Dinacharya Disruption - ‘Tis the Season
I love a lot of things, but one of the things I love most is structure. Maybe it’s because my Mercury is in Virgo, but lists, scheduling, and all things organized make my heart sing. Getting my new planner every August gets me giddy with anticipation. It’s a big deal in my world.
That’s why when I fell in love with India’s 5,000+ year old science of life, Ayurveda, I also fell deeply in love with the Ayurvedic principal of Dinacharya, which means daily routine in Sanskrit. Once I dipped my water in the toes of these seasonally based practices, some of which are just tiny easily incorporated little rituals, I felt my days, my body and my mind change for the better.
When you begin the day with a firm foundation, I have found it is much easier to handle the challenges that inevitably arise (some days moreso than others).
So when I took a family vacation to New York earlier this month, I was a little worried what would happen when my morning practice, or at least most of it, was taken away. As much as I’d like to say it’s super easy for me to meditate wherever I find myself, it’s not always so easy. Same goes with a few other parts of my beloved morning routine. What was I going to do? Would I fall apart at the seams? Become an anxious mess? Spoiler alert: I was totally ok!!! My bowels were off for several days, and I endured an emotional mini-roller coaster as I returned home to normal, but it was totally not the end of the world. And, surprisingly, a few great things arose from my Dinacharya disruption.
First, though, what is my morning routine that I so love? Here’s the main list. Please bear in mind that sometimes I don’t do all of these things and I added one or two things at a time over a period of months. In fact, if I get all of them in on a daily basis, I am pretty proud of myself. But not every day is the same, and I value and honor that. After all, in Ayurveda it’s more about how you do something than what you do. If I have a morning meeting and time is running tight, I do what I can with love and attention and accept that fully.
a few gentle stretches in bed to release my low back and hamstrings before I even get out of bed, while expressing gratitude and saying a prayer internally for the day
roll out feet on a foot roller
oil pull with sesame oil while listening to some affirmations or Gayatri Mantra on Insight Timer
brush teeth
dry brush or Abhyanga/self oil massage (depends on season and current dosha dominance)
light incense and/or a candle on my altar, honoring my teachers
3 Sun Salutations honoring all that has been, all that is, and all that will be
arrive on my meditation cushion with some spinal rolls
3 minutes pranayama (often this is nadi shodhana, but sometimes depending on the season it could be box breathing or kapalabhati)
chakra alignment (this is an internal practice visualizing each chakra root to crown, acknowledging each chakra by name, its element, function, and color while calling for it to be open and aligned, e.g. I open and align my root chakra, spinning freely and red; I am the earth and feel grounded in my body at all times)
meditation (anywhere from 10-15 minutes)
reading (5-10 minutes in a book of spiritual guidance)
neti (only Feb-March or if I’m congested)
I know this looks like quite a list, but all of this only takes an hour, especially if I’m dry brushing instead of doing Abhyanga, which takes a bit longer. After my morning routine I will often walk or head to a yoga class, depending on my meeting schedule.
So what did this look like in New York? Tongue scraping one day. Walking meditation the next (and lots of walking in general). I was never able to roll out my feet. It was all over the place. I did try to commit to doing at least one Abhyanga ritual per day, but that’s it. Another thing that was all over the place? Food. Not literally of course, but in Ayurveda it’s recommended to eat with the circadian rhythms and doshas which translates into eating a small breakfast soon after arising, a lunch between 10-2 when digestion is strongest, then a light dinner before 6 pm. This certainly went out the window when I was living on a group schedule and on vacation no less. A huge scoop of ice cream at the local hip place at 8pm? Sure, why not. A large iced coffee on the beach even though I don’t drink coffee? Sounds fun to me! (My body didn’t agree.)
As Ayurvedi Susan Chen says, “Ayurveda doesn't say "no" to anything; it simply says "know" to everything.”
The result? As I mentioned in my spoiler alert, my bowels were off, I gained a few pounds, I “rediscovered” that certain foods/drinks and my body just don’t get along, and by the end of the trip I was, well, tired. But I think that can be expected any time you try to cram a lot of stuff into 6 days, yes? At the end of it all though, it was all ok and a really wonderful learning experience.
There were also some really positive results of letting go of my beloved structure. There was a freedom of time and space that was nourishing. I truly, and I mean so truly, enjoyed that huge 8pm ice cream because I never do that. I also found that without thinking and planning, my brain was relaxed and I slept, which rarely happens if I’m not in my own bed.
So, here’s my takeaway from all of this my dear friends. Dinacharya is a beautiful, sacred, and valuable morning practice. And it’s ok to be without it for a while now and then. More important than beloved ritual is self-love, knowledge, and acceptance, no matter how you started your day or ended it. YOU are beautiful and whole just as you are. The morning practice will always be there waiting for you to return with a warm, familiar embrace.
If you are interested in beginning a morning practice and need some tips, just let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Here’s my IG Reel with some photos from the trip.
