Ayurvedic Philosophy: 101

“Ayurveda is the world’s oldest recorded healing system. Used for over 5000 years, it is a proven system of prevention and healing. Ayurveda’s goal is to achieve health by working towards balance and harmony, not fighting disease. Prevention is emphasized over cure. Ayurveda recognizes the importance of physical balance, emotional release, mental health, environmental mindfulness and spiritual progression in the total health picture…. Using natural forces such as heat, cold, light, herbs, foods, minerals, exercise, and working with the mind and emotions through meditation, Ayurveda may be the basis of a global medicine, accessible and affordable to all.”

(p.7 Ayurveda and Aromatherapy by Drs. Light and Brian Miller)

Given the rise in today’s incidence of anxiety, depression, overt anger/aggression and life stressors across all age, gender, race and socioeconomic groups, it may be worth looking at how some of the basic tenets of Ayurveda could be helpful in relieving this suffering. At its core, Ayurvedic theory believes that health results from harmony within one’s self. To be healthy, harmony must exist between your purpose for being, your thoughts, your feelings and your physical actions.

For example: Your purpose is peaceful, yet if your thoughts are fearful and your emotions negative, your physical body will manifest some dis-ease as a “wake-up call to change”. In Ayurveda, the manifestation of a disease is considered to be a good sign, because it reveals a previously hidden aspect of yourself – an aspect to be healed. Health is harmony within all aspects of self. This inner harmony also becomes manifest as harmony with family, friends, co-workers, society and Nature.

According to Dr. Light Miller, “The overall goal of Ayurveda is true freedom from death and disease; we are to experience the enjoyment of uninterrupted physical, mental and spiritual happiness and fulfillment. Enjoyment is one of life’s purposes! But you can lose your ability to enjoy if you over-indulge, and disease is one of Nature’s ways of saying you’ve over-indulged.”

Ayurveda’s Four Goals in Life are:

The fulfillment of your duties to society
The accumulation of possessions while fulfilling duties
Satisfying legitimate desires with the assistance of one’s possessions
The realization that there is more to life than duties, possessions and desires

Another interesting point in Ayurvedic theory is that only a person with a strong Immune System can be healthy. It is considered a fragment of Nature, a spark of the Divine Mother. This gift from Her creates us, sustains us, nourishes us and protects us from outside invasion. As long as our Immune System is strong, we suffer no disease.

The ancient Vedic word for immunity means, “forgiveness of disease” – this comes from the concept that negative thoughts and lifestyles can cause disease.

Although today’s scientists may not describe the Immune System in this way, they do acknowledge that the Immune System plays a key role in every aspect of our health and wellness. And it can be weakened by physical, emotional, mental and environmental “toxins” and overload. Is this another way of saying, “a mind-body-spirit disconnect”?

To bring this all together, Dr. Light Miller says,

“ Ayurveda believes that health results from the relationship/connectedness between self, personality and everything that goes into our mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual being. It believes that health also results from good relations with others, from an acknowledged indebtedness to Mother Nature, from the realization of one’s purpose, and from the pursuit of legitimate goals in life. Ayurvedic philosophy maintains the importance of a strong immune system, that forgiveness is strengthening and that immortality is possible.”

There are some basic tenets that weave their influence throughout Ayurvedic Medicine. Some of the most common influences include:

The Five Element Theory
The Three Doshas
The Six Tastes of Life
The Three States of Mind
The Seven Major Chakras

While each of these is a whole course in itself, we shall briefly define/describe what each of these is about.

The Five Element Theory postulates that a human being is a small model of the Universe. What exists in the human body exists in an altered form in the universal body. These Five Elements make up everything, so their properties are important in order to help understand balances and imbalances within the human body.

Earth – represents the solid state of matter; it manifests stability, fixity and rigidity; Earth is considered a stable substance
Water – represents change and movement; fluidity;Water is considered substance without stability
Fire represents the power to transform solids to liquids, to gas, and back again; Fire is considered form without substance
Air – is the gaseous form of matter which is mobile and dynamic;
Air is considered existence without form
Ether – is the space in which everything happens; it is only the distances which separate matter

The Three Doshas are combinations of the Five Elements to form three dynamic forces. Dosha means, “that which changes” because doshas are always moving in dynamic balance. They are primary life forces.

Vata is a combination of Ether and Air and manifests as movement
Pitta is a combination of Fire and Water and manifests as transformation
Kapha is a combination of Water and Earth and manifests as structure and lubrication

Each Dosha has qualities and characteristics which are helpful in knowing when someone is in or out of balance. Each Dosha responds differently to foods, aromas, weather, stress and other things. There are 5 sub-doshas for each main Dosha and there are combinations called Mixed Doshas that can also be identified.

The Six Tastes of Life are derived from the Five Elements. The Tastes are important in seeing how we are what we eat. What we eat can increase or decrease doshic balance in our bodies. Each Taste influences specific physical, mental, emotional factors.

Sweet is made from Earth and Water;
Sweet will increase Kapha but decrease Pitta + Vata
Sour is made from Earth and Fire
Sour will increase Pitta and Kapha but decrease Vata
Salty is made from Water and Fire
Salty will increase Pitta and Kapha but decrease Vata
Pungent is made from Fire and Air
Pungent will increase Pitta and Vata but decrease Kapha
Bitter is made from Air and Ether
Bitter increases Vata but decreases Pitta and Kapha
Astringent is made from Air and Earth
Astringent will increase Vata but decrease Pitta and Kapha

The Three States of Mind are based upon the notion that our Mind is a filter through which all experience is passed. Each of us creates, inside our head, a world in which we live. It is where we can play out our life experience. Each Dosha will view things differently and may have different life lessons to learn.

Tamas – a place of darkness and dullness; can drive one to addiction, suicide, perversion, hate and insensitivity
Rajas – a place of action; being caught up in the illusion of the world and pursuit of desires; can drive one to hyperactivity, irritation, manipulation, greed
Sattva – the highest state; it is where we are meant to play and live; can start projects, ability to make positive changes, good communication, calm, stable

The life lessons help us evolve into our highest way of being – into our Sattva State

The Seven Major Chakras are considered vortexes of Universal Energy that have physical, emotional, mental and spiritual influences. They exist outside the body and have points of connection with the body through which energy flows. Most meditations refer to Chakras in order to help with grounding and connecting to a Higher Source.

Root Chakra – at the base of the spine; security, trust, safety, foundational
Sacral Chakra – just below the navel; creativity, procreation, vitality, joy
Solar Plexus – at stomach level; our will, sense of self, presence in the world
Heart Chakra – on breastbone at mid-chest; love, connection, compassion
Throat Chakra – on throat; speak your truth, communication, expression
Third-Eye – middle of forehead, just above brows; intuition, higher knowing
Crown Chakra – top of head; connection to Spirit/Divine; all-knowing

Each chakra has a colour, sound, aroma, crystal and shape assigned to it. They are described as balanced, imbalanced, open, closed. There are positive and impoverished emotional charges to them.

By now, you likely have a sense that working with Ayurvedic Medicine is incredibly detailed – and you would be correct! This is also where the concept of “Holistic” began. It was, and still is, the driving force behind everything in Ayurveda. With today’s fast-paced, confusing and worrisome world, it is a very different way of looking at ourselves, our healing and well-being. Strengthening the Mind~Body~Spirit in a holistic manner, may be what the world needs now.

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