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Ayurveda Theory - The Science of Life
Ayurveda means ‘science of life’. 'Ayus' means 'life' and 'veda' here means 'science' or 'knowledge'. Ayurveda is a science that teaches us how we can live a healthy, happy, fulfilled existence.
Ayurvedic theory is based on an understanding of the doshas. The doshas are forces in nature that allow the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and space) to work together to build the body-mind. The doshas are the invisible organizers of all normal physiological and psychological functions. An imbalance in the doshas is the primary cause of most illness.
The Three Doshas
Vata is a combination of air and space. It is the basis of all movement in the body-mind. It is a grosser level of prana, our life force. Vata has also been called gas.
Pitta is a combination of fire and water. It is in the form of hot liquids, such as acids and digestive enzymes, which cook, digest and transform all substances in the body-mind. It is sometimes translated as bile.
Kapha is a combination of water and earth. It is the most solid dosha responsible for building tissues, and creating stability and lubrication. Another word for kapha is mucous.
The doshas are constantly active in the body and need to be eliminated and balanced if we are to remain healthy. This requires constant attention and vigilance.
We are all composed of the three doshas. However, each one of us has different amounts of each dosha. For example, some people have more heat, more pitta, while others are colder because they have less heat, less pitta and more vata or kapha. The individual ratio of the doshas in us creates our unique constitution.
One of the aims of Ayurveda is to inform us as to our unique constitution, what our ratio is. Knowing our ratio of doshas allows us to live lives appropriate to our nature rather than according to some rule written in a book. For example, if we are constantly and innately creating heat in the body because of our genetic predisposition to pitta, then we need to be careful not to add too much extra heat through diet or lifestyle, or through certain yoga practices.
Ayurveda aims to balance us, for example, a ‘hot person’ who has a lot of pitta, needs to learn how to continuously cool their body-mind. This is the basis of all Ayurvedic healing.
About the Author(s):
Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati is an eminent yoga Acharya (authority), medical doctor, yoga therapist and internationally acclaimed author. As a direct disciple of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, he lived in the Bihar School of Yoga India for 10 years (1974-1985), where he trained to teach the highest practices of yoga-tantra.
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