7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 7 - Balanced Awareness.

The ancient Ayurvedic text, the Sushruta Samhita states “He whose doshas are in balance, whose appetite is good, whose body, mind and spirit are full of bliss, is called a healthy person.”  The opposite holds true for an unhealthy person.  Ayurveda teaches us how to live a happy, healthy, and long life, free of disease.

Heal the world
Make it a better place*

Ayurveda believes that disease manifests from imbalance while wellness reflects harmony in all aspects of our lives.  Ayurveda observes our interconnectedness with nature.  All living things including human beings are composed of the five elements that exist in nature:  ether, air, fire, water and earth.  An understanding of these elements forms the basis of our three bodily humors known as doshas.  Vata dosha is composed of ether and air; pitta of fire and water, and kapha of water and earth.  We are all a combination of these doshas; our unique doshic constitution is determined at birth. 

Ayurvedic treatment focuses on balancing the doshas as aggravated doshas are the precursors of disease.  If there is an imbalance in the predominant dosha, this is of greater concern than an imbalance in a lesser dosha.  Therefore, Ayurveda is about wise living; it is about balancing your personal nature with the world around you.

Just as our bodies contain all the elements that exist in nature, our minds have each of the three gunas (qualities or tendencies):  sattva (knowledge, purity); rajas (action, passion), and tamas (inertia, ignorance).  In context, guna is the quality of the mind and the character of a person.  Like the doshas, the three gunas are present in each of us and can fluctuate depending on a number of factors. 

Our goal is to increase the sattvic (knowledge, purity) quality by making choices that are sattvic in nature.  The quality of our food and environment are critical to our mental health.  As our minds and bodies are inextricably linked, exposure to rajasic or tamasic impressions ultimately creates an imbalance in the mind, leading to bodily distress.  Just as mental imbalance can manifest physically in the body, physical illness contributes to mental suffering. 

Ayurveda is based on an understanding of various complimentary cycles and the synergistic properties of everything in nature, everything from body types, the seasons of the year, the time of day to foods and suitable activities, is described in Ayurvedic knowledge. 

Through proper food selection and preparation, you will promote healthy digestion and should reduce residual toxins (known as ama) that buildup in the body as a result of undigested foodstuff. 

Through gradual lifestyle changes, Ayurveda promotes the rejuvenation of internal bodily systems with activities like yoga asanas, which stretch and massage the body and help restore muscle and fascia.  Breathing techniques (known as pranayama) help balance the endrocrine system, which is important to remediating the negative effects of stress. 

Other ways to cultivate balance include getting enough sleep; eating in a quiet atmosphere; conscious living (practicing the art of being present); recognizing and practicing the power of positive thinking; meditating or participating in spiritual practices; and attuning your life to the body’s natural rhythms.  While the causes of imbalance are too numerous to list, some examples include:  continuous stress; an unwholesome diet; the weather; strained relationships.  Like Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda believes that our spiritual health and physical health are inextricably intertwined.  A truly holistic approach, Ayurveda treats the cause, not just the symptoms.  Ayurveda belives that:  “Cause is a concealed effect; effect is a revealed cause.”

In his book, Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra states:

The purpose of Ayurveda tells us how are lives can be influenced, shaped, extended, and ultimately controlled without interference from sickness and old age.  The guiding principle of Ayurveda is that the mind exerts its deepest influence on the body, and freedom from sickness depends on contacting our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body.  This state of balanced awareness, more than any kind of physical immunity, creates a higher state of health. 

Ayurveda is truly a holistic system of healing meaning that it recognizes that perfect health can only be maintained when our mind, body and spirit are in a state of balance.  Thus, the fist step in living a life of balance is CULTIVATING AWARENESS.  This is different than a band-aid or a panacea.  It requires that we listen to our body’s own intelligence so that we can recognize and rectify imbalances as they occur.  Ayurveda gets to the root of the problem, “the root cause” and frequently recommends diet and lifestyle changes to help you move towards balance.  Real change, however, requires earnest commitment.  It is well worth it, however, if you are interested in making profound and enduring changes in your life.

Source:  Perfect Health, Deepak Chopra, 1991, 2000. 

*Song Lyrics, Save the World, Michael Jackson.

7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 6 - Surrender your Heart.

"And then you see things, the size of which you
have never known before."*

Ayurveda includes moksha as the fourth goal of life.  Moksha is a Sanskrit term meaning: freedom; liberation; emancipation; surrender; letting go; release; salvation.  While the other three goals of life (dharma, artha, and kama) are concerned with this life, moksha is the freedom of the soul from the compulsions of birth and rebirth.  It is the attainment of cosmic consciousness.  Moksha is freedom from attachment to the first three gross states (dharma, artha, and kama) and is a state of inner peace and joy.  This quadrant of existence is most frequently associated with religious activities and spiritual aspirations.

Moksha is achieved by fully surrendering to God’s will, subduing the desires of the ego.  The higher function of moksha is the evolution of the soul.  Ayurveda teaches us that the ultimate goal of life is moksha, liberation, which is our natural state and results from a sustained awareness of the divinity that resides in each of us.  Ayurveda offers a profound understanding of the components necessary to encourage our process of awakening.  It should be clear that the goal in achieving longevity is not to further indulge our senses but to attain liberation, which can only be achieved by becoming God-conscious.

Moksha means liberation of Samsara, the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation.  It is the final release from our illusion of duality, accompanied by the realization of our fundamental nature:  oneness with the Creator and all of its creations.  When there is ego, there exists the notion that we are separate.  When there is ego, every action we take is directed toward protection of this self, which we consider different from others.  Reinforcing the “self” only separates us more from others.  Only when the ego is dissolved can we see the ones surrounding us.  This is the ultimate destination of yoga.  It is easy, however, to become distracted along the path.

