Ayurveda ~ Yogic Medicine
An introduction to the philosophy and practice of Ayurveda, the Ancient Science of Yogic Medicine
AYURVEDA आयुर्वेद
Ayurveda is the science of life and of living life well, whole and healthy. It is a holistic science of healing that originates in ancient India over 5000 years ago. Ayurveda looks at the body, mind and spirit, and addresses ALL as parts of the whole. Some would say it is a daily devotional practice of wellness.
AYUR = LIFE
VEDA = KNOWLEDGE
Therefore, Ayurveda is the knowledge of life - a universal knowledge that enlightened sages channeled through them for the betterment and enlightenment of humanity. Traditionally Ayurveda was aware of the cosmic forces, the elements and primary forces that are actually elements of the quantum field - modern science is now catching up to this.
Ayurveda teaches us that we are the microcosm of the macrocosm; that whatever exists in the Universe, exists within every cell of our body; everything that is made of matter is composed of all the elements: air, fire, water and earth.
Everything in creation comes out of one unified field of consciousness and our ability to tap into those fields of consciousness / frequencies creates the multi-dimensional aspects of our nature.
The different layers of energetic frequency are:
Spiritual
Intuitive
Mental
Emotional
Energetic
Physical (densest frequency)
In Aryuveda the physical body is described as the layer of our being that is “made of food” - sometimes referred to as “the food body”.
The energetic body is layer of our being that is made of prana and life force - this layer is made up of the chakras, thousands of nadis, the more subtle energetic layers of our being.
The mental body is our perceiving body which is made of our thinking mind and our ability to comprehend and contemplate.
The deep Subconscious Emotional body is made up of our subconscious thoughts, beliefs and patterns.
The bliss body is the closest to our true nature and the closest to consciousness.
Energy moves from the spiritual to the physical; therefore, the things happening at the higher frequencies of our being are going to directly affect our body. Ayurveda is seeing into this reality and this is at the core of the Ayurvedic practices.
Sometimes there is confusion about the number of elements: earth, air, fire and water PLUS “ether” or “space” makes five essential elements because air cannot flow through anything but space - air fills up all the “ether” within our bodies that is not occupied by water (the majority), fire or earth. Ether / Space is the elemental container for all the others to exist.
The five elements are represented in the five different ways atoms spin, which are reduced to three in Ayurveda and are captured in the categories of: Vatta, Pitta & Kapha.
Ayurveda teaches that there is a divine intelligence in the universe and this is captured in the elements that combine to create the DOSHAS:
VATA is comprised of air and ether.
PITTA is comprised of fire and water.
KAPHA is comprised of earth and water.
We all have all five of these elements but we are generally dominant in one or two depending on our natural constitution (prakrutri). Some are dominant in all three and referred to as a “tri-doshic” constitution. Discovering our balance according to Aryuveda allows us to create a lifestyle in support of our highest potential, health and happiness.
Aryuvedic Teachings for Health tell us that in order for well being to permeate all levels and layers of our lives, one must have:
A strong connection with Source, God-dess, Creator No physical, energetic, emotional or spiritual blocks
Ayurveda teaches us that the body we are born with is a blueprint that is changed and evolved by our environment, what we eat and drink, what we think, how we think and the practices we choose to maintain the temple of our body.
The technologies, addictions, radiation, processed foods, daily stresses and general pace of modern societies does not support the well-being of our bodies. However as we come more into tune with the natural rhythm of our bodies and what it really needs and wants, we begin to discover what true fulfillment feels like - physically as well as emotionally and energetically because as we improve one layer of our being, the others benefit and improve as well. In Ayurveda, the key to glowing from within is balancing the three mind-body energies of Prana, Tejas and Ojas.
PRANA
Prana is the vital life force of the cosmos. Prana is LIFE and flows through all that is living in this world. Prana is the energetic life force that separates a dead body from a living one. Prana is within the oxygen we breath, and it is also within the food we eat and the thoughts we think. Prana is the vital life force of life and generally, the more prana we have, the more vitality we will have as prana ignites the central bodily fire of Agni.
