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Why Ayurveda Pays Attention to What Makes You Feel Better (and Worse)

Have you ever noticed that a particular kind of food makes you feel uncomfortable, leaves you feeling heavy while something else seems easy and light to your stomach? Or that a certain activity makes a recurring ache worse, even though you cannot quite explain why? We usually treat these observations as little things. We notice them, make a mental note and move on. But in Ayurveda, they can be important clues. There is a concept called Upashaya, which describes the relief experienced through certain foods or activities. Its counterpart, Anupashaya, refers to factors that aggravate a condition rather than relieve it. What I find interesting about this idea is that Ayurveda does not look only at what a person is experiencing. It also pays attention to how the person responds to different things. And that tells us something about how the Ayurvedic approach to diagnosis works. A symptom is only one part of the picture Imagine two people who both complain of abdominal discomfort. The symptom sounds similar, but the reasons behind it may be quite different. One person’s discomfort might be associated with certain eating habits. Another person’s symptoms may have a different underlying pattern altogether. Simply knowing that both people experience discomfort does not tell us enough. A physician needs to understand the circumstances in which the symptom appears, what makes it worse, what seems to relieve it and how the condition has developed over time. This is where Upashaya becomes useful. In the Charaka Samhita, the understanding of a disease is built through five important aspects, collectively known as Nidana Panchaka: Nidana: The causes or factors responsible for the condition. Purvarupa: The early signs that appear before the disease becomes fully developed. Rupa: The symptoms and signs of the disease. Upashaya: Factors that bring relief and help clarify the condition. Samprapti: The process through which the disease develops. Notice that Upashaya is included alongside the causes, early signs and symptoms. Relief is not treated as an incidental observation. It is one of the things that can help a physician understand what is happening. What exactly is Upashaya? The word Upashaya is generally understood in the context of relief or pacification. In Charaka Samhita, Nidana Sthana, Chapter 1, Verse 10, Upashaya is explained through the use of three broad things: Aushadha (medicines), Ahara (food) and Vihara (activities or lifestyle practices). The important point is that these factors may bring relief by working against the cause of a condition, the condition itself, or through an indirect effect. For example, imagine a person whose discomfort is aggravated by cold exposure and seems to improve with appropriate warmth. That response may offer a clue about the nature of the condition. It does not automatically establish a diagnosis. It becomes one piece of information that the physician considers alongside everything else. And this is important: Upashaya is not simply about finding something that makes a person feel better. It is also about understanding why that particular intervention might be helping. And what happens when something makes it worse? This brings us to Anupashaya. If Upashaya refers to relief, Anupashaya describes the opposite: a factor that aggravates symptoms or makes a condition less comfortable. The Ashtanga Hridayam, Nidana Sthana, Chapter 1, discusses this relationship between factors that provide relief and those that aggravate a condition. Think about how differently people respond to the same activity. Something that feels comfortable for one person may make another person’s symptoms worse. Even within the same person, the response may change depending on the condition and its stage. This is why a physician may ask questions beyond the usual description of symptoms: Does the discomfort increase after a particular activity? Does it settle with rest? Does a certain kind of food seem to aggravate it? Has anything consistently made it better? These questions help build a more complete picture. The response to an intervention is not always straightforward, either. Something may offer temporary relief without addressing the underlying problem. That distinction matters. Relief can help distinguish conditions that look similar One of the most interesting uses of Upashaya is in understanding conditions that present with similar symptoms. Two disorders may appear alike at first. Their symptoms may overlap, and simply looking at them may not be enough to distinguish one from the other. But the way they respond to certain factors may be different. This gives the physician another way to investigate the condition. Instead of relying only on the symptoms themselves, they can consider the response to carefully selected interventions. It is a little like gathering additional clues. One observation may not tell you the whole story, but several observations, considered together, can make the picture clearer. This also explains why Ayurveda places importance on taking a detailed history. The questions a physician asks are not just formalities. They help establish patterns that may otherwise go unnoticed. Why this way of observing the body still matters We live in a time when it is easy to look up a symptom online and find a list of possible explanations. We also tend to look for quick solutions: something to stop the discomfort, something to make the symptom disappear. But relief and understanding are not necessarily the same thing. A symptom becoming less noticeable does not always mean that its cause has been addressed. Similarly, a temporary response to a food, medicine or activity should not be treated as proof of a particular diagnosis. The concept of Upashaya reminds us that the body’s responses deserve attention. What happens before a symptom appears, what changes it and what follows after an intervention can all be useful information. Of course, this does not mean experimenting with medicines or deliberately exposing yourself to things that worsen your symptoms. These… Continue reading Why Ayurveda Pays Attention to What Makes You Feel Better (and Worse)

