With the days getting shorter, the mornings feeling darker, motivation to get out of our cozy covers begins to get harder….for some.  In Ayurveda, each dosha ie. vata, pitta and kapha correspond to a particular time period throughout the day, the season, and time of life.  Kapha, the dosha composed of earth and air, holding the qualities of heavy, cold, dense, cloudy, stable, smooth and oily coincides from 6:00am/pm to 10:00am/pm.  Whether our constitution is kapha or not, it can be hard for us to take that first step out of bed in the morning!

So what becomes the motivating force?!  Is it the hot, brewed coffee you dream about that takes you from the bedroom to either the sofa or kitchen table?  Or, knowing you have to roll out of bed quickly to be on time for work? What if you set your alarm a half hour earlier each day and woke up to a new routine? A routine that revolved around making you feel warm, cozy, nourished and invigorated outside of those comfy covers.

Dinacharya/daily routine has been around for thousands of years.  It can mean different things for different people.  However, the intention is to wake up each morning before kapha takes its hold and begin the day with cleansing the five senses, 15 to 30 minutes of exercise, yoga and or meditation, followed by a warm breakfast.  In the summer, this is easy because the light exuding through your windowpanes encourages open eyes.  In the winter, the dark mornings may lend toward hitting the snooze button again and again.

So I challenge you to 40 days of working Dinacharya into your daily routine.  Resist the urge to hit snooze; rather, hop out of bed with the motivation to nourish your senses,  spirit and well-being.  Who knows, 40 days could turn into a lifetime!!

Tips For Dinacharya: Picking 5 to 11 of your favorites from below list is a great way to get started!!

• Wake up 6:00am or half hour before your usual wakeup call
• Evacuate Bowels
• Brush teeth and scrape tongue with stainless steel tongue scraper
• Drink warm glass of water, may add lemon and fresh ginger
• Use Neti Pot followed by Nsaya Oil
• Drop 1 to 2 drops of pure rose water into each eye
• Drop 1 to 2 drops of warm ear oil into each ear 2 to 3 times per week, other days massage warm sesame oil around and inside ear lobes
• Enjoy warm organic sesame oil self massage over the entire body.  Long strokes on the muscles, round strokes on the joints
• Take some time for meditation, pranayama, yoga and or light exercise
• Treat yourself to bowl of hot oatmeal with sweet spices, soaked nuts, juicy dates and a dollop of plain yogurt.
• Have a great day!!