Dhāraṇā holds the mind to one place; dhyāna is that hold as one unbroken flow; samādhi is when only the object shines (Yoga Sutra III.1-3; the glosses are ours).
A vrat is a vow. An anushthan is a vrat of a fixed japa count over a fixed number of days.
Sun-anchored for your settings location, recomputed daily (NOAA method). The offsets are a synthesis that keeps the original block lengths [inferred].
A suggested sequence. It replaces the generic Shatkarma → Asana → Pranayama → Trataka → Japa order with a gentler one.
Left out on purpose: Shatkarma (Jala Neti, Kapalabhati, Nauli), Bhastrika and Surya Bhedana. Deep pranayama and trataka can bring on anxiety; add them only with a teacher. Jala Neti is optional on congested days.
Minimum day: your core items alone keep the streak and light the diya. The full dinacharya lights it brighter.
A traditional dinacharya. Sources: an Organic India article on Brahma Muhurta and a Scribd document on dinacharya, both secondary. The "why" lines are traditional explanations, not measured physiology.
The muhurta of 48 min that begins 96 min before sunrise; many traditions treat the whole 96 min as the window.
Jagrana: sattva is said to dominate; the mind is naturally still. Ushapana: 1–2 cups of lukewarm or room-temperature water, ideally stored overnight in copper, drunk seated. Saucha: empty bowels and bladder, scrape the tongue with copper, clean the teeth; practising with unreleased apana is said to drive it upward. Snana: cool to room-temperature water, treated as bhuta shuddhi.
Wait 20–30 min after the sitting so prana settles. Then light, warm, easily digested food: grain porridge, soaked almonds, fruit, herbal infusion.
Until about 15 min before solar noon: the hardest material. Engineering and architecture problems, deep reading, writing, planning.
The principal meal at solar noon, when jatharagni is said to mirror the sun. Mitahara: Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.58 defines it as agreeable, sweet food that leaves a quarter of the stomach free, eaten as an offering to Shiva. The ½ food, ¼ water, ¼ empty split is Gheranda Samhita 5.22.
Rest on the left side (vamkukshi) for 10–15 min rather than sleeping flat.
Priorities: work, study and family commitments come first. The fixed points worth protecting are the morning sitting and the evening sandhya; the other blocks are aims, not failures when missed.
Five criteria for the quality of a sitting. Rate each 1–5 after every sitting.
| Criterion | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Attention | Turning the focus onto the object (breath, form, mantra) without an initial scatter. |
| Posture | The body comfortable, upright and motionless. Physical stillness drives mental stillness. |
| Concentration | How deep and continuous the focus is once attention is established. |
| Mindfulness | The calm observer that notices when the mind wanders. |
| Alertness | The sharpness to catch and correct restlessness (unruly thoughts) and dullness (laziness, sleepiness). |
Flawless minutes: quality over quantity. Master short, flawless sittings (10 sharp minutes) before long flawed ones.
Brahmacharya follows each sadhana's own rule, never a blanket rule. Daily practice and the beginner and intermediate levels usually have no abstinence rule. Where abstinence is mandatory (an advanced level, some anushthans), the rule shows before the sankalpa: keep it for those fixed days, or don't take that sadhana.
No self-release is an optional private streak, not a sadhana rule. On days 6–9 of the count, a common peak, a support card appears [inferred]: train harder, a cold snana, a devotional chant such as the Hanuman Chalisa, phone out of the bedroom. If it happens, log it and restart the count. It breaks a sadhana only when that sadhana's own rule says so.
Vegetarian day: usually required at the intermediate and advanced levels.
General, for any anushthan or a missed day
अपराधसहस्राणि क्रियन्तेऽहर्निशं मया।
दासोऽयमिति मां मत्वा क्षमस्व परमेश्वरि॥
आवाहनं न जानामि न जानामि विसर्जनम्।
पूजां चैव न जानामि क्षम्यतां परमेश्वरि॥
मन्त्रहीनं क्रियाहीनं भक्तिहीनं सुरेश्वरि।
यत्पूजितं मया देवि परिपूर्णं तदस्तु मे॥
Traditionally recited after the Durga Saptashati; no named author [tradition: hindupedia.com]
For the Shiva anushthans
करचरणकृतं वाक्कायजं कर्मजं वा श्रवणनयनजं वा मानसं वापराधम्।
विहितमविहितं वा सर्वमेतत्क्षमस्व जय जय करुणाब्धे श्रीमहादेव शम्भो॥
"Whatever wrong I have done by hand or foot, speech or body, act, ear, eye or mind, enjoined or not enjoined: forgive it all. Victory to you, ocean of compassion, Shri Mahadeva Shambhu."
Shivaparadha Kshamapana Stotram, verse 18, attributed to Adi Shankaracharya [sanskritdocuments.org]
Any of these counts: feed an animal (a street dog, especially on Kalashtami; birds; a cow where there is one) · buy or share a meal with someone who needs it · an online donation to an annadana programme or a temple · seva, time or skill · a temple offering, optional.
Weekday table: astroyogi.com/remedies/donation. Kalashtami dog-feeding: astroved (unverified, snippet only). Which planet to support in your chart is a jyotish question for an astrologer.
| Level | Rules |
|---|---|
| Beginner | No strict rules. Vegetarian during Chaturmas. |
| Intermediate | Vegetarian. Same time, seat and place daily. Face East or North-East. A fixed sankalpa count. |
| Advanced | Strict vegetarian (no egg, onion or garlic). Complete abstinence. White clothes. |
A common three-level scheme. Individual sadhanas can add their own rules.
Source tags: [shastra] = scripture [tradition] [inferred] = a synthesis, not a source. (unverified) = seen only in a search snippet.
Copies your last 7 days of logs as a prompt. Paste it into Claude for a short reflection.