Are We Overstimulating Our Senses? What Ayurveda Says About the Five Senses

Think about how you started your day today. Did you reach for your phone the moment you woke up? Did you listen to music while getting ready, check your messages while having breakfast, and spend the rest of the morning looking at one screen or another? By the time the day is over, you’ve probably seen hundreds of images, heard countless sounds, tasted different things, touched dozens of objects and taken in more information than you can remember. We don’t usually think twice about any of this. Our senses are constantly working, and we’ve become so accustomed to stimulation that silence or doing absolutely nothing can sometimes feel uncomfortable. But have you ever wondered whether the way we use our senses has anything to do with our health? Interestingly, Ayurveda explored this question through a concept called Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga. It refers to how the way we interact and perceive things with our sense organs affects our overall health. It also discusses what happens when we use them too little or in the wrong way. Let’s understand this. What is Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga? The term is made up of four words: Asatmya: Unsuitable or incompatible Indriya: Sense organs Artha: Objects or subjects of perception Samyoga: Contact or association Together, Asatmya Indriyartha Samyoga refers to an unsuitable or improper interaction between our sense organs and their respective objects. In Charaka Samhita, Acharya Charaka discusses this in the eleventh chapter of Sutrasthana, where he identifies it as one of the three fundamental causes of disease. But what makes this concept particularly interesting is that it is divided into three forms: Atiyoga: Excessive use Ayoga: Insufficient or lack of use Mithyayoga: Improper use Let’s look at what each of these means. Atiyoga: When we use our senses excessively Atiyoga refers to excessive use of our sense organs. And honestly, this is something we can relate to quite easily today. Think about your eyes. Most of us spend a considerable part of our day looking at screens. We move from our laptops to our phones, from our phones to televisions, and sometimes back to our laptops again. It is clearly an example of Atiyoga of the eyes. Similarly, listening to excessively loud sounds and repeatedly exposing the sense of smell to very strong odours are described as forms of excessive sensory use. The idea is that even something our senses are naturally meant to experience can become unsuitable when the exposure is excessive. It isn’t necessarily about avoiding these experiences altogether. It is about recognising that our senses also have limits. Ayoga: When we don’t use our senses enough Now, this is something we don’t usually think about. Ayoga refers to insufficient use or the complete absence of appropriate engagement with the sense organs. For instance, Charaka describes not seeing anything at all as an example of Ayoga of the sense of vision. Similarly, not hearing or smelling anything represents insufficient engagement with those respective senses. Think about how different our experiences would be if we completely stopped engaging with the world around us. We need our senses to interact with our surroundings, recognise things, experience our environment and respond to what is happening around us. So the discussion isn’t simply about reducing sensory stimulation. It is about maintaining an appropriate relationship with the things our senses are meant to experience. Mithyayoga: When we use our senses improperly This is perhaps the most interesting of the three. Mithyayoga refers to the improper or unsuitable use of the sense organs. It isn’t necessarily about using them too much or too little. It is about the nature of the experience itself. For the eyes, looking at objects that are excessively close or far away, or repeatedly exposing oneself to disturbing and frightening sights, are discussed as improper sensory experiences. For hearing, listening to harsh, frightening or unpleasant sounds is described as Mithyayoga. Similarly, exposure to unpleasant or harmful smells is discussed under the improper use of the sense of smell. When you look at these examples, you realise that Ayurveda wasn’t only concerned with how much sensory stimulation we experience. It also considered what kind of stimulation we expose ourselves to. What about taste and touch? Of course, Ayurveda doesn’t stop with sight, sound and smell. It also discusses the senses of taste and touch. Food isn’t just something we consume to satisfy hunger. Taste is one of the ways we experience it. And Ayurveda considers the relationship between taste, food and the individual an important part of understanding nourishment. Then comes touch. Charaka discusses excessive exposure to extremely hot or cold sensations as Atiyoga, while inappropriate contact with objects or environments is considered Mithyayoga. So, when you look at all five senses together, the underlying idea becomes clearer. Ayurveda considers not just what we experience through our senses, but also the frequency, intensity and nature of that experience. Why does this matter today? We live in a world where constant stimulation has become completely normal. There is always something to watch, something to listen to, something to read or something to respond to. Even when we are eating, travelling or simply sitting alone, we often look for something to occupy our attention. Think about the last time you sat in a room without music, television or your phone. Did you feel comfortable, or did you immediately feel the need to reach for something? We rarely give ourselves the opportunity to experience our surroundings without constantly adding something to them. Are we constantly exposing our eyes to intense stimulation? Do we ever give ourselves a break from noise? Are we mindful of the sounds, sights and experiences we allow into our… Continue reading Are We Overstimulating Our Senses? What Ayurveda Says About the Five Senses

Why Ayurveda Considers Mental Health Part of Physical Health: Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

