The system of Ayurveda (ayur = life, veda = knowledge, “the science of life”) developed in India over 5,000 years ago and is a part of the Vedas (Hindu sacred texts), making it possibly the oldest living tradition of healing. Ayurveda and Yoga are considered sister sciences, in that they both spring from the same Indian philosophical tradition (Samkhya) and both are technologies for health and self-knowledge.
To become a Vaidya (Ayurvedic doctor), traditionally, a person as young as 8 begins a 21-year apprenticeship with their guru (teacher) — 7 years in the forest learning plants, 7 years in texts learning theory, and 7 years practicing under their guru’s supervision. In the 1960s, India created an official degree program through their universities for students to earn a Bachelor in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) through a 5½ year program — two and a half years of classical Ayurveda, two years of modern medicine, and a one-year clinical. And as Eastern thought has taken root in the West, America too offers a doctoral program equivalent to the BAMS as well as shorter Ayurvedic lifestyle certifications.
And I’m writing this after having watched some YouTube and flipped through a couple books. So welcome to Amateur Hour! I’ll be your host this evening. This quote from The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, a canonical Chinese acupuncture text, refers to the twelve meridians through which acupuncturists recognize qi flow. “The twelve channels are where beginners start and masters end. To beginners it seems easy; the masters know how difficult it is." The sentiment also is fitting for Ayurveda — it’s easy to grasp and apply the basics, which can provide great value, but deep understanding takes a lifetime. Still, we can explore fundamental Ayurvedic concepts as a way of understanding ourselves and our health.
Ayurveda, as with Vedic concepts like karma, is an expression of universal laws of nature. The human body has inherent intelligence to grow, sustain, and heal itself on a cellular level. Living in a way that enables and encourages those natural forces toward a state of wellness is the brilliance of Ayurveda. In a word, life finds a way, and we are her stewards.
Health encompasses the various aspects of a person — their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. Ayurvedic philosophy centers around preserving and promoting health and longevity as well as disease prevention, and curing disease when it arises.
Five Elements, Three Doshas
Ayurveda sees the interplay of five elements that make up the cosmos — earth, fire, water, air, and space — which are expressed through three . . . what’s the word . . . universe principles, or maybe forces . . . and they’re also biological humors . . . doshas! Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
Every person possesses a unique initial combination (Prakriti, “nature” or “constitution”) of the three doshas which stays fixed throughout their life (find out your dosha here). Disease is viewed as primarily an imbalance of the doshas, as well as accumulation of toxins (ama). An out of balance dosha means there is too much of that dosha present — whether from eating foods that increase that particular dosha, or engaging in dosha-provoking activities or kinds of exercise, or the dosha taking prominence in the environment. Ayurveda’s wisdom empowers us to see and maintain balance among the doshas on the various physical/mental/emotional/spiritual levels of our being and in relation to our environment, with regard to our own individual prakriti.
Vata is made of air and space, Pitta of fire and water, and Kapha of earth and water. Their characteristics are like those of the elements themselves — vata is the energy of movement (like the wind), pitta is the element of digestion and metabolism (consuming like a fire), and kapha is the element of structure and lubrication (the earthy clay of existence).
From Wikipedia, for all you visual learners out there
Unlike modern Western medicine, which uses a quantitative framework for biometrics (temperature, blood pressure, vitamin and mineral tests), Ayurveda relies primarily on qualitative measures. Each dosha is recognized in the body by the physical qualities (gunas) it manifests, which explains why Vaidyas might include in their diagnosis the color and film on a patient’s tongue or the quality of their poops. Rather than treating an ailment like rheumatoid arthritis with pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications, a Vaidya treats the underlying dosha imbalance that is responsible, which will result in various treatments for the same disease, depending on what type of imbalance led to the arthritis.
Sidebar: I’ll admit, I watched this because I thought it was about Ay-ergonomics, like getting up from chairs and stuff. But this talk on Ayur-genomics from an Indian professor of genetics makes an interesting case for factoring in participants’ prakritis in clinical trials to study genetic trends. Her research suggests accounting for such distinctions could reveal statistical significances that are hidden when clients are studied as a double-blind monolith.
