Ayurvedic Yoga: what it is and why to do it

When we get on our mat, in a good yoga class, we are guided to set an intention for practice, something we want for our life. We want our practice to be purposeful, to serve us.

But what we often view as “life” is its content: events and possessions, family, work, relationships, accomplishments, accompanied by a cohort of experiences, feelings and emotions. And yoga can definitely help us manage and organize this content.

But what’s missing here is context = the container in which all this content takes place. And that, truly, is what’s at the heart of ayurvedic yoga. The logic is straight forward: without container what good is the content? If we are unable to retain the things we value, then what good are all those possessions, achievements and relations? If we are unable to contain our feeling and emotions which disperse and diffuse our energy, then how can we bring to bear our intended actions?

That’s where Ayurveda comes in: it deals with life as CONTAINER. Let us take a closer look at the meaning of Ayurveda:

ayur = life

veda = science

“Life (ayu) is the combination (samyoga) of body, senses, mind, and reincarnating soul. Ayurveda is the most sacred science of life, beneficial to humans both in this world and the world beyond.” ~ Charaka

According to Ayurveda, your life takes place in the tripod of BODY, BREATH and MIND

The BODY is made of 5 basic elements: EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR, SPACE. These elements have their unique  qualities, locations in the body and aspects of bodily functioning they preside over.

For example: bones are predominantly earth and space element (hard, dry, heavy – form support structure for the body), blood – water and fire (wet, mobile – performs circulation and oxygenation), fat – water (heavy, unctuous – provides lubrication and nourishment), etc.

When we experience any kind of physical discomfort, we can remediate it by balancing the element in our body that is the culprit. This follows the 2 basic tenets of Ayurveda:

Health is Balance

and

Like attracts like, opposites balance

EXAMPLE: dry rough skin is a telltale symptom of too much air element, and would logically be balanced by increasing water element in the body – but not just by drinking water (as your bodily might not be able to “digest” and deliver it to the intended area), but by actually delivering that water to the skin! That can be done by increasing circulation with special yoga postures that yield this particular benefit, and augmented with Ayurvedic self-care ritual of abhyanga (self-massage with medicated oil), as well as eating foods that increase, produce and retain water element in the body. This can further be aided by special pranayama that hydrates you internally, working with 2nd chakra, and meditation on the water via sound, visualization, mantra. In this way, the approach of remediating dry skin is holistic – treating the whole person: body, breath and mind (5 senses + intellect and intuition)! Practicing this way, the result is sustained long-term, avoiding the need to guzzle liquids all day long, which can overload the kidneys (not to mention creating the dependency on having a nearby bathroom 24/7 LOL).

This holistic process can be done for each element, making a yoga practice truly ayurvedic – taking us well beyond the postures for the sake of exercise, but deeper toward a more defined purpose of authentic and sustained health – physical, mental and spiritual.

The physical body is animated by life force energy – prana, which we receive by way of BREATH and which flows through us in 5 major currents (vayus), each carrying its own purpose and function, necessary for our daily living. These currents are also governed by elements, in a more subtle form. They, too, have their designated homes in the body (tissues and systems) and behave much like the elements they are governed by (deeper study of prana vayus and 5 elements is presented in CHILD OF PRANA Method).

The animated body is managed and directed by MIND, which operates in 3 major modes (tamas = inertia, rajas = activity, sattva = balance) – all 3 also subject to influence of 5 elements. Each mental operating mode can be described by the very same qualities that describe the 5 elements! So, mental states, too, can be helped by the same holistic (body+mind+breath) approach that was illustrated in the example above.

So, to sum it up, an ayurvedic yoga practice addresses the CONTEXT of your life – the CONTAINER of BODY, BREATH and MIND by correcting the elemental imbalance in all 3. This is done by cultivating desired qualities within us through asana (for the body), pranayama (breath), meditation and sensory input (mind + senses). Your practice becomes more holistic and … natural. Yes, it increases connection with nature – within and without, so your life can be a beautiful thread in a tapestry of Creation, as you were meant to be.

For more about ayurvedic yoga (and a nice practice you can do on your morning walk), watch the video below. And get inspired to give Ayurvedic Yoga at our Yoga Clinic a try.