by Dr. Amy Wiesner
Over 5,000 years ago, the seers in India observed life and organized their observations into a system called Ayurveda, Ayur meaning “life” and Veda meaning “science”. Like many of the topics we discuss on this site, ayurveda is about healthy living. Whether it's eating organic foods or decreasing the toxins in our environment, we focus on improving our own vitality through good living practices.
According to Ayurveda, everything in the world is composed of the five elements: water, fire, air, ether and earth. These elements represent the qualities of energy or matter. These elements affect us both internally & externally and imbalances affect our health. The body, mind and consciousness have to be balanced for complete health, thus the elements in and around us must be balanced. These philosophies of Ayurveda are very similar to those of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ayurveda even has it’s own version of acupuncture to help balance people!
In Ayurveda, there are 3 energies that are responsible for all the physiological and psychological processes in the body: vata, pitta and kapha. These energies are called doshas. The doshas are combinations of the elements. Vata is a combination of air and ether, pitta is a combination of fire and water and kapha is a combination of water and earth. The three doshas have to work in harmony with each other for the body to function well.
Vata’s physiological functions in the body are associated with nerves, motor functions, breathing, heart regulation, bowel function and circulation of blood, oxygen and nutrients. Pitta is associated with digestion, absorption and assimilation of food, vision and assimilation of sensory stimuli. Kapha governs the body’s structure and the elements necessary for them to function properly. All the doshas have a strong influence in the gastrointestinal tract.
Psychologically, vata is associated with expression of emotion, joy and creativity; pitta with assimilation of thoughts, intellect and cheerfulness; kapha with longterm memory, compassion and stability.
Your physical constitution is based on one main dosha. When using Ayurveda to balance the body, knowing your main dosha is key to having the body function properly. Physically, Vata constitutions are thin, dry and dull in color. Pitta constitutions are fair, lustrous and warm. Kapha are thick, oily, white and cold.
Everything about the food you eat and digestion is important in balancing the body. Of course, eating healthful foods is a key to being in balance. But another aspect of healthy digestion in Ayurveda is associated with agni. Agni means “fire” and proper amounts of it, from pitta, are necessary to help digestion so that your body gets the nutrients it needs. Another aspect of healthy digestion is eating foods that support your dosha. For example, sour foods increase pitta & kapha, which is helpful to balance someone who is mostly of vata constitution.
Ayurveda also stresses psychological balance. Finding ways to calm strong emotions that negatively affect your constitution is necessary to be healthy. Finding the right type of exercise for your main dosha is also part of balancing the body.
Ayurveda is a beautiful and intricate form of medicine. Because so many different aspects need to be balanced, if you are considering a consultation, I recommend seeking someone who has studied the science to give you recommendations.
Image courtesy of MindBodyGreen.com
Healthy living is a great thing. So far, that's what I have done. Re the mind...I'm OK there too but it's interesting that Ayurveda takes into accout everything.
Maybe it's worth a look.
Posted by: Health Insurance Rates | July 27, 2011 at 05:33 PM
I hope that these factors affect us internally and externally, and the imbalance affect our health. Body, mind and consciousness must be balanced in perfect health, so the elements around us, and must be balanced.
Posted by: real estate | June 23, 2011 at 02:20 AM