By including moksha as one of the four goals of life, Ayurveda enters the realm of Yoga and spirituality.  The combined study of Ayurveda and Yoga is of great importance for self-disclipline and helps us to understand the potential of life addressed in such a profound manner.  Together Ayurveda and Yoga are a complete discipline, which can transform our existence from the physical to the deepest spiritual level with creativity on all levels.

Ayurveda accepts the yogic principle that the health of the body depends upon the health and balance of the mind.  The mind is easily agitated and disturbed.  Regular yoga asana and the practice of pranayama or yogic breathing techniques help us control the mind and is used for this purpose in Ayurveda.

Without proper physical and mental health, we cannot effectively pursue a spiritual life.  Moving into the field of health, Yoga enters the domain of Ayurveda.  For maintaining health, Yoga recommends a diet and lifestyle following one’s Ayurvedic constitution.

There are four paths of attaining liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth:  selfless work; self-dissolving love; deep meditation and discernment or good judgment.

We are divine at the cores of our being; we are one with the Divine.  Ignorance of this can result in bad karma and trap us in the cycle of reincarnation.  Ayurveda believes that moksha or salvation is achieved by our own efforts. Ayurveda works at healing and purifying the body and mind while Yoga aims at taking us to self-realization, which depends on a purified body and mind.  The foundation of Yoga is Ayurveda and the fruit of Ayurveda is Yoga.

Source:  Beayurvedic, Dr. Beena Vesikar

*Song Lyrics, Crazy (Seal)

7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 5 - Fulfilling your Heart's Desire.

Everybody's got a hungry heart.*

In Ayurveda, the third goal of life is kama, a Sanskrit word meaning, “seeking pleasure.”  Always moving toward balance, Ayurveda believes that sensory pleasure is a necessary component of good health.  If our pursuit of pleasure is unregulated or becomes an end in itself, it is considered wrong action capable of producing physical and mental disease.  On the other hand, if we repress our sensory experiences, we will be unable to fully express our gifts, our dharma.

Kama comes from living our dharma.  When our attention is focused on our dharma, our life’s purpose, the other goals in life (artha-creating prosperity; kama-fulfillment of desires; moksha-spiritual freedom) become a natural extension of pursuing our dharmic foundation.  Sexual love is only the most basic form of kama.  Kama is enjoyment.

Kama is the emotional aspect of our lives, our heart and feelings.  It also includes our aspirations, the desire to accomplish what we came here to do.  While enjoyment is the primary goal of the senses, there is also the desire to procreate and experience joy.  Kama is more than the pursuit of sensual pleasures:  the ancient Ayurvedic texts refer to it also as the desire for health and wellness.

The spiritual dimension of kama is not to be overlooked.  All of our desires, both sensory and otherwise, play an important role as the soul witnesses the play of karma during this lifetime.  In opening our heart, we move closer to spiritual truth.  We become aware of the divinity in every living creature. 

By opening our heart, we experience kama on different levels, not just the physical.  Awakening our desire for truth is essential for spiritual growth.  Our sensory experiences become sacred.  Kama is a vehicle for us to return home to our true essence, our Divine Self.  Kama ultimately leads us to moksha, spiritual freedom.

Kama is a powerful force.  Ayurveda advises us to use it in a productive, positive and balanced manner.  It also reminds us that everything we experience is food and by ingesting nourishing sensory experiences, we accelerate our spiritual progress.

Source: Yoga Baba Prem, Kama - Desire and Spirituality, American Institute of Vedic Studies

* Song lyrics:  Hungry Heart (Bruce Springstein)

7 Steps to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. Step 4 - Creating Prosperity.

Misery is a long life without wealth.

 "Prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts the things. Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things." - Eric Butterworth

"Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped." - Calvin Coolidge

 “One must have a desire for wealth for there is nothing so miserable as a long life without wealth.” - Charaka Samhita

In Ayurveda, there are four goals of life: 

·      Dharma meaning one’s life purpose.

·      Artha meaning prosperity.

·      Kama meaning fulfillment of desires, happiness and love.

·      Moksha meaning becoming one with the divine, the spiritual path.

Artha does not mean amassing great wealth or living a luxurious lifestyle or living selfishly.  Instead, it is a byproduct of living one’s dharma, one’s life purpose.  If we are firmly established in dharma, then prosperity naturally follows.  It comes from living our dharma.  Thus, we benefit most from focusing on our dharma, which allows the other goals of Ayurveda to be pursued effortlessly as they serve to create and maintain our dharmic foundation.

When artha is an end to itself it causes wrong action, which can lead to physical or mental disease.  When balanced, artha creates the foundation for us to grow as spiritual beings.  When imbalanced, two things can occur.  The first is that we crave too much.  We become greedy, our lives are imbalanced, limited and selfish.  If, on the other hand, we ignore the material necessities of life, we risk becoming overly dependent on others, insecure and frustrated.  Fulfilling our dharma may not be possible.  By accepting artha as an essential goal of life, we become responsible for our lives and are able to fulfill our needs.

Artha also means managing our material wealth in a righteous manner.  In Ayurveda, the old adage “health is wealth” also applies.  If we have good health, the desire to earn is prominent.  When knowledge is also used to support oneself, it can be part of artha.  Ayurveda aims at ending suffering so each individiual is able to self-actualize, to accomplish the four goals of life:  dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. 

In the Charaka Samhita, one of the three ancient texts on Ayurveda, Charaka said, “One must have a desire for wealth as there is nothing so miserable as a long life without wealth” (nor without health for that matter).