Dinacharya - Ayurvedic Daily Self
The art of daily self-care, called Dinacharya in Sankrit, is at the heart of ayurvedic and yoga practices.
Bioveda's Daily Self-Care Pack includes the ayurvedic formulations you need for self-care morning practices. These traditional practices focus on cleansing and nourishing the sense organs, body, and mind on a daily basis:
- Self massage with Black Sesame Oil: Organic 200ml.
- Tongue Cleaner (copper)
- Oil pulling with Gum & Mouth Oil (200ml)
- Nasal cleaning with a neti pot (white ceramic)
- Nasya with Anu Thailam (15ml)
- PURCHASE HERE -
........................................................................................................................................................................
What are the ayurvedic daily self-care practices?
Waking up with the sun and aligning our body, mind, and spirit with regular morning routines encourages health and wellbeing.
A regular dinacharya practice gives you a daily mini cleanse of the GI tract and aligns the body, mind and spirit for the day. Cleansing and flushing the gi tract of toxins and purifying the body.
"One of the most important goals of a good morning routine is to prepare you to consume your next meal by purifying your organism of its wastes. You must eliminate the refuse from the previous day before you add new fuel to your system, just as you would remove ashes from a fireplace before making a new fire. (...)
(...) Wastes include urine, faeces, sweat, all filth which accumulates on the senses organs, and all mental wastes like emotions, obsessions and delusions. " *
Self Massage (Abhyanga) with Black Sesame Oil
The application of Black Sesame Oil to the skin is nurturing and grounding.
Abhyanga balances all three Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha). Especially the dry and rough of Vata. It helps to reduce stress and is an excellent tool to relieve stiff, painful or swollen areas in the body. It is recommended to slight warm the oil and massage the body before prior to exercising or eating.
How to practice self massage: Slightly warm up the oil first. Sit comfortably on the ground or a chair. Start applying the oil at the sole of the feet and move up to the legs, lower back, belly area, chest, neck and shoulders, and arms. Rub the oil with long strokes on the muscles and use circular movements on the joints and belly. "Hold, squeeze, and let go" of the muscles to gently massage your body. Leave the oil on for at least 20 minutes to 1 hour then rinse off in a warm shower and avoid soap when showering.
Cautions: Avoid this practice if you are in the first 3 days of menstruation, pregnant or experiencing fever or congestion
Tongue scraping
On rising scraping your tongue gently from back to front with 7 to 10 scraps helps remove built up toxins that coat the tongue during sleep, helps improve your breath.
The tongue gives us a daily report about our digestive performance and other health imbalances. Remember that a white thick coating in the tongue means that toxins or undigested waste materials are present in the digestive tract. Check out for any other abnormalities as reddish, yellowish or greenish coatings, intense red dots, wavy edges and dryness and cracks in the tongue, among others.
Cautions: If you notice any of those abnormalities, visit a qualified ayurvedic practitioner to address the root cause of these issues.
Oil Pulling with Gum & Mouth Oil
Oil pulling nourishes, strengthens, and protects oral cavities and gums.
Bio Veda's Gum & Mouth Oil is a traditional Ayurvedic formula of 40 herbs infused in cold pressed Black Sesame Oil, known as Arimedhas Thailam, which has been used for centuries to support oral health.
It is a nourishing blend, containing over 40 herbs infused in cold pressed Black Sesame Oil.
How to practice oil pulling: Place 10 - 20ml of oil into the mouth, gargle, and swish around for 10-20minutes and then spit out. It can be used before or after brushing teeth and scraping tongue.
Cautions: Take care not to swallow any oil. If you suffer any disease or health issue related to the mouth, visit a qualified ayurvedic practitioner.
Nasal Cleansing
The practice of rinsing the nasal passages with a warm salt water solution is known as Neti in Ayurveda. The water is poured into one nostril and exists the body through the opposite nostril, by tilting the head in the right angle.
