What Is Āyurveda?
“Life (ayus) is the combination (samyoga) of body, senses, mind and reincarnating soul. Āyurveda is the most sacred science of life, beneficial to humans both in this world and the world beyond.”
Caraka Samhita
Āyurveda is a holistic, preventative healing system from South Asia that goes back over 5,000 years. Ayus meaning life, and veda meaning knowledge or science. Breaking the word down into its parts, we see that Āyurveda is the knowledge of life. In conjunction with yoga, its sister science, this system keeps us balanced through daily routine, herbs, meditation, and simply following the rhythm of nature.
We are connected to nature through the panca mahabhutas, or the Five Great Elements.
Ether - ākāśa
Ether represents space and houses all of the elements as well as the space within our bodies.Air - vāyu
Air embodies lightness and mobility. It governs our nervous and digestive systems.Fire - agni
Fire is a transformative element that symbolizes heat and is closely related to the mind.Water - āpas
Water makes up a huge part of our physical body including blood, saliva, and stomach.Earth - prthvī
Earth expresses itself as the physical manifestation of our bodies.
These elements combine to give birth to the three doshas.
Vata is dry, light, mobile, subtle, and cold. It is comprised of the elements ether and air.
Pitta is hot, light, oily, sharp, and liquid. It is comprised of fire and a little bit of water.
Kapha is soft, cloudy, heavy, cold, slow, stable, and oily. It is comprised of water and earth.
