Dinacharya & Ritucharya

Everyone should rise around 5.00 am. A very healthy option is to go for a morning walk. By doing so, you will feel fresh the whole day. You gain greater freshness, strength, and inclination for work. Those who have any sickness can sleep more. It is said "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

The second important daily routine is to evacuate the bowels and bladder. Evacuation first thing in the morning is preferable. Natural evacuation of the bowels without any laxative or any other intake is always desirable. Drinking a glass or two of warm water helps in the elimination.

Wash the eyes with water. Brush the teeth and scrape the tongue with a tongue cleaner to purify your mouth and the taste buds. Do jala neti.

There is no greater expression of self-love than lovingly anointing ourselves from head to toe with warm oil—this practice is called Abyanga. The Sanskrit word Sneha can be translated as both “oil” and “love.” It is believed that the effects of Abhyanga are similar to those received when one is saturated with love. Like the experience of being loved, Abhyanga can give a deep feeling of stability and warmth. A daily Abyanga practice restores the balance of the doshas and enhances well-being and longevity.

Bathing is cleansing and refreshing. It removes sweat, dirt, and fatigue, brings energy to the body, clarity to the mind.

Early morning Yoga removes stagnation in the body and mind, strengthens the digestive fire, reduces fat and gives you an overall feeling of lightness and joy as it fills your body with good, fresh and pure Prana. It is not to be strenuous. Pranayama helps calm the mind and induces slow respirations, which support quieting of the mind for ‘Dhyana’ or contemplation.

Ayurveda recommends that the lunch should be the largest meal of the day consisting of wholesome food with all the six tastes. After the meal it is good to take a little walk, a couple hundred steps only, to help the food digest.

Evening meals should be taken between 6:30 and 8:30 PM. Dinner should be always lighter than lunch. Due to night being a period for sleep and rest, circulation and digestion are a little dull. The possibility for indigestion and ama production is greater if the load on gastric fire is excessive. Hence the advice to take a light meal in the evenings. Yoghurt should be avoided at night.

You should ideally go for an evening walk after dinner, then relax with family and read or rest.

Early to Bed. It is desirable to go bed early in the evening and sleep soundly until early morning. The latest you should retire is between 10:00 P.M.

One should try to keep the routine as close to the recommended Dincharya as possible. The body might resist the change for a first few days but if you do manage to persist then you are bound to get rewarded with a much healthier and satisfying life.

Research has shown that any new activity continuously done for 21 days, naturally and automatically becomes part of your routine and that the body and mind get accommodated with it.

The year according to Ayurveda is divided into two periods Adana (solstice) depending on the direction of movement of sun that is Uttarayana (northern solstice) and Dakshinayana (southern solstice). Each is formed of three Ritus (seasons). The word Ritu means "to go." It is the form in which the nature expresses itself in a sequence in particular and specific in present forms in short, the seasons.

A year consists of six seasons, namely, Shishira (winter), Vasanta (spring), and Grishma (summer) in Uttarayan and Varsha (monsoon), Sharata (autumn), and Hemanta (late autumn) in Dakshinayana. As Ayurmda has its origin in India, the above seasonal changes are observed predominantly in Indian subcontinent.

Uttarayana indicates the ascent of the sun or northward movement of the sun. In this period the sun and the wind are powerful. The sun takes away the strength of the people and the cooling quality of the earth. It brings increase in the Tikta (bitter), Kashaya (astringent), and Katu (pungent) Rasa (taste), respectively, which brings about dryness in the body and reduces the Bala (strength). It is also called Adana Kala.

During Uttarayana the seasonal changes in Indian subcontinent is from Shishira (winter) to Vasanta (spring) and to Grishma (summer). The period can be compared to mid-January to mid-July, when warmness and dryness in weather increases. It has an overall debilitating effect on environment, to which human being is also a part.

Dakshinayana indicates the descent of the sun or movement of the sun in southern direction. In this period, the wind is not very dry; the moon is more powerful than sun. The earth becomes cool due to the clouds, rain, and cold winds. Unctuousness sets in the atmosphere and Amla (sour), Lavana (saline), and Madhura (sweet) Rasa are predominant, so the strength of person enhances during this period. It is also called Visargi Kala.

During Dakshinayana, the seasonal changes occur in the Indian subcontinent from Varsha (monsoon) to Sarata (autumn) and to Hemanta (late autumn). This period can be compared to mid-July to mid-January, when cool sets, and due to which anabolic activity dominates over the catabolic activity in the environment.

The prime principle of Ayurvedic system of medicine is preventive aspect, can be achieved by the change in diet and practices in response to change in climatic condition. This is a very important aspect of preventive medicine as mentioned in Ayurvedic texts. Lifestyle disorders are very common in the present era, basically originating from lack of following seasonal regimens due to lack of concentration in seasonal characteristics.

As adaptations according to the changes, is the key for survival, the knowledge of Ritucharya (regimen for various seasons) is thus important.