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Shortly before the beginning of the year in which I was supposed to start teaching Ayurveda at Bastyr University, I spent some time with two of my friends.
Shortly before the beginning of the year in which I was supposed to start teaching Ayurveda at Bastyr University, I spent some time with two of my friends. They asked me if I needed to prepare for my first lecture. I answered that, for this I wanted to go to a supermarket. So together we went to Safeway, the shop nearest to us. I bought a white loaf of mozzarella, a few chillies and a packet of popcorn.
“And what about the things you need for your lecture?” My friends anxiously reminded me as I was about to pay the bill. “This is all I need” I replied and pointed to the things in my shopping cart. “But what on earth are you going to do with a block of cheese in a lecture hall?!” They both asked in astonishment. “Explain the basics of Ayurveda,” I replied. “It will be easy to understand for everyone. And everybody will remember this kind of explanation!”
Almost everything in Ayurveda is derived from the essential concept of Tridosha - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - the basic biophysical principles, by which nature is governed. In the human body these invisible forces create a psycho physical type, or constitution.
The theory of the Tridosha is one of the greatest contributions of ancient India to the field of medicine. It is an extraordinary key to understanding of both illness and the ill. Its practical value in diagnostics, treatment and prevention has no equivalent.
How the doshas came to existence was explained in detail in the so called ‘Samkhya philosophy’, which is one of the pillars of the philosophical heritage of the ancient Indian civilization. Based on this system of thought, the material Universe is created out of the so called Five Great Elements. Prototypes of basic forms of matter are understood by the expression ‘great elements’. Let us first list them in the sequence in which they were created: Ether (space), air, fire, water and earth. They come down in the sequence starting from the most subtle and ending with the most substantial and dense.
Vata is formed by ether and air. It represents the kinetic energy. It governs all movement in the body, starting from the level of the cell and ending with the psychological processes. It fills all the empty spaces in the body.
Pitta is born out of fire. It represents the principle of transformation. It controls all transformation in the body – the digestion of food, the conversion of light on the retina, the conversion of sense perceptions into information stored inside the brain and the processing of thoughts.
Kapha is composed of water and earth. It is the potential energy. It gives stability to the body, provides moisture and lubrication, and holds the body structure together.
Without these three forms of energy – movement, metabolism and stability – life would not be possible. Its pulsation is maintained by a constant interaction between kinetic (Vata) and potential (Kapha) energies. The transformation of one form into the other is ensured by Pitta. No dosha on its own is capable of creating or maintaining life – all three must work together.
This co existence and dynamic interplay of all the three is the basis of any human activity. If you decide to go to a lecture on Ayurveda, for instance, all three doshas immediately work together – Vata is responsible for the idea, which is born in your head. Pitta transformed it into a concrete decision to go and also gave you the energy to get there. Kapha made it possible for you to sit on the seat, focus and retain the words spoken by the lecturer. Vata creates an expression of enjoyment on your face, when you hear something interesting. Pitta will critically watch whether or not the lecturer is talking twaddle, and if you treat yourself generously, your Kapha with a little piece of sweet will make you delighted and you will remember everything that you need to take from the lecture home with you.
It is important to remember, that both health and lack of it depend on the collaboration of the doshas. When the doshas are working in harmony, all aspects of the body support each other, if the doshas are in discord, chaos in the body results.
A brief insight into what functions the doshas perform in the body will show how and why this happens. Let us first look at the nutrition of the body:
Vata ensures correct movement of food through the digestive tract. If the movement is too fast or, on the other hand, too slow, digestion, absorption and elimination suffer. Vata also supports the breaking of food particles, because it energizes the organs producing digestive juices. As a proper breeze of air keeps fire burning, so harmonious Vata optimizes the flame of the digestive fire. An insufficient wind means insufficient production of digestive enzymes. On the other hand, excessive wind dries the digestive system up.
Pitta breaks and prepares food particles for absorption. If the digestive fire burns at its optimum, then digestion works well. If the flame is too high in the digestive fire (excessive production of the digestive enzymes) this results in a too fast digestion, creating an increased acidity in the stomach and possibly stomach ulcers. If, on the other hand, the flame of the digestive fire is weak, the food will not be properly digested creating toxins in the body.
Kapha moistens taste cells and the mucus membranes of the digestive organs preventing the digestive fire from damaging the lining of the stomach.
The second important area is the brain and its mental processes: Vata governs memory and the movement of thoughts in time - it allows us to move in the past and future.
Pitta represents thinking processes, the transformation of sensory inputs into thoughts and the ability to distinguish. It classifies and processes information so that we are able to absorb it properly. Kapha provides stability necessary for continuous thinking and ensures mental stability.
Our emotions go hand in hand with thoughts: If all three doshas work harmoniously together, our mental processes are also harmonious. If the doshas get disturbed, our mind also behaves in the same way. Mental instability brings about emotional instability.
Disturbed Vata creates fear, nervousness and anxiety, an increased Pitta brings anger and hate, whereas a disturbed Kapha makes us prone to greed and attachment.
Every one of the three doshas have their own typical characteristics:
Now it is perhaps more obvious, why I carry popcorn, chillies or mozzarella into my introductory lectures:
These three items are all you need for the introduction into the basics of Ayurveda.
In India we have a beautiful custom - before the beginning of a lecture; sweets are given to the audience. This has a good reason. We believe that it is the sweetness of memories that allows us to learn better. The ability to remember is deeply connected with sweet taste. Therefore that day I also gave each of my new students a piece of chocolate.
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