Ayurveda, the ancient science of life, health and longevity; Ayur--what? Vishnu Dass explores the basics of this rediscovered healing system.

The ancient science of Ayurveda is one of the oldest systems of health care in the world. Often called the mother of all healing, it originated in India over 5000 years ago and was taught for thousands of years from accomplished masters to their disciples. In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means the "science of life." Life is the integration of body, mind, and consciousness. The purpose of Ayurveda is to heal, to maintain a high quality of life, and to in-crease the longevity of the individual. It is a holistic clinical science as well as an art of daily living that has evolved from practical, philosophical, and spiritual insight.

Ayurveda places great emphasis on prevention and encourages the maintenance of health through right thinking, proper diet and lifestyle, as well as the use of herbs and other therapies. Ayurveda is a science of self-understanding. By understanding our own unique constitution, we can begin to understand how we interact with our environ-ment and thus make choices that will lead us toward greater health. Ayurveda defines disease as the natural end result of living out of harmony with our constitution. Since we are all unique individuals, the path to optimal health is different for each person depending upon his or her constitution.

The individual's constitution or prakruti is determined at the time of conception as a particular pattern of energy (and genetic code). Many factors, both internal and external, can disturb this balance and bring about changes in the constitution that may lead to disorders and disease. Some of these factors include emotional and physical stresses, improper food combinations and choices, seasonal and weather changes, physical trauma, and work and family relationships. Once we understand how these factors affect us on a constitutional level, we can take appropriate actions to minimize or nullify their effects and eliminate the causes of imbalance.

The science of understanding our constitution is the science of tridosha. Tridosha defines the three fundamental doshas or principles that govern the function of our bodies on the physical, mental and emotional levels. These three energies are known as vata, pitta, and kapha. Each individual has a unique balance of all three of these ener-gies. Body, mind, and consciousness work together in maintaining harmony. They are different aspects of our being. To learn how to balance them requires an understanding of how vata, pitta, and kapha work together.

According to Ayurvedic philosophy, the whole cosmos is an interplay of the energies of the five great elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Vata, pitta, and kapha are combinations of these five elements that manifest as patterns present in all creation. Vata, mainly composed of Space and Air, is the principle of movement. Pitta, principally made up of Fire and Water, is the fire component that transforms food into energy. Kapha, mainly a combination of Water and Earth, is the cementing, constructing matter of the body.

Vata is very much like the wind; it is light, cool, dry and mobile. People with a vata nature experience more of these quali-ties. Their bodies tend to be light, their bones thin and their skin and hair dry. They of-ten move and speak quickly. When out of balance, they may lose weight, become con-stipated, and have weakness in their immune and nervous systems. These qualities are also reflected in their personality. They tend to be talkative, enthusiastic, creative, flexible, and energetic. Yet, when out of balance, they may become easily con-fused and overwhelmed, have difficulty focusing and mak-ing deci-sions, and have trouble sleeping.

Pitta tends to be hot, sharp, and penetrating. This dosha is also somewhat volatile and oily. People with a pitta nature reflect these qualities. They tend to feel warm, have somewhat oily skin, penetrating eyes, and sharp features. They tend to have moderate weight and good musculature. When out of balance, they tend toward diarrhea, infections, skin rashes, and weakness in the liver, spleen and blood. They tend to be highly focused, competitive, capable, courageous, ener-getic, and clear communicators who get right to the point. They can however become overly intense and speak with a sharp tongue.

Kapha is the en-ergy that forms the body's structure and provides the co-hesion that holds the cells together. Kapha supplies the water for all bodily parts and systems. It lubricates joints, moisturizes the skin, and maintains immunity. Kapha tends to be cool, moist, stable, and heavy. In the body, these qualities manifest as dense, heavy bones, lustrous, supple skin, low metabo-lism and large, stocky frames. In addition, those with a kapha nature tend to feel cool. When out of balance, kapha individuals are prone to gaining weight and tend to accumulate mucous. The heavy, stable nature of kapha reflects in a stable per-sonality, which is not prone to quick fluctuations. Kapha people don't like change, are generally conservative, preferring to keep things just the way they are. When kapha is out of balance, depression and lethargy may result.

Ayurveda states that like increases like. For example, the summer season has attributes similar to those of pitta--hot, liq-uid, light, mobile, and penetrating. Therefore, in the summer pitta in the body will be increased. Vata is light, subtle, dry, mobile, rough and cold. So, in the fall season, which also exhibits these attributes, vata will tend to be in-creased in the body. Kapha is liq-uid, heavy, cold, sticky and cloudy. In the winter, when these char-acteristics predominate in the external environment, internal kapha tends to be increased as well.