Have you ever noticed how your body reacts when you’re going through a particularly stressful period? You might find yourself sleeping poorly, losing your appetite, experiencing headaches or feeling unusually tired. Sometimes, even a perfectly normal day can feel physically exhausting when your mind isn’t in the right place. And it works the other way around too. When you’re unwell, physically exhausted or dealing with persistent discomfort, your mood and ability to think clearly can take a hit. We often talk about physical health and mental health as though they are two completely separate things. We have one set of habits for keeping our bodies healthy and another for taking care of our minds. But Ayurveda approaches this relationship quite differently. In fact, the Ayurvedic texts consider the body and mind so closely connected that understanding one without considering the other gives us only part of the picture. Let’s understand how. Does Ayurveda consider the mind and body separate? In Charaka Samhita, Acharya Charaka explains that life is not simply the existence of a physical body. It is a combination of four essential components: Sharira, Indriya, Sattva and Atma. These refer to the body, sense organs, mind and soul. This is an important distinction because the mind isn’t treated as something separate from the functioning of the human being. It is one of the fundamental components that make up our existence. Charaka also explains that the body and mind are both important sites of health and disease. In other words, physical disturbances can affect the mind, and disturbances of the mind can influence the body. Think about it. A person experiencing prolonged emotional distress may notice changes in their appetite, sleep, energy levels and physical comfort. Similarly, someone dealing with a long-term physical illness may experience anxiety, frustration, sadness or emotional exhaustion. This relationship between the two is something Ayurveda recognised as an important part of understanding health. The two types of Doshas Now, this is where the Ayurvedic explanation becomes particularly interesting. Most people are familiar with the three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These are known as the Sharirika Doshas, or the bodily Doshas, and are associated with the regulation of different physiological functions. But Ayurveda also describes another set of factors that influence the mind. These are called the Manasika Doshas, namely Rajas and Tamas. Unlike Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which are associated with the physical body, Rajas and Tamas are considered the factors responsible for disturbances in the mind. Let’s understand what they mean. Rajas: The quality of activity and movement Rajas is associated with activity, stimulation, movement and passion. It is what drives the mind towards action, desires, ambitions and attachments. In its balanced expression, activity and motivation are necessary for everyday functioning. We need to be interested in things, pursue our goals and engage with the world around us. But when Rajas becomes excessive, the mind may become restless, agitated and constantly occupied. Think about those days when your mind simply refuses to slow down. You keep thinking about unfinished work, worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, jumping from one thought to another and finding it difficult to sit quietly. You might be physically exhausted, but mentally, you feel as though you haven’t stopped moving. This is the kind of excessive activity associated with Rajas. Tamas: The quality of inertia and heaviness Tamas is associated with heaviness, inertia, darkness and inactivity. It is important to understand that Tamas isn’t inherently bad. A certain degree of rest, stability and inactivity is necessary for life. However, when Tamas becomes dominant, it can interfere with the normal functioning of the mind. Think about the feeling of being mentally stuck. You know there are things you need to do, but you cannot seem to gather the motivation to begin. You feel unusually dull, disconnected or uninterested in things that would normally engage you. This excessive inertia is associated with Tamas. And what about Sattva? While Rajas and Tamas are considered the Manasika Doshas, Ayurveda describes Sattva as the quality associated with clarity, balance and knowledge. A mind in which Sattva is predominant is described as being more stable, clear and capable of understanding things without being excessively influenced by agitation or inertia. This is why Sattva is considered particularly important in the Ayurvedic understanding of mental well-being. The idea isn’t to eliminate activity or rest from our lives. Both are necessary. It is about maintaining a state in which neither excessive agitation nor excessive inertia takes over the mind. Can the mind influence the physical body? Absolutely. Charaka explains that the body follows the mind, and the mind follows the body. Think about what happens when you’re constantly worried about something. You might find yourself sleeping less, eating irregularly or experiencing changes in your daily routine. Over time, these changes can affect your physical well-being too. Similarly, prolonged emotional distress can influence how we experience physical discomfort and how well we cope with illness. The reverse is equally important. Someone dealing with chronic pain, persistent digestive problems or a long-term illness may find that their mental well-being is affected by the physical condition. This is why treating the body without considering the person’s mental state, or discussing mental well-being without considering physical health, can leave important aspects of the person’s experience unaddressed. So, how does Ayurveda approach mental well-being? The classical texts discuss several approaches to maintaining and supporting mental health. One particularly interesting concept is Satvavajaya Chikitsa. It is described as one of the approaches to treatment in Ayurveda and involves regulating the mind by helping a person withdraw from or redirect their attention away… Continue reading Why Ayurveda Considers Mental Health Part of Physical Health: Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

What is Agni and Why Every Disease Starts Here?

Once you start understanding Ayurveda and spend enough time studying it, you will slowly realize that almost every chronic disease somehow comes back to one thing: Agni. Even if you are completely new to Ayurveda, you have probably heard this word before. Most people know Agni as “digestive fire.” Something related to the stomach. Something related to appetite. Something related to food. But it is much bigger than that. Agni is transformation itself. This is the simplest way to understand it. The food we eat must transform into energy. Energy must transform into tissues. Tissues must transform into strength, immunity, and vitality. This entire process depends on Agni. And when this transformation starts becoming weak, disturbed, irregular, or excessive, disease slowly begins developing over time. Ayurveda gives Agni such importance because digestion is not just about comfort after meals. It is about the body’s ability to process everything it receives. If food is not properly transformed, it does not become proper nourishment. Instead, it can remain partially digested and create strain in the system. Over time, this can weaken the tissues, disturb the doshas, and reduce vitality. And honestly, many times the disturbance starts much before reports become abnormal. The body always gives signals first. Loss of appetite. Bloating. Brain fog. Heaviness. Fatigue. Coated tongue. Irregular bowel movements. In Ayurveda, we do not ignore these small signs because these are often the earliest indications that Agni is struggling. Ama. Ama is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Ayurveda. People often translate Ama simply as “toxins.” But honestly, Ama is much more complex than that. Ama is anything that the body could not properly digest, process, or eliminate. Improperly digested food can become Ama. Poor lifestyle habits can contribute to Ama. Even unresolved emotions and chronic stress can create imbalance in the system. Ayurveda describes Ama as: heavy, sticky, obstructive, clouding. And clinically, this description makes a lot of sense. When digestion weakens, the body slowly loses efficiency. Channels become blocked. Inflammation increases. Metabolism slows down. Energy decreases. Tissues stop functioning optimally. Then disease begins expressing itself differently in different people. In one person it may become a skin disorder. In another, hormonal imbalance. In someone else, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, joint pain, or metabolic disorders. The disease names may change. But internally, disturbed Agni and Ama are often present somewhere in the background. This is one reason Ayurveda places so much importance on digestion. One thing I find fascinating is that Ayurveda does not see digestion as only stomach digestion. Even the mind digests. Have you noticed how stress affects your stomach? How anxiety changes appetite? How grief can make digestion weak? That is not a coincidence, it is Agni at work. Ayurveda recognised this long before we had the words “gut-brain axis.” Vagbhata, in the Nidana Sthana of Ashtanga Hridaya, says that all diseases arise from impaired Agni. All of them. Not some. Not a few. All. Which means something very important. If we keep chasing the disease name and ignore Agni, we are only managing what is visible. The root is still sitting there. This is why we built the Agni Awakening Programme For the last fifteen years, I have been treating patients across the world. And the pattern is the same. People come with different diagnoses. High cholesterol. Insulin resistance. High HbA1c. Hormonal issues. Skin problems. Fatigue. But when we sit down and actually look, the story underneath is almost always Agni. So we stopped treating it as an add-on. We built an entire three-month programme around it. What the programme is? The Agni Awakening Programme is a three-month, physician-led Ayurvedic programme. I want to emphasize, it is not a detox, not a quick reset. Because Agni does not break in a weekend, and it does not heal in one. What happens inside it? First, we assess you. A full consultation. Your constitution, your digestion, your sleep, your routine, your reports. We identify which state your Agni is in, because that decides everything that follows. Second, we correct with food. This is the heart of the programme. Food is the first medicine in Ayurveda, and in our programme it is not an afterthought. We advise food-based medicines, meal timing, what to eat, what to avoid, and how to eat. When you correct this much with food, your dependence on medicines becomes much lesser. Third, we rebuild your routine and sleep. Agni follows rhythm. Irregular meals, late nights and constant stress put out the fire faster than any food ever will. So we work on your daily routine, your sleep and your lifestyle, step by step, in a way you can actually keep doing. Because anything you cannot sustain will not heal you. Fourth, where needed, we use Ayurvedic therapies. This is where procedures like Virechana and Panchakarma come in. Please understand this clearly. They are not given to everyone. They are given when your assessment says you need them. Virechana is a medical procedure. It is not a laxative and it is not a cleanse. It needs preparation before and a careful return to food after, and certain conditions, including pregnancy, are classical contraindications. If someone offers you panchakarma without first assessing you, walk away. Fifth, we follow you through it. Three months means three months of guidance, not a plan handed over on day one and forgotten. I will not tell you the programme cures disease. When patients with high cholesterol, high fasting sugar and high HbA1c improve, it is not one… Continue reading What is Agni and Why Every Disease Starts Here?