Too much prana however, and we may find that we are anxious, worried and cannot sleep or relax. Too little prana and we have no energy or power to digest our food, or even life in general. Therefore, we must remember how to inform our bodies with positive prana in the thoughts we think, the air we breath, the food we eat and the water we drink.
TEJAS
When your prana is good and you have been practising self-care and your friends tell you, “you’re glowing” - that’s Tejas. A certain luminous quality is created with strong Tejas resulting in clarity of thought, lustrous hair, skin and strong digestion.
Tejas are increased by ingesting healthy, clean, nutritious fuel and prana. The balance of Tejas fed by prana supports the creation of Ojas in the body. Not enough intake or too much intake of the wrong kind of substances will take away from the body’s vitality and ability to shine. The “retreat-glow” is Tejas shining and can be cultivated with daily self-care and conscious lifestyle choices.
In his book, Yoga Mala, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois explains that “for the practitioner of yoga, the rules regarding food, sex and speech are very important. Among the foods, those called sattvic (pure) are the best...indeed,” he says, “foods that increase sattvic qualities, as well as strength, health, happiness, and love; foods that are easily digested; and foods that are natural, genuine, and follow the seasons - these are the most suitable, as they are worthy of being offered to God.” In other words, if we treat our bodies as temples, they become the doorway to God; therefore, we must learn to not only see God in everyone we meet but in ourselves.
Jois goes on to explain that “if a person’s food are pure, then his mind becomes pure, since the mind assumes the qualities of whatever food is consumed, as an Upanishadic authority states:
‘Ahara shudhhau sattva shuddih / Sattva shuddhau druvasmrtih’
[When the food we take in is pure, our minds become pure / When our minds become pure, memory becomes steady]’.”
Jois says that “only half the stomach should be taken up by the food that is eaten. One quarter of the other half should be given over to water and the remaining quarter left to the movement of air.” If one takes a moment to experiment with this recommendation, one may quickly realize an improvement in digestion, nutritional absorption and energy levels as much of our bodies’ energy goes into digesting and moving waste, if we don’t overwhelm the system with too much at any given time, it is much more capable at running optimally and as intended; therefore, building strength, stamina and supporting the process of creating Ojas.
OJAS ओजस्
Direct connection to source creates the OJAS = life force essence / expression that comes to the physiology from the highest level of our existence. In Ayurveda the Ojas is that within our bodies which determines the health of our immune system and our vitality. Ojas are a substance created by the body once all the Dhatus are nourished and Doshas balanced.
Ojas is the nectar, or “honey” of nutrition; the final stages of digestions; “the cream that rises to the top”. It takes many, many days of nourishment, digestion and proper elimination to create a few drops of Ojas within the body. Each layer of the body is fed a drop of Ojas and the remaining nutrition is passed on to the next layer building strength and immunity within the body.
The Ojas are a sap-like substance, or vital energy, that is like the pineal gland secretions that coat our immune system and protect us from disease. It is a vital energy that manages hormonal balance, controls many of our daily life functions, is responsible for our mental intelligence. On a psychological level the Ojas are responsible for compassion, love, peace and creativity. Pranayama and Tantric techniques teach us on how to transform Ojas into spiritual strength - this powerful spiritual energy creates an aura / halo around the crown chakra.
Ayurveda teaches us that excessive energy release, such as excessive sex or masturbation, drains the body of essential Ojas and may cause a weak immune system and/or dis-ease.
Poor diet and digestion, excessive spending of energy or “burning the candle at both ends” results in burn out and crash. Since it takes 30days for the body to produce the final level of Ojas that brings the utmost vitality and youthful essence back into our being, it takes 30 days to recover from burnout and for the system to completely reset and start the process again.
Ojas can be defined as the essence of life. Bees collect the nectar of flowers and turn it into honey - the Ojas of the flowers. Our bodies collect essential, microscopic nutrients from everything we eat which, through accumulation & healthy digestions, become Ojas within us for the creation of the seven main tissues of the human body. According to Ayurveda, this cycle takes 30 days to complete for Ojas to be generate in the body. Healthy, non-processed, whole foods and clean, healthy water must be digested to instigate the stomach pancreas and liver/gallbladder organs to prepare the food for assimilation (extracting the nutrients from the food into our blood stream).