Now back to the main drag. Doshas, ROLL CALL! *cue walk-out music*
Pitta, like fire, is hot and light, and oily (oil burns). It is responsible for digestion and appetite, color and luster of the skin, eyes, and hair, body temperature, and can be seen in qualities such as intelligence, reasoning, ambition, and courage. Think the achievers, the ambitious, Tom Cruise with a short fuse. Pittas tend to have strong digestion, average and muscular builds, lustrous skin and hair, and sweat easily. Pitta is aggravated by things that increase its presence in the body: hot and spicy foods, prolonged sun exposure, hot emotions like anger, and foods with sour, salty, and pungent qualities. Pitta out of balance arouses anger, hatred, jealousy, and digestive issues and ailments like high blood pressure, acne, heartburn, and inflammatory arthritis.
Vata, like the wind, is cold, dry, light, rough, mobile, and irregular. It governs movement including breathing and heartbeat, muscle and nerve activity, movement of thoughts, and can be seen in qualities such as creativity, clarity, and enthusiasm. Those whose prakriti is dominated by vata tend to be thinner with slender bones (light), have cold extremities and sensitivity to cold, experience dry and rough skin with scanty sweating, and tend toward excess vata in the colon (watch out for beans and broccoli) and irregular bowel movements. Vata is aggravated by an irregular eating and sleeping schedule, eating cold foods; excessive thinking, talking, exercising, and work; stimulants, worrying too much, and eating pungent, bitter, astringent foods. Excess vata may lead to anxiety, fear, and scatteredness, and neurological issues and ailments like spasms and twitches, stiffness, constipation, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Kapha, of earth and water, is heavy, slow, cold, dense, soft, and oily. It provides lubrication for the joints, moisturizes the skin, maintains immunity, governs fat retention, and can be seen in qualities such as stability and groundedness, strength, contentment, and forgiveness. Kaphic individuals tend to have a sturdy frame, round features, well-formed teeth, and large eyes. Kapha is aggravated by sleeping during the day, overeating, lack of exercise, and foods that are sweet, salty, sour, cold, and oily. Excess kapha leads to lethargy, stubbornness and attachment, greed, and envy, and congestive issues and ailments like excess mucus, depression, excessive sleeping, and general stagnation or inertia.
Rhythms of Life
Furthermore, each dosha is strongest or most prominent at certain times of day and year. For example, pitta is strongest when the sun is highest in the sky (10a-2p), which supports your internal digestive fire, making lunch a good time to eat your biggest meal. Pitta is also strongest in, you guessed it, summer!
This simple explanation of lifestyle correspondences with the earth’s rhythmic relation to the sun is expanded through Jyotish or Indian astrology, which also comes from the Vedas and is utilized by some Vaidyas as a tool for medical insight.
That just to say that each nook and cranny within the philosophical system is a vast horizon of its own. But keeping it grounded and not getting all overexcited and scattered (it must be mid-afternoon, my vata’s kicking in), the time of day and year have an impact on our own dosha-dances (“now doshi-do your partner, now promenade, and sashay!”) that make some times better for meditating and other times worse for dosha-related diseases to flow in like the tide. For example, pitta-induced insomnia or the heat flashes that accompany menopause may wake a person between 1 and 3am, whereas a kapha struggling with depression may find it difficult to get out of bed in the 6-10am window, and a vata’s arthritis may feel worse in the cold months and at night.
Making the Universal Personal — Ayurveda Applied
In the same way a genetic test or knowing your family history makes you aware of the diseases to which you are predisposed, allowing you to modify your lifestyle to reduce the risk of certain prevalent diseases that follow your family, knowing your constitution can help you avoid common conditions that affect your dosha. Many fiery people recognize that eating spicy foods trigger heartburn and excessive sweating; awareness of their pitta-dominated constitution could lead them not only to avoid those foods, but also to avoid working outside in the summer, to eat more sweet, bitter, and astringent foods (which have gunas or qualities that pacify pitta), and to incorporate certain yoga poses and meditation to cool their mental and emotional temperature.
As you can see, Ayurveda works from the framework that our body and mind are not distinct, but are actually intimately related. The importance of the brain-gut connection is having its moment in Western medicine, and the link between stress and digestion and long-term health is increasingly taking a central role in the conversation. So the principles of Ayurveda are also applicable from a mental health perspective — managing a dosha imbalance through physical changes impacts the corresponding emotional and mental imbalances of that dosha’s excess.