Understanding Ayurveda: A Way of Looking at Health

One of the things I find interesting about Ayurveda is that it doesn’t begin and end with the question of what is wrong with the body. It also asks what it means for the body to function well, what helps maintain that state, and how the way we live influences our health. This might seem like an obvious distinction, but it changes the way we approach the subject. We are accustomed to thinking about health in terms of symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments. Ayurveda, while certainly concerned with the treatment of disease, also places considerable emphasis on preserving health before illness develops. This is not a new idea in medicine, of course. But in Ayurveda, the maintenance of health is the very foundation of the system. The word Ayurveda comes from two Sanskrit words Ayus, meaning life or lifespan, and Veda, meaning knowledge. It is translated as the science of life. What I find significant about this definition is its breadth. Ayurveda is not concerned exclusively with disease or the human body as an isolated biological structure. It considers the conditions that support a life of health and well-being. To understand this approach, it helps to look at the principles on which Ayurveda is built. According to Ayurveda, the human being was never understood as entirely separate from nature. The body is made up of the same fundamental elements that exist in the world around us. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the environment we live in are not external to our experience of health. They are constantly interacting with us. And perhaps this is why Ayurveda places so much importance on paying attention to the world around us. Our bodies do not exist in a vacuum. They respond to changes in temperature, seasons, food habits, activity, rest, and countless other things that we may not always notice. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every change in our health can be explained by our surroundings, or that we can resolve every problem by changing our lifestyle. But it does remind us that health is influenced by more than just the part of the body where a symptom appears. Another thing I find interesting is that Ayurveda doesn’t assume the same approach will work for everyone. We often look for universal solutions. The same diet, the same routine, the same supplement, the same advice, hoping that what worked for someone else will work just as well for us. Ayurveda encourages a more individualized way of looking at things. Two people might experience similar symptoms but have different underlying patterns, habits, and needs. Their constitutions, digestion, sleep, and responses to their environments may differ. So, while the symptom itself matters, understanding the person experiencing it matters too. This is where the classical concepts of Dosha, Dhatu, Mala, and Agni come into the picture. These are not simply terms to memorise or labels to assign to ourselves. They belong to a larger framework through which Ayurveda understands the functioning of the body. Each concept describes a different aspect of that functioning, but none of them can be understood entirely in isolation. And that, to me, is an important distinction. Learning a few Ayurvedic terms or identifying our Prakriti does not necessarily mean we understand Ayurveda. The concepts begin to make more sense when we understand how they relate to one another and how they fit into the broader principles of the system. The same applies to the way Ayurveda understands food and medicine. We often reduce a substance to a single quality: this food is good for you, that herb is beneficial, or this ingredient is something you should avoid. But Ayurveda considers several aspects when understanding how a substance may act on the body. Its taste, qualities, potency, and the changes it undergoes after digestion all contribute to that understanding. Some effects are also described as specific to a substance and not fully explained by those other properties alone. This is why simply memorizing that a particular herb is used for a particular condition can give us an incomplete understanding. The more interesting question is why it is used, in what context, and for whom. Ayurveda offers a way to think through these questions rather than treating every ingredient as though it has the same effect on every person. I also think it is worth paying attention to Ayurveda’s emphasis on prevention. A lot of our conversations around health begin only when something goes wrong. We look for a diagnosis, a treatment, or a way to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Ayurveda, however, also places importance on the ordinary things we do before illness develops: our daily habits, our relationship with food and rest, and the adjustments we make as our circumstances change. There is something quite practical about this idea. We may not be able to control every aspect of our health, but we can become more attentive to our habits and to the ways our bodies respond to them. Rather than following a routine simply because it is popular, we can begin by asking whether it suits our circumstances and whether it is actually helping us. At the same time, understanding Ayurveda does not mean accepting every traditional claim without question. Its concepts belong to a particular philosophical and medical tradition, and they should be understood in that context. Where claims concern the treatment or prevention of disease, they also need to be evaluated carefully against appropriate scientific evidence. Respecting a tradition and examining its claims critically are not mutually exclusive. For me, the most useful way to approach Ayurveda is to look beyond the individual remedies, routines, and recommendations we encounter so often. Those things may introduce us to the subject, but they are only one part of it. The principles behind them are what help us understand how the… Continue reading Understanding Ayurveda: A Way of Looking at Health

