Ayurveda – Ancient Wisdom Useful For 21st Century Lifestyle

Ayurveda means knowledge of life and this ancient science helps maintain the balance of body, mind, and spirit with the help of proper intake, lifestyle, and herbal remedies. We will now delve into the basics of Ayurveda.

What Is Ayurveda?

Ayur and Veda are Sanskrit words that mean “life” and “knowledge”. Ayurveda thus means knowledge of life

Purpose of Ayurveda

The basic principle of Ayurveda is to prevent and treat illness by maintaining balance in the body, mind, and consciousness through proper intake of fluids, diet, lifestyle, and herbal remedies. It is a personalized system that involves listening to our own body and adapting to our environment.

Human Body and The 5 Elements

As per the Veda, the material universe comes from the basic five elements called the pancha bhuta in Sanskrit. These five elements are called earth, water, fire, air, and space. As per Ayurveda, the human body is composed of these 5 elements

From our basic understanding, we know that 70% of our body is water like 70% of our earth’s surface is covered with water. The 5 elements that make our body are:

• Jal (Water Element) is present in all bodily fluids like urine, sweat, saliva, plasma, and digestive juices.
• Agni (Fire Element) controls all the enzyme functions like digestion, and metabolism and also corresponds to sharp intelligence.
• Aakash (Ether/Space Element) is present in all the voids within the body like our nostrils, mouth, and abdomen.
• Vayu (Air Element) represents all the movement we experience in our muscles and nervous system.
• Bhumi (Earth Element) is what we see as the structure of our bodies, which includes our bones, teeth, flesh, and hair.

The Vedantic theory of Panchikarna further describes how these gross matter elements are created from subtle matter. However, that theory is not relevant to understanding the human body composition.

As per Ayurveda, the 5 elements are present in the human body as doshas (meta physiological processes), dahtu (tissues), and malas (excreated items).

The 3 Doshas

As per Ayurveda, the play of the 5 elements can be seen as the 3 metaphysiological functions in living beings represented by movement, heat regulation, and strength.

Elementary Composition	Dosha	Metaphysiological Functions	Representational Energy
Air + Ether	Vata	Movement	Kinetic energy
Fire + Water	Pitta	Heat Regulation	Thermal energy
Earth + Water	Kapha	Strength	Potential energy

15 Sub Doshas

Each dosha is further divided into 5 sub doshas affecting each individual at the mental, emotional, and physiological body functions/organs. Each of these 15 Sub Doshas is associated with certain actions in the body, and its bodily imbalance can be managed with its associated balancing plan.

Gunas or Physical Qualities

In Ayurveda’s language of doshas, one can relate to the dosha by looking at the qualities. It may be related to how you feel, think, or what you eat or drink.

Gunas as Pair of Opposites

1. Light and Heavy
2. Cold and Hot 
3. Dry and Wet
4. Sharp and Dull
5. Mobile and Stable
6. Hard and Soft
7. Rough and Smooth
8. Liquid and Dense
9. Subtle and Gross
10. Cloudy and clear

The opposite qualities help in balancing an out-of-balance dosha.

Gunas as Mental or Emotional Qualities

The term “Gunas” also refers to the three fundamental qualities of all existence. From an emotional and mental standpoint, these Gunas are 

• Sattva (Purity)
• Rajas (Activity/Movement/Passion), and 
• Tamas (Inertia/Darkness)

These attributes are associated with our mental and emotional faculties. Our mental and emotional tendencies affect our physiological and physical health. According to Ayurveda, the quality or guna of the food that we consume can thus affect our mental and emotional well-being.

Finding Your Prakriti and Vikriti Constitutions

Prakriti

Ayurveda offers a unique approach i.e. Prakriti, for classifying the whole population in a way that provides an individualistic approach to health. The concept of Prakriti is unique in terms of its psychosomatic approach to defining a person’s constitution.  The Prakriti of an individual is determined by the predominance of Dosha (Vata, Pitta, or Kapha) in one’s body. A person’s Prakriti is the inherent balance of the three doshas since their birth.

There are seven types of Prakriti based on the predominance of one dosha, two doshas, or all the doshas in equilibrium.

1. Vata Prakriti.
2. Pitta Prakriti.
3. Kapha Prakriti.
4. Vata Pitta Prakriti.
5. Pitta Kapha Prakriti.
6. Kapha Vata Prakriti.
7. Tridosha.

The predominance of dosha gives rise to a peculiar type of physical constitution and psychic temperament, which remains the same throughout life for that individual. 

Vikriti

However, our constitution can be disturbed by many factors, like our diet, relationships, emotional state, and changing weather or seasons. The internal and external stressors cause an imbalance of the doshas.

An imbalance is the excess or deficiency of a certain dosha. Your current state of imbalance is yourVikriti.

Know your Dosha Quiz

Dhatus

Seven types of dhatu are Rasa (Plasma), Rakta (Blood tissue), Mamsa (Muscular tissue), Meda (Fat or Adipose tissue), Asthi (Bone tissue), Majja (Bone marrow), and Shukra (Reproductive tissue).

Malas

Mala is considered as Visha or poison for the body if it remains in the body for a longer time. 6 dhatu except for the Shukra Dhatu produce its mala which should be excreted from the body.

Role of Agni, Ama, and Ojas in Wellness

Agni

The agni principle relates to digestive fire that assimilates and converts the food into energy.

Ama

Ama is the build-up of toxic by-products, which are not neutralized or eliminated by the body. Ama prevents us from connecting to our body’s underlying intelligence and natural ability to heal. Ama built up may be due to weakened digestive fire, dietary choices, or lifestyle issues.

Ojas

Ojas is the refined substance produced after digestion, once all seven dhatu (the tissues responsible for the functioning of the systems and organs of the body) are fed and nourished. Ayurvedic texts state that it takes 27–30 days to build ojas.

Ayurvedic treatments are designed to help individuals restore the person to their optimum health by reducing toxic buildup and improving their energy levels.

Ayurvedic Treatments

1. Diet – As per prakriti and Vikriti
2. Herbal medicines or Rasayana
3. Common Ayurvedic treatments listed below
4. Walking/Exercise, Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation

Common Ayurvedic treatments

1. Abhyanga or Ayurvedic Massages
2. Basti – Use of Medicated oils Janu (Neck), Kati (Knee /Joints), Spine, Greeva (Skin issues)
3. Dhanyamladhara
4. Lepanam – Herbal Pastes
5. Nasyam – Nose Oiling
6. Kashayavasthy (Herbal enema)
7. Vamanan – Medically induced vomiting
8. Virechanam -Induced purgation
9. Shirodhara – Pouring of Medicated Oil on Forehead
10. Acupuncture – Pressure Points
11. Aromatherapy
12. Panchakarma -Intensive detoxification process combining several treatments over a week or more.

Rasayana

The word “Rasa”, about the use of Rasayana therapy, means the Rasa Dhatu and Ayana means the path of circulation. Thus, we can say that Rasayana is related to nutrition and its transportation throughout our bodies. Such tonics may be prescribed as part of the treatment plan.

Synthetic Drugs vs Medicinal Plants Used in Ayurveda

Some of the herbs used in Ayurveda are Amalaki, Haritaki, Bibhitaki, Ashwagandha, Brahmi, Guduchi, Shatavari, Tulsi, Guggul, and Shilajit. Ayurveda uses herbs and medicinal plants to treat the imbalances in the body.