Links to Related Resources & Longer Articles:

• Āyurveda & Yoga – Linking the Two Arts – Part 1 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – A Common Philosophical Background in Sāṃkhya – Part 2 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – The Pañca Bhūta The Das Indriya & The Tridoṣa – Part 3 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – The Triguṇa The Tridoṣa & The Human System – Part 4 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – The Tridoṣa The Human Constitution & The Ageing Process – Part 5 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – Prāṇa & The Five Aspects of Each of the Tridoṣa – Part 6 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – Prāṇa its Links within Āyurveda – Part 7 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – Dhātu & Mala, Body Tissues and Means of Elimination – Part 8 of 12
• Āyurveda & Yoga – Dravya and Rasa, Substance and Taste within Food – Part 9 of 12
• Āyurveda Lifestyle Posts and Articles Collected and Collated
• Compendium of Quotes from TKV Desikachar on the Yoga of T Krishnamacharya……
• In this context what about Āyurveda?
• Laṅghana Kriyā has two functional dimensions…
• Prāṇa – Its origin, function and malfunction
• The Krishnamacharya methodology of melding the Viniyoga of Āyurveda with that of Yoga
• The presence and actions of Prāṇa Śakti……..
• YOGA AND MODERN MEDICINE – Interview by TKV Desikachar
• Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

Collated Related Short Posts & Quotes:

“In Veda, Āyurveda and Yoga Sūtra,
various techniques are offered to aid in healing the sick.
In addition to herbs and medicines,
Patañjali suggests that Āsana, Prāṇāyāma and Vairāgya
are particularly beneficial and, as any medicine,
should be used with care and discipline.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 34

“The moon,
whose rays are auspicious for the gathering of medicinal herbs,
is the god of herbs,
whilst the light of the sun gets to the bottom of all impurities.
This is why we recite Mantra to these two stars,
during the preparation of Āyurveda remedies.”
– T Krishnamacharya

“As for pulse taking,
this is considered by Āyurveda to be a method of confirming a diagnosis,
which has been formed from listening to the voice,
watching the posture, the eyes, the colour of the skin,
the quality of the energy, and interviewing the patient.”
– T Krishnamacharya

“Because of his knowledge of Āyurveda,
he conceived Prāṇāyāma also as Bṛṃhaṇa Kriyā or Laṅghana Kriyā.”
– TKV Desikachar from lectures on ‘The Yoga of T Krishnamacharya’,
given at Zinal, Switzerland 1981

“Svabhāva (innate disposition) – Nature of a person.
For example tendency to put on weight, liver problem,
muscular pains for no reason, changes in temperature.
This is why Āyurveda divides humans into 3 types.
Approximately Pitta–Sattva, Kapha–Tamas, Vāta–Rajas Guṇa.
We not only look at the physical structure,
but also how food affects the individual.
Heavy in the morning, etc.
For example different children in the family affected by the same food differently.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“In Āyurveda, it gives certain behaviour by which we can stay well.
If a person follows the following he will freer of sickness.
Regularly, systematically he eats, rests and exercises adequately.
Both in amount and quality.
Food or Āhāra, along with Vihāra – recreation, rest, exercise, other activities.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

“In the Indian tradition,
stress would be the situation where a person
exhibits the Udvega, attitudes or behaviour
which take over a person and control him.
The origin of the Udvega lies in the Ṣad Ūrmi,
the six enemies.
These six are:
– Kāma: desire
– Krodha: anger
– Lobha: possessiveness, greed
– Moha: darkness;
though not actually dark it is as if darkness exists
because the person is so sure of himself
and his opinions that he is unable to see.
– Mada: arrogance,
the refusal to accept or give in.
– Mātsarya: jealousy,
to resent the success of others
and to be happy at their failures.
These are Āyurveda‘s Mano Roga.
If any one of these six is dominant in a person,
that person is sure to experience Udvega in one form or the other.”
– Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

Question to TKV Desikachar:
“What is the relationship between Yoga and Āyurveda?”
TKV Desikachar Response:
“First of all, we believe that the same master gave us Āyurveda and Yoga: Patañjali. We worship Patañjali remembering him as the person who gave us Āyurveda for the body and Yoga for the mind.
Body and mind are so interlinked that you cannot really separate them. Since Āyurveda is a complete system, they talk also about Yoga. Yoga is defined in Āyurveda. And the language of Yoga is such that a person cannot understand the Yoga texts without understanding the concepts of Āyurveda.
At least in theory, these sciences go very well together. However, in India, the treatment given to Yoga in the Āyurveda University is very scarce, it is not even worth mentioning. So, in reality, Āyurveda people are not familiar with Yoga as much as they should be. The only exception was my father. He knew both, that is why he was able to mix both systems, according to the need.
“What Patañjali gave for the mind through Yoga,
he gave for the body through Āyurveda.”
What I would say is, what Patañjali gave for the mind through Yoga, he gave for the body through Āyurveda.”
– Extract from an interview in the Journal Viniyoga Italia on Yoga and Well Being

