A Simple Guide to Ayurveda

Meaning “The Science of Life,” Ayurveda was designed by ancient Indian culture 5,000+ years ago to help people cultivate harmony in mind, body & soul. Without Ayurveda, many of today’s natural healing practices like homeopathy, pranayama, Yoga, tongue scraping, & oil pulling wouldn’t be in existence. It is the most energetic holistic system on the planet that will allow us to replenish consciousness.

Ayurveda is one of my favorite things to dive into and study because it is so in-depth. It would take your entire life to study and memorize every intricate Sanskrit scripture and text. The bulk of the ancient teachings were passed down for generations through word-of-mouth, and the crazy part is, these printed writings were widely inaccessible to anyone who was not in direct connection to that discipline or particular school. For thousands of years, only certain individuals with these backgrounds had access to this vital health knowledge. Now, in the 21st century, we can access virtually every bit and piece translated in English!

Ayurveda encompasses preventative care and promotes healing through balance and harmony in one’s life. It’s core focus is on meditation and right thinking, diet, lifestyle, natural remedies like the use of herbs, and movement practices such as Yoga (Yes, Yoga is derived from ancient Ayurveda!).

I think the coolest part of Ayurveda is how it focuses on the individual and how each person has their own bio-individuality. Before we had all this techy shizzle like blood and micronutrient testing, body composition assessments, and all the other stuff we need today to find out people’s unique needs, Ayurvedic doctors somehow knew exactly what we needed by intuition and individual study.

Everyone has a unique fingerprint, right? Well, the same applies to everyone’s unique makeup, energy, and constitution of how their cells operate. This impacts your emotional, physical, mental and spiritual characteristics from digestion, intellect, to your personal metabolism.

But it also branches beyond that. Ayurveda dives deep into who we are personality-wise like our friend choices, desires, and values that depict our entire scope of life. This brings up the 3 Sanskrit doshas, or energies: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Everyone has a mix of these doshas but one is usually primary, one is secondary, and third is usually the least eminent. These energies connect directly to our biology, so it's not all hippy-dippy stuff… It's now backed by modern science.

You may have been born with a different predominant dosha and slowly eased into another. For instance, I was born mostly airy as a Vata (skinny, extremely creative in arts, and very flexible). As time moved on, I gradually built a stronger, muscular body from the gym and became more analytical and fiery with my attitude and metabolism. For me, I have primarily Pitta, then Vata, then Kapha.

Ayurveda also believes that our mind, body and consciousness and the entire structure of the cosmos is formed by 5 elements: Space, Fire, Earth, Water, and Air (I know, it sounds like Avatar, right). These elements interplay and combine to create your dosha.

Here is a brief guide to the 3 doshas. As you read, ask yourself this: Which dosha primarily describes me, which is secondary, and which am I least of?

Vata (Space & Air) ~ energy of movement

Breathing & blinking, muscle & tissue movement, heart pulsations, and all movements in the cytoplasm & cell membranes.

~Physical characteristics: thin & light frame (ectomorph-like), agile, dry skin, cold hands/feet, sensitive digestion, sleep lightly

~In balance, vata promotes creativity & flexibility.

~Out of balance, vata produces fear & anxiety.

Pitta (Fire & Water) ~ energy of digestion & metabolism

Digestion, absorption, assimilation, nutrition, metabolism & body temperature.

~Physical characteristics: medium size & weight (mesomorph-like), oily skin, excellent digestion, warm body temperature, sleep soundly

~In balance, pitta promotes understanding & intelligence.

~Out of balance, pitta arouses anger, hatred & jealousy.

Kapha (Earth & Water) ~ energy of lubrication & structure

Bones, muscles, tendons, provides the “glue” that holds the cells together, supplies the water for all bodily parts & systems, lubricates joints, moisturizes the skin, and maintains immunity.

~Physical characteristics: strong/heavy build (endomorph-like), oily skin, thick hair, moderate digestion, sleep deep

~In balance, kapha is expressed as love, calmness & forgiveness.

~Out of balance, it leads to attachment, greed & envy.

Disease is broken down as dis-ease. This relates directly to Ayurvedic philosophy: disease is caused from an imbalance or uneasiness of the 3 doshas. It can also arise from environmental toxins that disrupt healthy cellular functioning. The goal is to grasp harmony between all 3 energies, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, yet that can be difficult to attain sometimes in our hectic lives.

The best thing you can do to promote wellness in all dimensions of health is to harvest healing not only in the physical body, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual. This can be done through a balance of the Yin-Yangs in everyday life: movement & stillness, working on masculine & feminine qualities, listening & speaking, creativity (art) & analytics, hot (sauna) & cold (ice showers), feasting & fasting, getting clean & dirty, spending & saving, etc.

Let me know what you think of this Ayurvedic post in the comments section. Would love to answer any questions or simply hear your views!

https://www.ayurveda.com/resources/articles/ayurveda-a-brief-introduction-and-guide

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3039177/