Ayurveda has various techniques for assessing a person's state of health. A skilled practitioner carefully evaluates the current state of the doshas (or vikruti) in relation to the original prakruti. The vikruti reflects any aspects of diet, lifestyle, emotions, environ-ment, etc., which are not in harmony with the individual's original constitution. Then the practitioner can formulate a program for restor-ing health through proper diet, cooking methods, lifestyle, yoga (or exercise) and medita-tion, as well as with traditional herbal formulations and cleansing and rejuvenating therapies (such as panchakarma) and rata management therapies for the

The aging process involves a continuous breakdown of the bodily tissues and organs. This, in turn, causes deterioration and degeneration at the cellular level. Rejuvenation, then, must take place at the cellular level. Vata, pitta and kapha play an important role in the maintenance of cellular health and longevity. Ayurveda can provide the necessary knowledge to understand our constitution and how we interact with our environment. It offers guidelines and tools to help us take action toward greater health and well being by bringing balance and restoring harmony within our nature.

RELATED ARTICLE: What's your dosha?

Discover your true nature by matching your tendencies with the qualities on these three charts. Some people can easily tell which dosha dominates their nature; others find that they are a combination of two or all three doshas.

DOSHA QUALITIES AS MANIFESTED IN THE VATA
INDIVIDUAL:

Dry:          Dry skin, hair, lips and tongue; dry colon, tendency
              toward constipation; hoarse voice.

Light:        Light muscles, bones, thin body
              frame; light, scanty sleep; tendency to
              be underweight.

Cold:         Cold hands and feet; poor circulation;
              hates cold and loves hot; stiffness of
              muscles.

Rough:        Rough cracked skin, nails, hair, teeth,
              hands and feet; cracking joints.

Subtle:       Subtle fear, anxiety and insecurity
              fine goose pimples; minute muscle
              twitching, fine tremors; delicate body.

Mobile:       Fast walking and talking; doing many
              things at once; restless eyes, eye
              brows, hands and feet; unstable
              joints; many dreams; loves travelling
              but does not stay at one place;
              swinging moods, shaky faith, scattered mind.

Clear:        Clairvoyant; understands immediately
              and forgets immediately; clear, empty
              mind; experiences void and loneliness.

Astringent:   Dry choking sensation in the
              throat; hiccough, burping; loves oily
              foods and mushy soups; craves sweet,
              sour and salty tastes; tendency toward
              constipation.

RELATED ARTICLE:

DOSHA QUALITIES AS MANIFESTED
IN THE PITTA INDIVIDUAL:

Hot:      Good digestive fire; strong appetite; body temperature
          tends to be higher than average; hates heat; tendency
          toward gray hair with receding hairline or baldness;
          soft brown hair on the body and face.

Sharp:    Sharp teeth, distinct eyes, pointed nose, tapering chin,
          heart-shaped face; good absorption and digestion;
          sharp memory and understanding; irritable; probin mind.
          Light/medium body frame; does not tolerate bright light;
          fair shiny skin, bright eyes.

Oily      Soft oily skin, hair and feces; sensitive to deep-fried food
          (which may cause headache).

Liquid    Loose liquid stools; soft delicate muscles; excess urine,
          sweat and thirst.

          Spreading Rashes, hives, acne, inflammation all over the
          body or on certain areas; wants to spread his name and
          fame.

Sour      Sour acid stomach, acidic pH; sensitive teeth;
          excess salivation.

Bitter    Bitter taste in the mouth; nausea; vomiting; repulsion
          toward bitter taste; cynical.

Pungent   Heartburn, burning sensations in general; strong feelings
          of anger and hate.

          Foul smell, fetid smell in mouth, soles of feet and armpits.

Red       Red flushed skin, eyes, cheeks and nose; red color
          aggravates.

Yellow    Yellow eyes, skin, urine and feces; jaundice; overproduction
          of bile; yellow color aggravates.
DOSHA QUALITIES AS MANIFESTED
IN THE KAPHA INDIVIDUAL:

Heavy     Heavy bones and muscles; large body frame; tends to be
          overweight; grounded; deep heavy voice.

Slow      Walks and talks slowly; steady appetite with slow digestion
          and metabolism.

Cold      Cold clammy skin; repeated colds, congestion and cough;
          desire for sweets and cold drinks.

Oily      Oily skin, hair and feces; lubricated, unctuous joints and
          other organs.

Liquid    Congestive disorders; edema; excessive salivation;
          mucous.

Smooth    Smooth skin; gentle, calm nature; smoothness of organs;
          smooth, gentle mind.

Dense     Dense pad of fat; thick skin, hair, nails and feces.

Soft      Soft pleasing look; love, care, compassion, kindness and
          forgiveness.

Static    Loves sitting, sleeping and doing nothing.

Viscous   Viscous, sticky, cohesive quality causes compactness,
          firmness of joints, muscles, tissues and organs;
          loves to hug; is deeply attached in love and relationships.

Cloudy    Mind is cloudy and foggy in the morning; often desires
          coffee as a stimulant to start the day.

Slimy     Excess salivation; slow digestion; attachment.

Sweet     Anabolic action of sweet taste stimulates sperm formation
          increasing quantity of semen; craving for sweets.

Salty     Helps digestion and growth, gives energy; maintains
          osmotic condition; craving for salt; water retention.

Vishnu Dass graduated from the Advanced Clinical Program and was trained and worked at the Panchakarma Department of the Ayurvedic Institute, in Albuquerque, NM. You can contact him for an Ayurvedic consultation at 828-658-0507.