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Thread: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

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    Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    I wrote on another string:
      • vāta = air + space (ākāśa)
      • pitta = fire + water
      • kapha = water + earth

    I thought to offer a few additional ideas for one's consideration. Note that I am not an vaidya ¹ (āyurvedic doctor) but come to this knowledge via reading and practice. Please feel free to add your knowledge and experience as you see fit.
    If we talk of these qualities in very simple terms vāta is the principle of movement. Pitta is the principle of heat/energy; kapha is the principle of structure, and of fluids . Yet there is a deeper , more insightful view of these qualities that I find profound.
    • vāta represents and has the qualities of vayū. This vayū is associated with prāṇa; prāṇa we know as life force.
    • pitta represents agni ; agni is rooted in ag , fire; this fire is tejas which is fiery energy ,vital power
    • kapha is related to water and thus with ojas ; ojas is rooted is vaj¹ and is vigor , energy. Yet I said this kapha is a principle of structure.
      We find this ojas throughout the body at the cellular ( structural ) levels we can just say bodily tissues.

      This ojas is the essence of the 7 dhatu's¹ we find in the body. Sometimes these are called tri-dhā́tu , threefold constituent parts which infer prāṇa, tejas and ojas. This in my opinion is a more subtler view of vāta , pitta, and kapha.

    So this ojas is a big deal because it is found throughout the bodily system at the structural/tissue level. This ojas also contains the 5 tattva-s¹ within itself. Ojas with prāṇa controls the life-functions of the body. Since ojas is found throughout the body how does it get there? Via movement.
    Where does ~movement~ come from? vāta -> prāṇa -> life force. There is the connection.

    Now what is interesting to me is the relationship of ojas and kapha. If we disturb/aggravate kalpa we disturb ojas. If ojas is decreased we disrupt vāta. We see this because as aforementioned ojas is greatly driven by kapha + prāṇa.

    So as we disturb ojas we get kapha and vāta dis-orders. What are those - this can be diabetes ( kapha) , bone and joint issues (kapha as the 'lubricant' water and fluid); With vāta imbalance there may be some persistent fear, wind-related or ling related issue ( vayū ) , perhaps some hearing problems.

    Now this ojas , say the vaidya's, has even a finer counterpart śukrala ( the essence of anything) and is found in the heart. This proves to be interesting connection with kapla, where we originally started. How so ?

    If we dis-assemble kapla we get 'kap', which brings us to 'krap', defined as to be compassionate. Compassion comes from the heart psychologically and this too is a responsibility of ojas along with love, creativity, and peace. So , if there is some swell of love, ojas is there, if there is some lack of the same, then ojas is less.

    What increases ojas? Balance. What stimulates ojas ? ghee. And when we're children ojas is increased via mother's milk.

    This ojas is so refined, creative , and influenced by prāṇa, it is said we can increase our spiritual levels by transforming this ojas via prāṇayaṁ, tapas, and sādhana. What is occurring? Prāṇa is being refined, tapas stokes tejas properly for purification. I mention properly as too much tejas ( pitta) cooks; too much and we burn away the favorable conditions of ojas.

    So too from this ojas and kaph we find beauty in appearance. This is a quality of kapha, that is kṛpā́ - beautiful appearance , beauty , splendor. Kapha brings out the beauty, the splendor in the individual as it is connected with ojas that is distributed thoughout our tissues.

    So we add a few more important ~ingredients~ to our āyurvedic discussion: ojas + prāṇa + tejas . Yet there is more as tejas and agni within the 7 dhātu-s is worthy of discussion. More on that in a later post.

    praṇām
    words
    • vaidya - medical , medicinal , practising or relating to medicine; skilled in the art of healing ; from vidyā ,versed in science
    • √vaj ' to be hard or strong ';
      • This is inferred from ugra , ojas , vajra , vāja
      • ojas - oj - to increase

    • 5 tattva-s are the mahābhūta we know as either, air, fire, water earth as ~gross~ words for these.
    • dhātu constituent part , ingredient
    • āyurved is āyus + veda : āyus = life , vital power , vigor , health , duration of life , long life + ved = knowledge
    Last edited by yajvan; 08 May 2017 at 03:57 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #2
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    Exclamation Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namast

    dreaming...

    Each constitution has a particular bent for their dream stories.
    I am a pitta-vāta, yet still have many ( enjoyable) dreams that involve water. Many of my dreams are about motion, travel, flight.

    • vāta = air + space (ākāśa) - movement, running, jumping travel. At times the dreams can include fear or trama.
    • pitta = fire + water - more aggressive, move action oriented. At times the dreams can be violence based.
    • kapha = water + earth - water related , swimming, pools, oceans , lakes, rivers. At times the dreams can be emotions based. Romantic dreams would be part of the kapha's genre.
    A most recent dream - I was sky diving ( motion, speed, air + space). As I was falling it was very enjoyable as I noticed two rainbows during the fall. They were vibrant. As I passed them I noticed that were solid in color. For me most ( 95%) of my dreams are enjoyable.

    What type of dreams do you have that may indicate your constitution?

    praṇām

    words


    constitution = prakṛti - the original or natural form or condition of anything:
      • nature , character , constitution , temper , disposition the original producer of or rather passive power of creating
      • the material world(consisting of 3 constituent essences or guṇa-s called sattva , rajas and tamas) ;
      • nature distinguished from puruṣa.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  3. #3
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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    My dreams are definitely tending to a Pitta constitution. Funny that some years ago I'd never expect to become such a Pitta person.