Maybe It Is Not Just What You Eat, But How Much

We have become very good at asking what we should eat. What is the healthiest breakfast? Which oil should we use? Is rice better than roti? Should we have more protein? What should we eat for good digestion? There is always another food to add, remove, replace or worry about. But there is one much simpler question that often gets lost: how much are you actually eating? Ayurveda has been asking this question for a very long time. In the Matrashiteeya chapter of the Charaka Samhita, the discussion begins with something remarkably straightforward: matrashī syāt, essentially, one should eat in the right quantity. And then comes the important part that quantity is not exactly the same for everyone. It depends on the strength of one’s digestion. That immediately makes the conversation about food a little more interesting. Because we often speak about food as though the food itself is the whole story. We label something “light” or “heavy” and assume that its effect will be the same every time we eat it. But even foods considered naturally light or heavy still depend on quantity. Something that is generally easy to digest can become difficult when eaten in excess, while a heavier food may be manageable in an appropriate amount depending on the person’s digestive capacity. In other words, there is no point in asking only, “Is this food healthy?” without also asking, “Is this the right amount for me, at this time?” Eat according to the proper measure; the proper measure of food depends on the strength of digestion. It sounds almost obvious when you hear it, but think about how rarely we actually apply this idea. We eat because it is lunchtime even when we are not hungry. We continue eating because the food tastes good even after we are full. We finish everything on the plate because that is what we were taught to do. We order more because we are out with friends. Sometimes we eat very little all day and then compensate with a huge dinner because we are exhausted and starving. The food may not necessarily be the problem. Sometimes it is simply the relationship we have with quantity. The chapter makes another interesting distinction between foods that are naturally lighter and those that are naturally heavier. It mentions foods such as rice, green gram and certain meats among the lighter foods, while describing things such as preparations made from flour, sesame, black gram, milk and certain meats like fish as heavier. But even here, food is not reduced to a simple good-food versus bad-food list. It repeatedly brings the discussion back to quantity and digestive strength. This is important because the idea is not to become afraid of foods that are described as heavy. It is to understand that the same food can behave differently depending on how much of it you eat, how strong your digestion is and what else is happening in your body. You do not have to create a permanent list of foods you are “allowed” to eat and foods you are not. You can instead become more attentive to what happens after you eat. Do you feel comfortable? Does the meal digest without leaving you excessively heavy or sluggish? Are you hungry again at an appropriate time? Do you feel energised or do you feel like you need to lie down immediately? These observations are not meant to turn eating into another thing to obsess over. They are simply a way of becoming familiar with your own body. The appropriate quantity of food often supports one’s strength, complexion, comfort and longevity. That is quite different from the way we often talk about food today, where every meal can start to feel like a calculation of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats and restrictions. Ayurveda’s concern here is much more functional: what does this food, in this amount, do to the person eating it? And it does not just stop with food. Health is maintained through small acts of care repeated regularly. Take something as ordinary as brushing the teeth. Your body is something you maintain, not something you only attend to when something goes wrong. We have a strange relationship with self-care today. We can spend hundreds of rupees on a product marketed as a “self-care essential” and still forget the basics. We can have a complicated skincare routine but sleep four hours. We can buy supplements while eating at completely irregular times. We can spend an hour researching the perfect shampoo and then ignore the fact that we are exhausted all week. Sometimes care becomes another form of consumption instead of something we actually practise. The Matrashiteeya chapter offers a much quieter idea of care. Eat in the right quantity. Keep yourself clean. Take care of the senses. Pay attention to the body. Maintain routines. Do things regularly rather than waiting until a problem becomes severe. There is a sense of maintenance rather than constant correction. And perhaps that is the part of this chapter that feels most relevant now. Eating when we are actually hungry. Stopping before we have eaten far beyond what we need. Paying attention to how a meal makes us feel instead of blindly following a food trend. Keeping our bodies clean. Taking a few minutes to care for our skin, hair, feet and senses. Giving the body enough rest. Building routines that are sustainable rather than impressive for a week. There is also something important in the way the chapter describes the body: almost as something that deserves regular attention and respect. Maybe that is what we miss when we reduce healthy living to individual foods and isolated habits. Because sometimes the most useful change is not finding a better food. It is learning when enough is enough. Health does not always come from… Continue reading Maybe It Is Not Just What You Eat, But How Much