We are collectively coming to see the reality of trauma and mental/emotional inflictions such as depression passed down from generation to generation. In the same way, knowing the qualities of mind that each dosha engenders (both balanced and imbalanced aspects) helps us recognize when imbalance is present on a subtle level, and allows us to implement simple life changes toward cultivating a healthy and happy mind. And let me tell you, it’s a process. . . but it works, even if you don’t tangibly recognize it. What my yard keeps telling me is that mother nature takes her sweet time (looking at you, coneflowers!!).
We can also organize our home, work, and community environments to promote better balance — known as vastu in Sanskrit (similar to the Chinese feng shui). On the same note, research shows that two hours in nature a week creates better physical, mental, and emotional health. A vata who needs regularity to curb their irregular nature will benefit from a home in order, where a kapha’s heaviness can be stimulated through warm, bright colors, and a pitta’s agitation can be soothed with calming fragrances (think lavender as opposed to cinnamon).
And food. The wisdom of Ayurveda sees that, on a very subtle level, the qualities of the foods we consume directly affect us on every layer of our being. This is why Gandhi considered his diet to be of equal importance to his spiritual practice. How can we expect working out to produce desired results when coupled with donuts and margaritas? How can a vata expect mental calmness and stability with a diet that exacerbates the dry, light qualities that produce irregularity and motion in the mind, with foods like coffee, toast, and popcorn, and excessive stimulating podcasts and conversations? How can a kapha stay awake during meditation with heavy, cold, oily food choices like cheeses, fried food, and smoothies, and a lack of vigorous exercise to promote flowing instead of stagnation?
Ayurveda is not a list of dos and don’ts (though general routine recommendations and dosha-specific foods, herbs, yoga postures, and lifestyle tips are out there with a Google search). Rather, it’s a tool for self-study. It puts us in conversation with our bodies and sees ourselves not as individual productivity-machines that run off Soylent and hardtack, but as an organism that is one with nature, in constant relation with other people and non-human animals, veggies, grains, nuts, herbs, celestial bodies, and whatever else floats your boat. It gives us the opportunity to see our resonance with things beyond ourselves, and paves the way for a more interconnected existence. Besides, what more experimental and rewarding place is there to study the interplay of nature’s laws than in our own bodies? Now get to playing!
* footnote, many of these Vedic ideas are familiar to the Western tradition dating back to Hippocrates, a Greek physician known as the founder of modern medicine. A few select quotes: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” “It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.” “Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” “Everything in excess is opposed to nature.” “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.”
What I’m consuming
Al Brooks, an 88-year old Black Kansas Citian, served with the KCPD for ten years. . . before the Civil Right Act of 1964. He later went on to be the first Black department director in the Kansas City government, founded the AdHoc Group Against Crime (AdHoc), and served as the city’s mayor pro-tem. His autobiography came out this year, which you can read about (as well as see a fuller biography and watch interviews of Al Brooks with Bill Tammeus) on the Center for Religious Experience and Study (CRES) website. Brooks published a ten-page letter on dismantling the American Racist System, giving credit to organizations like the KC Star for their extensive self-examination of their own racist history, and calling other organizations to follow suit.
WaPost on drug companies refusing to work with other companies to produce vaccines, instead favoring their monopolies. Why would they share? Because then we could produce enough doses to vaccinate most of Africa as well as parts of South America and Asia that aren’t expected to receive widespread vaccination coverage until 2023. Sharing would save lives, especially if we’re looking after the poorest world citizens. Why else? Because the US committed $20 billion dollars of taxpayer money to subsidies to aid private companies in their research -- Moderna received $483 million dollars in government aid and is expected to bring in $18.5 billion in profits this year. The research is publicly-funded, while the profits from that research are privatized. A great example of what Dr. King called “socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor.”
Best John Oliver episode in a while takes on Tucker Carlson.
Dave Chappelle says don’t watch the Dave Chappelle show, and puts his story-telling craft on full display.
And the Chomsky pulse: on Biden calling Putin a killer and saying he has no soul, the history of US sanctions in Iran (dating back to 1953), and US opposition to Cuba’s international efforts to vaccinate and send doctors to poor countries.
L'Chaim, to life!
Luke