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​Nourish Note

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Ayurveda teaches that a daily routine can help you live abundantly well. This practice is known as dinacharya, which focuses on daily rituals that cleanse and nurture your mind, body and soul.

Practicing dinacharya will help your mind stay calm and focused. Plus, with go-to daily self-care rituals, the amount of decisions you need to make are reduced because your routine is already established.

Tendencies build habits. It takes 30 to 40 days of dinacharya to change your tendencies and get you into the groove of a refreshed wellness routine.

Self-Care Practices to Include in Your Dinacharya

Establishing a daily routine that’s manageable and that works for you is a must so that you’ll keep it going. Like the time you spend on your yoga mat, the more you do it, the stronger the practice becomes. Below are self-care rituals you can incorporate in your dinacharya.

• Stick to a regular bedtime and wake-up time.
• ​Clean your tongue with a tongue scraper before brushing your teeth in the morning. Using a tongue scraper, gently scrape from the back to the front of the tongue five to seven times. Tongue scraping removes toxins, called ama, and stimulates digestion.
• Practice pranayama, asana and meditation according to the season of the year, your stage of life and your dosha.
• Before a shower or bath, brush your skin with a cloth if you have thinner, sensitive skin. Try dry brushing if your skin is stronger.
• Follow dry brushing with Abhyanga (self-massage with oil).
• Drink warm or room temperature water with lemon (to create more warmth) or lime (for a cooling effect).
• Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at consistent times every day.
• Create a bedtime routine that may include applying oil to your feet, journaling and a gratitude practice.

To begin dinacharya, start with self-care practices that you are most drawn to or that you already do. From there, gradually build your daily rituals until you find a nourishing, sustainable routine for what you need right now.

Dinacharya can change with the seasons of the year and stages of life. For example, the oil you use for Abhyanga may be adjusted throughout the year. You might use coconut oil in the warmer months and sesame oil in the colder months.

When performed consistently over time, these Ayurvedic practices can help you find balance because they’re a sustainable approach—not an instant fix—to longevity and optimal health.

Take Spring Ayurvedic Yoga Classes

Join Balance and Bloom Yoga classes at 7 p.m. on Mondays at the Bloomingdale Park District. These kapha-balancing springtime classes can help energize and invigorate you. Yoga for Self-Care classes are held at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Attend a Free Yoga Class in June

Take an outdoor Yoga for Self-Care class at Green Hills Public Library District in Palos Hills at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 29.

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To optimal health and longevity,
Julie G.
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