Dinacharya in Ayurveda: The Art of Living in Rhythm With Your Body

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Dinacharya? You might think the words morning routine, right? And what does your morning routine include? Waking up early, brushing your teeth, scraping your tongue, drinking warm water, exercising, meditating, and perhaps some oil pulling. Then you begin your day feeling particularly disciplined. Yes, some of these practices are indeed part of the Ayurvedic approach to daily living, but Dinacharya is much bigger than this list of things that we do. It extends far beyond waking up and going to bed. Even the way we eat, the timing of our meals and the way food is prepared can influence how we experience our day-to-day health. I recently spoke about some of these in my new YouTube video, “5 Ayurvedic Eating Habits I Wish Everyone Knew | Part 1.” If you want to understand how everyday eating habits can be approached, I go into this in much more detail there. [Watch: 5 Ayurvedic Eating Habits I Wish Everyone Knew | Part 1] Ashtanga Hridayam has an entire chapter dedicated to Dinacharya, and Vagbhata begins the chapter with a very simple instruction: “Brahme muhurte uttishthēt.” Wake up during Brahma Muhurta. Now, what exactly is Brahma Muhurta? A Muhurta is a traditional unit of time, approximately 48 minutes. Brahma Muhurta refers to the period before sunrise, traditionally beginning two Muhurtas, or approximately 96 minutes, before sunrise and lasting for about 48 minutes. So, depending on the time of sunrise, it generally falls somewhere around 1.5 hours before sunrise. And there is a reason Ayurveda places such importance on this particular window. This is considered a time dominated by Vata, the Dosha associated with movement, lightness and subtle activity. It is the transition between night and day. The environment is quieter, there is less sensory stimulation, and the mind is considered to be more receptive and clear. The chapter then talks about Danta Dhavana, using twigs from specific trees like Arka, Nyagrodha, Khadira, and Karanja, chosen for tastes that are Kashaya (astringent), Katu (pungent), or Tikta (bitter). And it specifically mentions cleaning your teeth without hurting the gums, “dantamaamsaanyabaadhayan.” It’s such a small detail, but it tells you something important about how nothing is too minor to matter. Even your mouth, the very first point of contact between you and your food, gets its own careful instruction. The body is made up of all these small things, and the way you care for them every day eventually becomes part of your overall health. From Danta Dhavana, the text moves into Anjana, or the care of the eyes. Vagbhata recommends Sauviranjana as a daily practice for the eyes and mentions Rasanjana at intervals for cleansing. Again, what stands out to me is the attention to detail. The eyes are not treated as something separate from the rest of the body. They are another part of the body that needs regular care. And when you think about how much of our day today is spent looking at screens, this idea of simply paying attention to the condition of our eyes feels particularly relevant. Then comes Nasya, Gandusha, and Dhoomapana, with the use of Tambula. These practices belong to a very different medical context, and they should not simply be copied into a morning routine without understanding who they are intended for and under what circumstances. But what is interesting, and what I want to point out here, is how comprehensive the total idea of daily care was. From the mouth, nose, eyes, skin, the head, and all the senses, everything had a place in Dinacharya. There was an understanding that health was made up of all these systems that need to be cared for continuously. It was not about waiting for something to go wrong and then addressing it. And then we come to Abhyanga, which is one of the most recognisable practices today. Vagbhata says, “Abhyangam acharet nityam.” He recommended regular oiling of the body, emphasising particularly on the head, ears, and feet, and describing benefits related to the skin, vitality, strength and sleep. I have also made a detailed video about Abhyanga, if you wish to understand the practice in more detail. [Watch the video here.] Then finally comes Vyayama, or exercise. Exercise that is appropriate can bring lightness to the body, improve our capacity for work, support digestion and help reduce excess fat. But we must understand that exercise is not the same for everybody, and it is certainly not meant to be excessive. Vagbhata actually gives detailed instructions about who should exercise, how much they should exercise and when exercise should be avoided. He says that exercise should be done up to approximately half of one’s capacity, rather than pushing the body beyond what it can comfortably tolerate. And I think this is an important distinction. And Dinacharya doesn’t just stop with the physical body. This is where I find the chapter particularly interesting, because Vagbhata gradually moves from taking care of your body to how you conduct yourself. He speaks about using words that are truthful, measured and pleasant: “Kāle hitam mitam brūyād avisaṃvādi peśalam.” Speak at the right time. Speak what is beneficial, measured, truthful and pleasant. He speaks about compassion, generosity, humility and how we should conduct ourselves even when dealing with people who may not treat us well in return. And this tells us something important about what Ayurveda actually meant by health. It was never only about physical health. The way you conduct yourself is also part of your well-being. The way you speak, the way you behave, the conflicts that you create, the anger you hold on to, and the way you treat other people all become part of the environment in which your body and mind have… Continue reading Dinacharya in Ayurveda: The Art of Living in Rhythm With Your Body

