“All food is medicine, all medicine is food.”
Āyurveda was the one of the first medical systems to realise the crucial importance of the kind of food we eat and to appreciate the interaction between health and disease, disease and food, and food and health. It will be from this point that this article will explore the question of diet by examining the concepts of elements and taste in food.
Previous articles have presented some ideas of Prāṇa so we can now move towards presenting a more complete picture of how Āyurveda sees the human body. This article looks at how Ayurveda sees the types of bodily tissues and waste products as vital to the effective construction and working of the body.
Yoga is a word that has, within Indian thought, many meanings. To define the word Yoga is very difficult as the word is so adaptable.
This article intended to introduce Prāṇa, its origin, function and malfunction. However, Prāṇa is such an important part of Yoga and Āyurveda that I have concentrated on presenting some basic ideas on its relationship to the individual, to Yoga and to the understanding of life known as Āyurveda.
This article introduces the concept of Prāṇa and its place in Āyurveda within the three principles or Tridoṣa.
Generally the purpose of Yoga is to bring about a change within the prominence of awareness and its subsequent impact on the attitude and function of the individual.
Whether this change is a yoking of opposites or an unyoking of two aspects, seemingly inseparable, time and a process are involved. Also this notion of change may be initiated within an individual’s physical body or emotional responses and mental attitude.
However, within Indian thought there is a concept that is common to the different philosophies and to the different aspects of the individual. This concept is the presence and action of Prāṇa.
This article explores the balance of the Three Principles in the individual and their effect on the processes of change and age.
This article explores the relationship between the three principles or Tridoṣa, with the three qualities or Guṇa, and how Āyurveda views their qualities and modes of expression in the functions of the body.
One of the threads that links Āyurveda and Yoga with the Vedic schools of thought and non-Vedic schools such as Buddhism, is that everything is subject to change.
“Now is Āyurveda explained:
the expression of the five elements,
and the three principles most fundamental to life.”
So far in this series we have presented some ideas on the place of Yoga within Indian thought, with comments on the problems in distinguishing the different threads in the tapestry that holds together the cultural, religious and philosophical ideals of India.
A Series of articles exploring Yoga and Āyurveda. This one looks at the philosophical structure within Sāṃkhya upon which the principles supporting the ancient Indian system of medicine are based.
The previous article on Āyurveda and Yoga began with a brief introduction to Indian thought and its links with Yoga. It is sometimes difficult, living within our western culture, to recognise what is Yoga and what is not Yoga.
There is an increasing interest in the field of traditional Indian medicine. Until recently little was available in the West on this subject, but now there are many more avenues though which one can explore and learn about the form of holistic medicine known as Āyurveda.
Traditionally Āyurveda and Yoga went hand in hand, so for students of Yoga an understanding of Āyurveda will complement and help their Yoga study and practice.
Furthermore in the application of Yoga as a therapy (cikitsa) an understanding of Āyurveda is essential in working with imbalances that can cause or aggravate the disease process.
In this article some ideas will be presented on the links between Yoga and India’s spiritual tradition before presenting the background to Āyurveda.
