Ayurveda and Yoga - understanding the connection

Over 5,000 years old, Ayurveda is the most ancient and authentically recorded health system in history. It was created by yogis who spent their lives studying nature and the human condition.  

Meaning ‘the science of life’ it is exactly that, viewing health in four dimensions of physical, sensory, mental and spiritual and is centred on preventative medicine and bringing a person back to balance.  

Thus, Ayurveda is the science of self-healing, concerned with restoring balance and wholeness. Both yoga and Ayurveda are part of the Vedic cultural system; they work together, enhance each other and are linked to other Vedic sciences such as astrology, architecture, music and poetry.

Ayurvedic principles tell us that sickness is due to undigested food in the system. Yoga asana enables the fire or ‘agni’ to remove impurities, which obstruct the flow of prana (life force). The understanding is: we are inseparable from the elements around us. Indeed they permeate us. The five elements include earth, water, fire, air and space.

Furthermore, energy plays an important role in our lives. We need energy and vitality to be able to live our life in a healthy and harmonious way. We get energy from nature through the sun and other natural elements. Ayurveda believes that there are primary functional energies in our bodies that are aligned with the elements of nature. These three forces of energies are known as the doshas in Ayurveda and include  Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

At the time of birth most bodies are naturally composed of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Later on in life, if the appropriate vayus (airs or winds) do not flow properly through the different nadis (subtle energy channels), imbalance and disease can result. Asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breathing exercises), nutrition and spiritual evolution can rectify (heal) the imbalances.

Here are the dosha elements:

1.     Kapha –Water/earth

2.     Pitta - Fire/water

3.     Vata – Ether/Air

Prakruti describes a balanced combination of doshas for each individual – one’s natural constitution. Vrkuti, on the other hand, expresses an imbalance in doshas. The aim of yoga and Ayurveda is to rebalance Prakruti.

“The doshas should not be in excess. Any excess is easily discerned by such symptoms as tremors, heavy or shallow breathing, pain in the joints, and glandular and digestive disorders. These conditions prevent the proper flowing of the vayus, leading to more serious ailments and the shortening of life span”. Ramaswami, The Three Ages of Yoga

Healthy digestion and a balanced digestive fire, ‘agni’, is therefore fundamental to wellness in Ayurveda and to establishing strong immunity, an open and loving heart and a peaceful and calm mind. If the digestive system is out of balanced,  the digestive fire is not functioning properly, then this will create a loss of physical and mental wellbeing, which will negatively impact the immune function, let alone the mental state of an individual and their experience of themselves and life.  

As Ayurveda seeks to restore digestive health, diet is always considered, together with life style factors that may also be contributing to a loss of wellbeing. Like attracts like and we will often be attracted to those foodstuffs and activities that will enhance imbalances. We may also be living a life that isn’t true to our life path (dharma), and this will show up as physical and mental illness that cannot be effectively treated with modern medicines but can be helped by Ayurveda. 

In fact one of the main objectives of Ayurveda is the prevention of disease through strengthening the immune system, which makes the immune system a significant element of Ayurveda. As we all know, our wellbeing is dependent on the body’s resistance to dis-ease, and the immune system plays a significant role in the prevention of, and recovery from, disease. 

However, in Ayurveda, the focus is not on the prevention of disease, per se, but on strengthening the immune system as a whole. In this way we can maximise ‘ojas’.  Ojas is a Sanskrit term which can be translated as ‘vigor’ or ‘essence of vitality’. Essentially, ojas is the vital energy that governs our immunity, strength and happiness – three things we want in abundance. If our ojas is weak, then our health, our spirits and our energy, decrease.

Factors that lessen immunity:

·      Mental stress such as fear, anxiety, anger, grief

·      Poor diet and nutritional disturbances

·      Lack of sleep

·      Excessive physical exertion/exercise

·      Alcohol, drugs and smoking

·      Severe infection

·      Injury, accidental or surgical

·      Excessive loss of bodily fluids

·      Wasting

·      Season, environment and age

·      Severe constitution derangement 

Factors that enhance immunity

·      Balanced diet appropriate for constitution

·      Mental peace

·      Proper exercise

·      Favourable climate

·      Characteristics of race and generation in which birth took place

·      Genetics of parents

·      Constitutional characteristics (vata, pitta, kapha)

·      Adolescence

·      Proper mental stimulation

A person can possess just one predominant dosha, have two equally dominant dosha or have all three doshas in balance. More on the doshas in other blogs.

Love Emma x