Satva, Rajas and Tamas: The Three Forces Behind How We Think and Act

When we look at something that already exists, we tend to focus on what we can see. To us, in our mind, a book is a book, a building is a building and a person is a person. But let us go a little deeper, what made that thing come into existence in the first place? What happened before we could see the finished form? What allowed an idea to become reality? According to the Ayurvedic understanding of nature, three fundamental qualities are involved in this process: Satva, Rajas and Tamas. These are not substances in the ordinary physical sense. They are the principles that influence how things are conceived, developed, organised and eventually brought into a definite form. They also influence how we think, respond to situations and behave. From an idea to something real Think about something as simple as a printed page. Before the page existed, someone first had an idea. They imagined that information could be communicated through a page. Then came the practical process where the paper had to be selected, its size had to be decided, the text had to be organized and the printing process had to be worked out. Only then could the page actually be produced. This can be understood through the three qualities. Satva is associated with clarity, awareness and the emergence of an idea. Rajas is associated with activity, movement and the effort required to bring that idea into action. Tamas provides stability, limitation and resistance to further alternatives. It allows something to settle into a definite form. All three have a role. An idea without action remains an idea while an action without direction becomes scattered and without some form of limitation or stability, nothing is ever finalised. This principle can be observed everywhere, from something as simple as making a page to something as complex as the development of a living being. Satva, Rajas and Tamas in the mind Ayurveda extends this idea beyond the physical world and applies it to Manas, or the mind. Every person has Satva, Rajas and Tamas in relative dominance. This explains us why two people can experience exactly the same situation but respond to it completely differently. This is where understanding the predominance of Satva, Rajas and Tamas becomes important. The Satva-dominant mind A person in whom Satva is more prominent tends to be curious, observant and interested in understanding things. They want to know why something happened. If they fall ill, they may want to understand the cause, the relationship between their habits and their symptoms, and what they can do to improve their situation. They may also be better able to remain composed during difficult circumstances. Instead of immediately reacting, they tend to step back, understand what is happening and work towards a solution. This does not mean that a Satva-dominant person does not experience pain, fear or distress. Rather, their ability to understand and process the situation can influence how they respond to it. The Rajas-dominant mind Rajas is associated with movement, activity and constant engagement. A Rajas-dominant person may be more expressive about both pleasure and discomfort. They may actively seek experiences, stimulation and reassurance. If something happens to them, they may not necessarily be interested in understanding the deeper cause immediately. What they often need first is clear guidance and reassurance. Once they feel confident about the course of action, they may be able to move forward. Their mind is active and constantly responding to what is happening around them. The Tamas-dominant mind Tamas is associated with resistance, confusion and difficulty in moving forward. A Tamas-dominant person may struggle to understand or accept what is happening around them. When they are facing a difficult situation, fear and apprehension may become stronger. They may repeatedly question advice, seek opinions from several people and still find it difficult to make a decision. Even with the outcome seeming clear, they may find it difficult to take a first step. This is also why the same advice might not help every person, as they might not react to it in a similar way. Why this matters in Ayurveda For Ayurveda, treating a person is not limited to identifying physical symptoms. The way a person perceives, expresses and responds to those symptoms also matters. Let us take an example, someone may experience severe pain but barely express it while there is another person who may express relatively mild pain very dramatically. Someone else may not even understand that their symptoms require attention. Now, the individual’s mental state might affect the way they communicate or show signs to understand about their condition. If a practitioner judges the severity of a condition only by outward expression, there is a possibility of misunderstanding the situation. Ayurveda’s understanding of Satva, Rajas and Tamas also highlights something that is often overlooked in modern conversations about health. Two people can have similar physical circumstances but very different experiences of illness. Our perception, emotional response, understanding and behaviour can influence how we deal with what is happening to us. This does not mean that mental qualities magically determine whether someone will recover. Nor does it mean that a person’s illness is simply a result of their mindset. Rather, the Ayurvedic framework recognises that the mind is part of the individual’s overall experience and therefore deserves attention during care. Three qualities, one constantly changing mind Satva, Rajas and Tamas should not be understood as three permanent personality categories. They are present in everyone, in different proportions, and can change depending on circumstances. A person may be calm and thoughtful in one situation, highly restless in another and completely withdrawn in a third. The important… Continue reading Satva, Rajas and Tamas: The Three Forces Behind How We Think and Act

Ama: When Digestion Is Incomplete

After you have had your meal, there might be times when you feel heavy. It is not exactly tiredness, but you do not feel nourished either. Your head feels foggy, there is a discomfort you cannot quite ignore, and yet it is not severe enough to feel like something is seriously wrong. There may also be a feeling that you have not experienced complete satisfaction from the meal. It is almost as though something inside you is saying that the process is not finished, that the job has not been completed. Today, we are going to talk about one of the widely spoken-about concepts in Ayurveda: Ama. When the accumulation of Ama is greater, it can give rise to a condition described as Amadosha. To understand Ama, we have to go back to something we have spoken about before: Agni, our digestive fire. What Is Ama? Ashtanga Hridayam describes this state directly. When the digestive strength is low, the very first tissue formed from food, which remains undigested, becomes vitiated and gets lodged in the stomach as unprocessed matter. This is described as Ama. When Agni is working the way it should, the food we consume gets properly digested, absorbed, and converted into Rasa Dhatu, the first and most essential tissue our body produces after digestion. But when Agni is weak, this conversion does not happen cleanly. Your food is not entirely digested, but it is not entirely rejected either. Some of it remains half-processed, turning into something called Ama. Ama is not exactly food. It is not waste either. It is something caught in between the two, the result of incomplete digestion and improper transformation. What Causes Ama? One of the causes is eating more than what your hunger can accommodate. Ayurveda describes this as atimātrā āhāra, or consuming food in excessive quantity. When food is consumed in a quantity greater than what the digestive capacity can handle, it places a burden on Agni. This can lead to the aggravation of all three doshas and interfere with proper digestion. But it is not exactly about quantity alone. The nature of the food also matters. Food that is heavy, dry, or cold can contribute to the formation of ama, even when it is eaten in a reasonable amount. And it is not just about food. Your lifestyle, mental strain, and the mental state you carry throughout the day can also contribute. When your digestive capacity is compromised, even food that you consider light or harmless may not be processed properly. When Agni is weak, food does not necessarily provide the nourishment your body requires. Instead, according to the Ayurvedic understanding of ama, incompletely processed material can behave like a slow-acting poison within the body. What Happens When Ama Interacts With the Doshas? As this undigested or improperly processed material interacts with the doshas, its effects can vary depending on how the body responds. It may become trapped and cause a condition described in Ayurveda as Alasaka. Or it may be expelled violently from the body, which is described as Vishoochika. Either way, the body is signalling that something has gone wrong in the process of digestion and assimilation. The manifestation can also differ depending on which dosha is involved. When Pitta is involved, you may see signs such as a burning sensation, excessive thirst, and disturbances in the mouth, reflecting more heat-related expressions. When Kapha is involved, it can manifest differently, with congestion-type conditions, urinary disorders, and other Kapha-dominant patterns. This is why Ayurveda does not look at digestion as simply a matter of what you eat. It considers the strength of Agni, the nature and quantity of food, the timing of meals, lifestyle, mental state, and the condition of the doshas together. Ama, in this sense, is not simply about having eaten something unhealthy. It is about what happens when the body is unable to properly process what it has received. What Are the General Properties of Ama? Ayurveda describes Ama as having certain characteristic properties. It is guru, meaning heavy and difficult to digest. It is drava, meaning it has a liquid nature. It is aneka-varṇa, meaning it can present in different colours. And it is picchila, meaning slimy or sticky in nature. The symptoms associated with ama are often the kind most of us have experienced at some point. There may be a sense of blockage or obstruction, general exhaustion, heaviness in the head, dizziness, stiffness in the back and hips, unusual thirst, and that general feeling that whatever you eat is simply not sitting right. Individually, none of these symptoms may seem particularly alarming. But when several of them appear together, they can indicate that something is not functioning properly within the digestive system. The answer is not always to simply eat less, eliminate one particular food, or ignore the discomfort and wait for it to disappear. Ayurveda asks us to look deeper at Agni. How strong is your digestion? Are you eating according to your hunger? Are you eating at regular times? Is the food appropriate for your digestive capacity? Is your lifestyle supporting digestion, or constantly working against it? Because digestion is not merely about what happens to food after you swallow it. It is about how well the body is able to transform what it receives into nourishment. If ideas like Ama and Agni interest you, our courses on Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam go much deeper into understanding digestion, imbalance, and the way our body responds to what we eat, how we live, and how we care for ourselves.

