Ayurveda 101

I’ve been preparing to make a presentation on ayurveda to some fellow yogis! Much of what I’ll be doing as an ayurvedic wellness counselor is educate people on ayurveda. I hope to take the experience of this first presentation and run with it! Continue with workshops and seminars and share how ayurvedic principles can really help people live healthier more vibrant lives.

In this post I began to describe what ayurveda is. As I have progressed in my studies I think it’s time to get more into the details!

So much of learning about ayurveda first has to do with understanding the way it sees the universe/ world view and the vocabulary it uses to talk about it. Yoga and ayurveda share the same philosophy as they come from the same volumes of knowledge compiled by sages of the Vedic age from the Indo-European region that is now India. All the literature together is referred to as the Vedas. The Sanskrit word “veda” translates to “science” or “wisdom,” and the word “ayur” translates to “life.” Simply put, ayurveda is the science or wisdom of life.

The philosophy on which ayurveda is based is called Samkhya Philosophy. There is belief in a cosmic intelligence, and that everything is made up from the same building blocks and therefore everything is connected. All of the matter and energy around us is made up of five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Today we have the periodic table of elements, but back then they relied on a more simple and intuitive approach in observing everything around them and how it affected their being – mind, body and spirit. We are a product of our environment and everything we ingest. A healthy person enjoys balance on all levels: mind, body, spirit. Balance requires awareness of how experiences, everything you take in, affect you. Ayurveda takes a consciousness-based approach to health, with mind, body, and spirit fully integrated.

The five elements combine to give us many things, including the three doshas. The doshas are energy as described through three categories: vata, pitta, and kapha. We see the effects of these energies in our bodies, the seasons, and even the hours of the day.

In the broadest sense, vata is the force that causes movement and wears things down. You can read more about vata energy, it’s qualities and effects in this post. Again, speaking in the broadest terms, pitta is the force of transforming and sustaining, and kapha is the force that brings stability, creates and builds.

Spring is Kapha season. Stay tuned for an in depth look at Kapha!

Remember that ayurveda starts out as a language, then turns into awareness. Awareness of how everything around you affects you, and you have a language to describe it. Ayurveda is not just about what foods to eat and herbs to take, it’s about knowing yourself. Health is a byproduct of enlightenment.