It leaves your mind feeling clear and energized. It cleanses and protects the sinuses.
Neti pots has been used in Yoga and Ayurveda for thousands of years as part of dinacharya, for maintaining the health of the sinus passages and also for ayurvedic protocol to relieve sinusitis, allergies, snoring, breathing difficulties and headaches.
How to use a neti pot: Follow the instructions found in the packaging on how to practice neti and care for the neti pot properly.
For more information our book Neti: Healing Secrets of Ayurveda and Yoga by Dr Frawley gives an in depth guide
Cautions: Visit a qualified ayurvedic practitioner if you are suffering from any of these ailments.
Nasya with Anu Oil
Nyasa is one of the five Panchakarma or ayurvedic detoxification therapies and a good non negotiable of your dinacharya practices.
The nose has a direct connection to the brain and its functions. The nasal administration of medicated oil activates clear flow of prana and invigorates and encourages a sattvic mind. As part of your daily care practices we recommend using our traditional Anu oil (Anu Thailam) for Nasya. Used in Ayurveda this pungent complex ayurvedic formulation helps relieve sinusitis, headaches, neck and head issues and much more.
How to practice Nasya: Lie down comfortably tilting your head back with a support under your neck. Add 2 to 5 drops of Anu Oil in each nostril. Gently massage around the nose and eyes. Rest for a few minutes before coming back to sitting. Allow 30mins before eating, gently ease back into activity in this time.
Cautions: Nasya should not be administered immediately after food, bath or sex (wait at least 1 or 2hours) or during pregnancy and menstruation. Visit a qualified ayurvedic practitioner for further guidance. ........................................................................................................................................................................
.... SOME MORE SELF-LOVE!
Complementary routines for well-being
Meditation
Meditation brings awareness, harmony and natural order to life. It awakens the inner intelligence to create happiness, peacefulness and creativity in the self.
Consistent regular meditation in ones life brings harmony to the body, mind and spirit.
For more information on Ayurvedic meditation: Ayurveda, the Science of Self-Healing, a practical guide, by Dr. Vasand Lad. You can find this book at our bookshop section.
Exercise
Keeping your body moving is also recommended as a part of a healthy daily routine. Regular exercise reduces anxiety and produces a sense of well-being.
"Exercise may be passive like massage, active like aerobics, or both passive and active as Hatha Yoga" *
Yoga postures (asanas) and Pranayama (breathing techniques) are excellent ways to introduce exercise into your lifestyle.
Spending time or exercising in natural places, like a brisk beach/bush or park walk, is also highly beneficial for well-being.
*Fragment of the book "Prakriti, your ayurvedic constitution" by Dr. Robert E. Svodoba. You can find this book at our bookshop section.
Breakfast
After the self-care practices, have a warmed light breakfast as stewed apples or spiced oats porridge.
Visit an ayurvedic practitioner to address any digestive issues or appetite disruptions.
........................................................................................................................................................................
PERSONALIZE YOUR SELF CARE PRACTICES
Explore other ayurvedic products that fit your individual needs.
Using medicated oils for your constitution for abhyanga (self massage) can enhance and help pacific out of balance body doshas. Try our Vata, Pitta and Kapha massage oils. For sore muscles use Maha Narayan Oil locally.
Upgrade your ayurvedic routine by using herbal medicated ear drops for ear health and head oils for a healthy scalp and lustrous hair. Explore all ayurvedic products
........................................................................................................................................................................
CAN'T WAIT TO LEARN MORE?
Find excellent sources of Ayurvedic wisdom at our online bookshop.
Learn about the fundamentals and principles of Ayurveda to apply them into your diet, lifestyle and daily self-care practices. We got you covered! We have books for all kind of levels of knowledge. Some good books for beginners are featured here:
........................................................................................................................................................................
Disclaimer: We provide the traditional uses for these oils and therapies, but in no way infer or suggest that they can be used to treat any disease or symptoms of any disease.