    Yajvan, I guess the more one dedicates to self-knowledge and self-realization the more this person's dreams are enjoyable, unless a violent alert from the unconscious is needed and in that case, a bad dream is not really bad since it motivates the long overdue reflection.

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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namast

    on dhātu-s ...

    dhātu ( dhAtu or धातु ) - constituent part , ingredient, layer, essential ingredient of the body ; āyurved recognizes 7 of them. This post will review them if there is interest: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=19812&postcount=20

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    taste or rasā ...

    Taste is quite important in āyurved. Our tasting ability is considered intelligent. That is, the mind-body may be looking for
    a specific nutrient and it is via taste that it finds it. Taste say the vaidya (āyurvedic doctor) resides more in us then in the
    foods we consume. That is why different people taste food differently and favor one food-type over another.
    We know there are 6 tastes:
    • madhura or sweet
    • amla or sour
    • lavaṇa or salty
    • kaṭuka or pungent
    • tikta ,or bitter
    • kaṣāya or astringent
    Sometimes 63 varieties are called out in yet I have not viewed this list. What I find interesting, these 6 tastes come from the 5 tattva-s:
    • sweet - earth + water
    • sour - earth + fire
    • salty - water + fire
    • pungent - fire + air
    • bitter - air + space (ākāśa)
    • astringent - space (ākāśa) + earth
    Recall the 3 basic body types and note how they align to the list above:
    • vāta = air + space (ākāśa) : bitter
    • pitta = fire + water : salty
    • kapha = water + earth : sweet
    What does this suggest? When these tastes are taken in excess by the constitution mentioned e.g. vāta , pitta, kapha , then there is excess of that quality and causes an imbalance or doṣa¹ and the word then aggravated is used.

    That may be mildly interesting but there is another subtler point to consider. What occurs on the tongue (rasā) does not always produce the same effect further down the system ( stomach, small and large intestines, etc). We have 3 things to call out to make sense of this:
    • rasā - taste, flavor
    • vipāka - ripening, maturity
    • vīrya - consequence; efficacy of food/medicine
    So the sequence is we taste , then this is delivered to the stomach where the food ripens, and then the consequence of the process is then derived within the bodily system - that is the dhātu-s¹ are then fed nourished accordingly.

    Where is the interesting part?
    Various foods may be experienced as various tastes yet within the ~system~ they change their charactistic. The word the vaidya uses is prabhava or prabhāva. Both these words have ~simular~ meanings yet one suggests 'dignity'. In the āyurvedic application , the notion is a an action or effect without regard to the original influences - in this case rasā + vipāka + vīrya. Said in common terms there are exceptions to the rules that occur in āyurved.

    So, in the next post I will offer a few examples of prabhāva that involve rasā + vipāka + vīrya.

    praṇām

    words
    • doṣa - detrimental effect ; blemish; rooted ( √ ) in duṣ meaning fault , vice , deficiency , want , inconvenience , disadvantage
    • associated with the 3 humours of the body i.e. pitta , vāta (vāyu ), and kapha (śleṣman).
    • dhātu - constituent part , ingredient, layer, essential ingredient of the body ; āyurved recognizes 7 of them. see this post for
      further information: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showpost.php?p=19812&postcount=20
    • āyurved is āyus + veda : āyus = life , vital power , vigour , health , duration of life , long life + ved = knowledge
    Last edited by yajvan; 29 July 2011 at 03:28 PM.
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  6. #6
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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namast

    In āyurved there is a suggestion for the individual to practice abhyaṅga snānaṁ :
    • abhyaṅga - rubbing with unctuous substances
    • snānaṁ - washing off , removal by washing , cleansing ; bathing , washing , ablution , religious or ceremonial lustration ;
      also bathing in sacred waters
    This is a daily oil massage done by one's own self or it can be administered by another. You can view these techniques here:

    http://www.indiavideo.org/ayurveda/

    Depending on one's body type different oils are prescribed i.e. sesame, coconut, almond, etc. This overall promotes health, good skin tone and is a muscle relaxer.

    The massage has to be thorough i.e. 'top to bottom' as they say, aways working the message to the center of the body.
    So from the head down, including the face, the arms to the chest, then from the feet up, bringing the message to the heart area.

    praṇām

    words
    • body type - vatta, pitta, kapha
    • āyurved is āyus + veda : āyus = life , vital power , vigour , health , duration of life , long life + ved = knowledge
      • āyurved then = the knowledge of life and health
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  7. #7
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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~


    namast


    Within āyurved there is the natural assumption that it results in a longer life. How can this longer life really benefit the individual if in fact there is another life that is coming right after it... what can be the reasoning?

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  8. #8
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    Re: Additional āyurvedic ideas...

    hariḥ oṁ
    ~~~~~~

    namast
    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post

    Within āyurved there is the natural assumption that it results in a longer life. How can this longer life really benefit the individual if in fact there is another life that is coming right after it... what can be the reasoning?

    praṇām
    Here's one thought on this matter...
    You are 'here' already. You have built up a certain amount of baggage that needs to be cleaned. Since you are here, and maturing it makes sense to stay as long as possible and work out all the stuff you can before you pass on. This is, if one can minimize future births by rectifying the 'baggage' one has today, then you have done yourself a service.

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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