Have You Heard of “Dinacharya”?
In the Ayurvedic tradition, Dinacharya (or “daily routine”) is one of the most powerful tools for improving overall health and well-being. Ayurvedic medicine employs a holistic range of healing modalities, including diet, herbal therapies, exercises like yoga, massage, meditation, and lifestyle practices to bring the mind and body into balance.
Each person’s ideal daily routine will vary a bit depending on their specific “dosha” (or constitution), but generally speaking, most Dinacharya practices are recommended in the early morning hours (ideally before breakfast), as this is an especially powerful time to engage in loving self-care, reflection, and the intention to heal or re-pattern.
When we care for ourselves in the morning, not only do we set the tone for our entire day, we create enormous potential for positive change. Changing your morning really can change your life. All of which is to say, if you are new to Ayurveda (or are simply looking to establish a healthier lifestyle), a nourishing morning routine is a great place to start!
Although exact recommendations will vary a bit from person to person (you can take a dosha quiz online to learn the specific practices that will be most beneficial for you), the following Dinacharya will generally be grounding and nurturing for everyone:
Wake up at the same time every day. 
Scrape the Tongue; you can use a toothbrush or tongue scraper to remove the coating of bacteria, yeast, and other organisms that build up throughout the night, and to stimulate digestion and detoxification. 
Oil-Pull; oil-pulling is the practice of swishing a teaspoon of coconut or sesame oil in the mouth for 15-20 minutes; this cleans and whitens the teeth, kills bacteria, and draws toxins out of the lymph nodes. Don’t forget to spit out the oil when you’re done! 
Drink warm lemon water to rehydrate, alkalize, and wake up the digestive tract. During the colder months, (or if you are Vata-dominant), you can add honey or cinnamon, both of which have natural heating properties. 
Eliminate; a healthy morning poop is crucial to digestive (and total body) health! 
If you are not eliminating regularly, try including more water and plant foods into your diet. 
Engage in gentle movement that you enjoy like walking or yoga. This is also a good time to practice Pranayama (breath work) or meditation, if that is in your practice. 
Dry-brush; this is best done before your morning shower, and involves brushing the body in circular motions (always toward the heart), to promote lymphatic drainage and circulation. 
Cleanse; a morning shower will serve to cleanse the body and mind and bring energy and alertness for the day. 
Finally, try a warm oil massage; this calms the nervous system, lubricates and rejuvenates the body, and promotes healthy circulation. The type of oil you use will depend on your dosha, but olive and coconut oil are generally good for everyone. 
As appealing as each of these practices may sound, it is more important to create a realistic routine that you will be able to stick to, rather than try and incorporate everything at once. Adopting a daily routine is a very purposeful and enduring act of self-love, and provides us with an opportunity to to prioritize our own health and well-being, regardless of what else might be going on in our lives.
In other words, it is about nurturing ourselves, and fostering positive change, not stressing ourselves out by adding to our “to-do” list. As such, a good strategy might be to add as many “little things” as you feel truly inspired to do, and know that the cumulative effect of caring for ourselves in this way has powerful potential true transformation. 