What Your Body Is Telling You Before You Ask It

There’s actually a lot we can tell about a person without asking them a single question. If they are not feeling well, you can notice the way they look unusually pale, or that their voice sounds different, weaker than usual. Their eyes may look different, their skin may look dry, their lips may look chapped, or maybe they might just look exhausted. These are just some observations. Ayurveda actually has an entire section in the Charaka Samhita talking about this kind of observation called Indriya Sthana. The very first chapter is called Varṇasvarīyam Indriyam where Charaka describes how a physician should pay attention to changes in a person’s complexion, voice, and other signs when assessing an illness or the severity of a disease. Because Ayurveda doesn’t look at the simple question of what disease this person is actually having. It instead goes a little deeper into asking what the body is telling us about the illness. It is actually our body that gives out the first signs of illness before it becomes something more obvious. Disease isn’t always the beginning of the story. It is ultimately important to keep in check the signs that our body is giving away, always. यच्चान्यदपि किंचिद्वर्णवैकृतमभूतपूर्वं सहसोत्पद्येतानिमित्तमेव हीयमानस्यातुरस्य शश्वत्, तदरिष्टमिति विद्यात्। An abnormal change that was not present before, appears suddenly, and occurs in someone whose condition is already declining. Such a change, Charaka says, should be recognized as an ariṣṭa, an ominous prognostic sign. Now, one of the most important ideas in the chapter is the distinction between Prakriti and Vikriti. Prakriti refers to a person’s natural state, while Vikriti refers to the deviation from that state. A person’s appearance may naturally vary depending upon their constitution, age, environment, and other individual characteristics. So we can’t just vaguely determine that one particular complexion may be healthy or unhealthy. We need to look a little deeper. Charaka’s list of things to examine is very extensive. He not just mentions the complexion and voice, but also the smell, taste, touch, eyes, ears, nose, the mental state, and many more. The list goes on. In fact, Charaka tells us that a person should be observed as a whole, because a single unusual sign doesn’t entirely tell the entire story. A temporary change with an obvious explanation is different from a sudden change that appears without apparent reason in someone whose condition may already be deteriorating. So generally, the whole idea is that observation becomes meaningful when it is placed in context. The entire emphasis here is on the change that you witness within your body. And I think this is where this idea becomes useful even outside the context of an Ayurvedic physician examining a patient. Because most of us don’t necessarily pay attention to our own bodies or the signs they are giving out. We know how we feel ultimately, whether our face is looking normal when we wake up, or if our skin is feeling as usual. We know our baseline. But when you wake up feeling different we brush it off as, “Maybe I have not rested well.” But you need to understand that the baseline is important. Because if you suddenly feel unusually tired for several days, or maybe your appetite has changed, or there are other signs your body that are trying to tell you, then I think this is where we need to stop looking and start observing what is wrong. Because from an Ayurvedic point of view, disease is never something that simply comes overnight. Long before it becomes serious, your body is already trying to protest against it through different signs. None of those signs individually might feel like a big deal. And that is exactly why they get ignored. But when you look at the whole picture, these small signs can slowly lead up to something more serious. Disease isn’t the starting point, it is actually much closer to the end of the story that your body has already been trying to tell you for a while now. We are often quick to notice when there is something wrong with our phones, our cars, or our laptops. We notice that the battery is draining faster than usual, or the screen is running slow, or the phone is lagging a bit. But when it comes to our bodies, we often ignore the same signs. And maybe it is because our lifestyle has changed. We sleep less, work more, eat at odd hours, and keep pushing ourselves through the day. We think our body is adaptable, but it isn’t. Your body is constantly giving you information. The question is whether you are paying enough attention to notice it. You don’t have to become an expert at interpreting every single sign. You just need to know what your normal looks and feels like, so you can recognize when something starts to change. If you want to understand your body a little more deeply, you can explore our courses on the Charaka Samhita and Ashtanga Hridayam, and learn how these texts approach the body, health, and the signs it gives us.