* Physiology of Ayurveda
All matter is thought to be composed of five basic elements which exhibit the properties of earth, water, fire, wind and space. These elements do not exist in isolated forms, but always in a combination, in which one or more elements dominate. According to Ayurveda, the human body is composed of derivatives of the five basic elements, in the form of factors (doshas), tissues (dhatus) and waste products (malas).
Doshas: The most fundamental and characteristic principle of Ayurveda is called "tridosha". Doshas are the physiological factors of the body. They are to be seen as all pervasive, subtle entities, and are categorized into vata, pitta and kapha.
This universe is run by three types of forces namely kinetic force, potential force and the force acting as stimulant for either of these. These forces are represented in our body in the form of three Doshas. ‘Doshas’ here means the forces those can disturb the body when these are not in balance. These three Doshas are named as Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These three represent the whole metabolism going on in the body.
Kinetic force has the ability to bring about the changes in the subject matter where ever it is applied. This force is represented in our body by Vata. Etymologically ‘Vata’ means “that which moves things.” In the absence of Vata other two forces are considered to be lame, incapable to bring about any change. It also governs our sensory and mental balance and orientation, and promotes mental adaptability and comprehension. Vata regulates movement and is represented by the nervous system.
Potential force in our body is Kapha. Etymologically Kapha means “that which holds things together.” It provides substance and gives support, and makes up the bulk of our body tissues. It also provides emotional support in life and governs such positive emotional traits as love compassion, modesty, patience, and forgiveness. In brief it is the on going anabolic process in our body.
The stimulant for kinetic or potential force to be working is Pitta. Etymologically it means “that which digest things.” It is responsible for all chemical and metabolic transformations in the body. It also governs our mental digestion, our capacity to perceive reality and understand things as they are. Pitta is the principle of biotransformation and is the cause of all metabolic processes in the body. Together, these three doshas determine the physiologic constitution of an individual.
Tissues (Dhatus): the tissues are classified into seven categories: plasma, blood cells, muscular tissue, adipose tissue, bony tissue, bone marrow and the reproductive tissue.
Waste products (Malas): three main waste products are urine, faeces and sweat.
For the metabolic processes in the body, there are three main groups of biological factors, probably exhibiting enzymatic functions (agnis). Jatharagni (Hunger) is responsible for the digestion and the absorption of nutritious substances. During this process, digestion takes place in three stages: first the digestion of sweet (madhura) and salty (lavana) nutrients, then the digestion of sour (amla) nutrients, and finally the digestion of sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent (kasaya) nutrients.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Pathology of Ayurveda
Under normal conditions, the doshas, dhatus and malas correspond to certain standards regarding their quantity, quality and function. However, this situation is not static, and due to several endogenous and erogenous factors, the doshas may become unbalanced, resulting in disease. Every disease is related to an imbalance of the doshas. Other coherent factors can be: the disturbance of the biological factors (agnis), the formation and accumulation of undigested nutrients (ama), obstruction of the body channels (shrotorodha), and a disturbed assimilation in the tissues.
Ayurveda gives us a model to look at each individual as a unique makeup of the three doshas (Prakruti) and thereby design treatment protocols that specifically address a person’s health challenges. When any of the doshas (Vata, Pitta or Kapha) get imbalanced, Ayurveda will suggest specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing or increasing the doshas that has become imbalance. If toxins in the body are abundant, then a cleansing process known as Pancha Karma is recommended to eliminate these unwanted toxins.
Few Examples:
Obesity:
Mainly due to absence of physical activity. Other causes may be sleeping during the day, intake of Kapha - increasing foods, finally results in the accumulation of fat. These block the channels of nutrition. This blocking causes an increase in hunger because the body does not get nutrition.
Indigestion/dyspepsia:
Taking excess of water, taking small/large quantities of food at odd times, suppression of the natural functions of the body, loss of sleep at night and sleeping during the daytime, causes gastric fire (Jatharagni) responsible for the indigestion.
Skin problems:
Are often due to imbalances in Pitta dosha & rakta dhatu. This is caused by excessive exposure to sunlight, taking foods which are pungent, hot and alkaline.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Pharmacology of Ayurveda
The materia medica of the Ayurveda, composed of the five basic elements, has been categorized according to the derivatives of these elements. They include: taste (rasa), potency (virya), taste of the digestive product (vipaka), properties (guna), specific properties (prabhava) and action (karman).
Taste (rasa) is six fold: sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salty (lavana), sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent (kasaya). Each taste is composed of two of the five elements. The condition of the food after digestion is also expressed in terms of taste (vipaka), however it can only be sweet, sour or sharp.
The properties (guna), are grouped in 10 pairs, each one complementary to the other: heavy and light, cold and hot, fat and dry, slow and sharp, stable and labile, soft and hard, clear and slimy, smooth and raw, fine and massive and viscous and liquid.
The potency (virya) of a drug is defined as its capability to express its property. Sometimes, potency is grouped in the same way as the property, but for practical reasons, it is usually expressed in terms of hot (ushna) and cold (shita).
