Dinacharya: Step-by-Step Morning Routine

Dinacharya is the daily routine, and its morning runs in a fixed order: rise before sunrise, empty the bowel and bladder, clean the teeth and scrape the tongue, care for the eyes and nose, hold oil in the mouth, oil the body, exercise, and bathe, then eat. The Ashtanga Hridaya opens its teaching with this sequence, and it is the foundation on which every other treatment stands, because it keeps the doshas in their places and agni, the digestive fire, steady before anything has gone wrong. The order matters more than the details, and the details shift by dosha.

Rising

The time to rise is brahma muhurta, the last watch of the night, roughly an hour and a half before sunrise. The air is then ruled by Vata, light and clear, and the mind wakes easily; sleeping into the Kapha hours after sunrise leaves the body heavy and the mind dull for the day. Kapha types rise earliest and gain the most from it. Vata types, whose sleep is light and short, rise at brahma muhurta only if they have slept enough, and are allowed the later end of it. Pitta types rise readily and are the ones most in need of the quiet before the day's heat. A glass of warm water on rising, ushnodaka, wakes the gut and prepares elimination.

Elimination

The bowel and bladder are emptied on waking, unhurried and never suppressed; the suppression of natural urges is among the causes of disease the Charaka Samhita names. A Vata person who does not move the bowel in the morning is watched for constipation, which is the first Vata disorder; a Pitta person has loose or frequent stool; a Kapha person is regular and slow. Warm water, the squatting posture, and a fixed hour train the bowel where it is irregular.

Teeth and tongue

Danta dhavana, cleaning the teeth, is done classically with a chewed twig of a bitter, astringent, or pungent plant, neem, Azadirachta indica, khadira, or babul, which strengthen the gums and clear Kapha from the mouth. A modern brush with a bitter or astringent powder serves the same end. Jihva nirlekhana, scraping the tongue, follows with a curved scraper of gold, silver, or copper, drawn from back to front several times until the coating lifts. The coating is ama, and its colour and thickness are the morning's reading of digestion: a clean tongue means the previous day's food was digested; a thick coat means a lighter day is called for.

Eyes, nose, and mouth

Anjana, collyrium, applied to the eyes daily as a fine line of sauviranjana, antimony collyrium, keeps them clear and bright, and rasanjana, the stronger berberis preparation, is used once every several days to draw Kapha from the eyes. Nasya, oil in the nose, is a drop or two of Anu taila, the classical sesame-based nasal oil, or plain warm sesame oil, drawn into each nostril; the nose is the door to the head, and daily nasya keeps the senses sharp, the voice clear, and the hair from greying early. Kapha types use it most; Pitta types use ghee or a cooling medicated ghee instead. Gandusha, holding oil in the mouth, or kavala, swishing it, with warm sesame oil for some minutes strengthens the teeth and jaw, prevents dryness and cracking of the lips, and improves the voice; Kapha types may use a warm decoction instead of oil.

Abhyanga

Abhyanga, oiling the body, is done daily with warm oil worked into the whole body and especially the head, the ears, and the soles of the feet. It is the single most Vata-pacifying act in the routine: it delays ageing, relieves fatigue, nourishes the tissues, improves sleep and vision, and gives the skin firmness and lustre. Vata types use sesame oil, warm, generously, and daily. Pitta types use coconut oil or a cooling medicated oil such as Ksheerabala, and less in summer. Kapha types use less oil, a lighter oil such as mustard or sesame in small quantity, and often replace it with udvartana, a vigorous dry rub with a powder of barley, chickpea, or Triphala, which cuts Kapha and fat. Abhyanga is omitted on the days of indigestion, fever, or a coated tongue.

Exercise

Vyayama, exercise, follows the oil, done to half of capacity, ardha shakti, the point at which sweat appears on the forehead and under the arms and breath comes through the mouth. Beyond that it depletes. Kapha types exercise most vigorously and longest, and in the cool of the morning; Pitta types moderately, and never in the heat; Vata types gently, with yoga asana and walking rather than exertion, and less in autumn and winter. Exercise is heaviest in the cool seasons and lightest in summer.

Bathing and eating

Snana, the bath, follows exercise once the sweat has settled, with warm water on the body and cooler water on the head, since hot water on the head weakens the eyes and the hair. Clean clothes and a little fragrance close the routine. The first meal is then taken, when hunger is present; a Kapha type with no hunger takes only warm water and waits for midday, the hour when agni, like the sun, is strongest and the largest meal belongs.