.

Don’t jump up from the bed immediately after waking up. Spend some time lying on the bed, assessing the state of the body. Are there any different feelings of pain or unnatural sensations on the body?

A good exercise to enhance memory and brainpower without medicines – bring to mind the things happened in the previous day from the moment you woke up to the moment you fell asleep. Teach children to follow this exercise, the results will be sharper memory and better alertness.

Then answer to nature’s call. After that brush the teeth with fresh twig of vep, ungu, neer maruthu, or karingali plant. Prepare the toothbrush by softening one end. Chukku, pepper powder, thippaly, induppu, etc with honey can also be used for brushing. Take extra care not to damage gums.

Cleaning the tongue is also necessary to remove hindrances to breathing, and for fresh breathe.

One should bath everyday. Before bathing, one should apply oil (coconut oil, gingelly oil, etc) over body, under feet, and all parts of body. There are different benefits for applying oil all over body. The first among them is their effectiveness in increasing blood circulation. It shoves away tiredness and keeps the body fresh and healthy. It also helps in preventing wrinkles of skin. applying oil on head before bath strengthens senses, nervous system and circulatory system. Persons suffering from fever, stomach upset, etc shall not apply oil on head. Bathing without applying oil can cause vatha related diseases in the future.

Use hot and cold water for bathing – use hot water for below neck and cold water for head. Don’t take a bath immediately after meals.

A carefully followed exercise regimen gives different advantages to your body - general health, enthusiasm, better digestion of food, etc. are some of them. Persons with defective digestive system shall not attempt exercises. Physical exertion can be maximum in cold months and in spring. Only light exercise is needed in other seasons.

Massaging the body after exercise is also good for body.

Don’t overdo anything – exercise, sleeplessness, going to woman, etc can cause deterioration to body.

All the above things are primarily aimed at keeping body in good condition. One must also keep his mind in good condition.

Willingness to help other living things in need is required to attain satisfaction. Associate only with people that think and do good deeds only. Associating with people with wrong intention can harm your peace of mind.

Don’t believe everyone, don’t view everyone with skeptic eyes either. Don’t talk about bad things happened to you to others. Don’t strain eye, ear, tongue, etc. Avoid travel at night.

Stop all activities – both physical and mental – before you feel tired. Don’t gather, sell or drink wine.

Don’t think about or engage in sex during dusk. It is also not good time to eat, sleep, serious thoughts, etc. Don’t take any food from enemies, prostitutes, and people you don’t know. View the matters of others as your own and do all possible help to them. Keeping this ensures health, longevity, good fame, etc.

This is the general outline of dinacharya. This will give swastya or state of rest and health to body and mind while keeping tridoshas balanced.

Kerala Ayurvedics.com