Question to TKV Desikachar:
“How is Āyurveda linked to Cikitsā or the therapeutic application of Yoga?”
TKV Desikachar Response:
“There is a lot of difference. As far as Yoga is concerned, we are concerned with the personality of the person, the mental aspect and the higher aspirations of the student.
That is why Yoga has a lot to offer. For the body Āyurveda is the solution. A good combination would be Āyurveda and Yoga.
My father used to do that. He would teach Āsana practice, or Prāṇāyāma or meditation and he would talk about diet and he would also give some Āyurveda medicine.
He was treating not only the body but the whole person with the help of this great combination.”
– Extract from an interview in the Journal Viniyoga Italia on Yoga and Well Being

“When I take care of people who are ill,
I apply the teachings of Āyurveda,
our ancestral medicine,
but I don’t mistake Āyurveda for Yoga,
these are two different approaches.
I also refer to discoveries of modern medicine,
and again it is not Yoga.”
– Extract from an interview with TKV Desikachar on Vedic Chanting

“Bṛṃhaṇa Kriyā and Laṅghana Kriyā, as
expansive and contractive activities, are two
potentials explored through Āsana and the Breath.
Alongside the practice of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma,
they are actualised through a theoretical understanding of
the primary principles that inform Haṭha Yoga and Āyurveda.
The alchemical process underpinning this understanding
is the relationship between the two primary principles of
Prāṇa and Agni in order to influence Haṭha Yoga concepts such
as Prāṇa, Apāna, Sūrya, Candra, Nāḍī, Cakra and Kuṇḍalinī.
In terms of Bṛṃhaṇa Kriyā and Laṅghana Kriyā, the
Viniyoga of Bṛṃhaṇa effects a dispersion of Agni from
the core to the periphery and the Viniyoga of Laṅghana
effects a concentration of Agni from the periphery to the core.
Integrating the application of these two specific processes
facilitates access, through the Merudaṇḍa, Prāṇa and Agni,
to either energising or cleansing potentials, or as collaborative
outcomes within the practice of Āsana, Mudrā and Prāṇāyāma.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“The Haṭha Yoga processes of
Bṛṃhaṇa and Laṅghana Kriyā
are both energetic applications,
whether within Yoga or Āyurveda,
as in physiological processes that
are nourishing and  stimulating,
rather than the more usually seen
adapted psychological processes,
as in provoking mental lethargy or,
as in palliating mental disturbance.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers

“Our relationship with Food can be too little, too much, or wrong.
According to Āyurveda, even the best food eaten in the wrong amount,
or at the wrong time, or with the wrong attitude
will fail to nourish and even disturb the system.
The same could also be said for Yoga Practice”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“Duḥkha is the starting point for the
Yoga journey of four junctures from:
the symptom, as in Duḥkha or suffering,
to the cause, as in Avidyā or illusion,
to the goal, as in Kaivalya or independence;
via the tools, as in Aṣṭāṅga or 8 limbed path,
for the means, as in Viveka or discernment.
This ancient fourfold process is at the heart of
the teachings in Yoga, Āyurveda & Buddhism.”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“Krishnamacharya’s Yoga Loom
had three interwoven threads.
Namely,
an appropriate application,
according to,
an individual’s specific needs,
of:
Kāya Cikitsā through Āyurveda,
Prāṇa Śakti through Haṭha,
Citta Adhyātmika through Rāja.”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers

“The ancient model of the Pañca Maya from the
Taittirīya Upaniṣad can be used as a skillful
therapeutic paradigm in terms of its view of
five aspects of the human beingness as Physical,
Energetic, Mental, Personality and Emotional.
Though we can apply this paradigm within
the Western medical models for disease,
it’s associative roots are found within the
common energetic principles underpinning
Haṭha Yoga and Āyurveda and the psychological
principles inherent within the Yoga Sutra.
The Viniyoga of Yoga approach explores the
potentials of the Pañca Maya, by applying
these principles as diagnostic & prognostic
tools, in terms of recovery, lifestyle support
or developmental modalities. All of which is
framed within a wider consideration of a person’s
starting point, potential and personal goals.”
– 108 Yoga Teaching Path Pointers