Daily Routines

It’s back to school time, and one of the most common comments I hear from parents at this time of year is, “I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine”. It’s true — summer time feels more free, and laid back, we spend more time doing outdoor activities, staying up past our bedtimes, and generally enjoying the warm, carefree days. Even if it’s been years since you’ve had a kid in school, or been in school yourself, there’s still a sense of more activity, more freedom, and less structure in the summer.

But routines are what ground us. Routines are an important part of both our physical and mental wellbeing. One of the most important concepts in living an āyurvedic lifestyle is 𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗬𝗔, your daily routine. Dr. Vasant Lad says "A daily routine is absolutely necessary to bring radical change in body, mind, and consciousness."⁠
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Daily routines help establish a rhythm to your day that will support your absorption of nutrients, your digestion, and your sleep/wake cycles. Having a daily routine (especially when it’s customized to your unique āyurvedic constitution) will help you stay balanced, and the discipline of a daily routine can infuse your day with feelings of peace and calm and support your spiritual practices.⁠

Dinacharya is both nurturing and cleansing and these little moments of nurturing and cleansing throughout the day add up to big benefits.

Traditionally āyurveda gives us a long list of practices as part of a morning routine to begin the day. This long list can seem overwhelming to an overworked, under-rested Westerner, and often times we will quit before we even start because we just.can’t.do.them.all.

One simple way to begin adopting a supportive daily routine is by implementing some of āyurveda’s most important dinacharya practices a little at a time, developing one new habit before adding the next.

One of the most simple practices to add to your daily routine is a cup of warm water upon waking. Starting the day with warm water helps to stimulate digestion and flush the kidneys. When we drink coffee or tea first thing in the morning we can strain the kidneys, stress the adrenal glands, disrupt our morning release of cortisol, and dehydrate ourselves. Instead of coffee first thing in the morning save it for after breakfast and instead try to have a cup warm water at least 30 minutes before you consume any other foods or liquids.

Tongue scraping is another simple practice to implement because hopefully you already have a practice of brushing your teeth in the morning anyway. Before brushing use a stainless steel or copper tongue scraper to remove the white coating on your tongue. Gently scrape the tongue 5-7 times until the substance is clear and liquid. Tongue scraping aids digestion (your digestive system starts with your tongue!!), and removes āma (unmetabolized waste product) from your tongue. Tongue scraping also improves your sense of taste and leads to better breath.

Morning meditation is another important daily ritual in āyurveda. Āyurveda recommends rising before the sun, when the energy is most sattvic (clear, quiet, calm, ethereal). Early morning meditation during this sattvic time helps focus your mind and energy for the day and sets a calm and peaceful tone.

Even if the rest of your day is carefree and unstructured, make a habit of these three practices. Commit to adding them slowly to your daily routines until they are just as natural as brushing your teeth and washing your face in the morning and over time you’ll see the benefits of committing to daily routine and ritual.

If you’d like to learn more about how to incorporate āyurvedic routines into your day to best support your individual constitution visit our website and schedule your personalized āyurvedic consultation today!