The specific property (prabhava) distinguishes two drugs that have the same taste, taste after digestion and potency. This might be due to the composition of the drug or the location in the body where the drug acts.
Finally the action (karman) of a drug on the body is expressed in terms of the three doshas. A drug can increase or decrease the vata dosha, the pitta dosha and the kapha dosha.
The drugs used in Ayurveda are made by several processes from vegetable and mineral raw materials. Mostly plant alkaloids are the active ingredients. Obviously barring some chemical changes it is mostly natural derivatives.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Pancha maha bhootas of Ayurveda - Five universal elements:
Today more than 100 elements have been detected by modern scientists. These are the basic elements like; hydrogen, carbon, sodium etc; which unite together to create all the beings, living or non living of our world. Presence of any one of these relative to other elements in any material will decide its physical and chemical qualities and its function in the ecological system of ours.
According to Ayurveda everything in Universe is poised of the Panchmahabhootas – Aakash (Space or ether), Vayu (Air), Teja or Agni (Fire), Jala (Water) and Prithvi (Earth). These are mixed in countless varieties of relative magnitude such that each form of matter is distinctly unique. Although each element has a range of attributes, only some get evident in particular situations. Constantly changing and interacting with each other, they craft a situation of full of life flux that keeps the world going. This all happens under the control of TriGunas.
In a simple, single living cell for example the earth element predominates by giving structure to the cell. The water element is present in the cytoplasm or the liquid within the cell membrane. The fire element regulates the metabolic processes regulating the cell. The air element is the gaseous part therein. The space occupied by the cell denotes the presence of ether, the Aakash
In the case of a complex, multi-cellular organism as a human being for instance, Akash corresponds to spaces within the body (mouth, nostrils, abdomen etc.); Vayu denotes the movement (essentially muscular but nervous system also); Agni controls the functioning of enzymes (intelligence, digestive system, metabolism); Jala is in all body fluids (as plasha, saliva, digestive juices); and Prithvi manifests itself in the solid structure of the body (bones, teeth, flesh, hair et al)
The Panchmahabhootas therefore serve as the foundation of all diagnosis and treatment modalities in Ayurveda and has served as a most valuable theory for physicians to detect and treat illness of the body and mind successfully.
Panchamahabhoota - sensory Faculty In Our Body
Space - Sound
All body channels, working for the movement of the nutrients and all other fluids. Vacuumed organs of the body are made of Akash
Air - Touch
Governs inhalation, exhalation, opening and closing of eyelids, locomotion and other motor functions.
Fire - Visual(Sight)
Coarse and bright, pedals temperature and luster of body color. Digestion and assimilation of food is done by it inside the body
Water - Taste
The adhesive force and fluid part of the body is Jal, making things supple and smooth
Earth - Smell
Heavy, immobile, compact and rough. Controls organs as teeth, nails, flesh, skin, tendons and muscles. Sweet taste.
If Percentile involvement of Panchmahabhootas is known, an individual can do better with the health. Sushruta tells in His great text of Ayurveda- “There are five Prakrutis according to the involvement of these five in the body. At Atharvayurveda, we access your Prakruti according to the involvement of Panchamahabhootas also.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Psyche Components- Sattva, Rajas and Tamas
TriGunas are also character and activity specific just like Panchmahabhootas. As the term ‘Tri' tells – these are three and their characteristic features are as follows:
a. Sattva:
Neutral balanced, positive, Cool! Calm! Sweet! Disturbances can't affect this. High spirits are core of this aspect. This is able to enlighten all the objects by its glow. Rest two may cause any deformities but purity of it's never allows disturbances to invade. Kind as love of nature and pure as blessings of God!
b. Rajas:
Rajas Guna is activity, factor responsible for change, works to rearrange the things and ideas, transaction from darkness to light or vice-versa. It transforms potential energies of life and nature into kinetic energies. New formations anywhere in the world are controlled by this specific factor.
c. Tamas:
Inertia!! Binds things to their places, hates any alteration or renovation. This is orthodox in nature. It makes things to deposit. Negative approach is a big and positive is zero here. Important for a pause, which give the relaxation to all animates.
Where Sattva is enlightened like a sunny day; Tamas is darkened as a no-moon night, Dawn and Dusk are Rajas for a Human Body.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All matter is thought to be composed of five basic elements which exhibit the properties of earth, water, fire, wind and space. These elements do not exist in isolated forms, but always in a combination, in which one or more elements dominate. According to Ayurveda, the human body is composed of derivatives of the five basic elements, in the form of factors (doshas), tissues (dhatus) and waste products (malas).
Doshas: The most fundamental and characteristic principle of Ayurveda is called "tridosha". Doshas are the physiological factors of the body. They are to be seen as all pervasive, subtle entities, and are categorized into vata, pitta and kapha.
This universe is run by three types of forces namely kinetic force, potential force and the force acting as stimulant for either of these. These forces are represented in our body in the form of three Doshas. ‘Doshas’ here means the forces those can disturb the body when these are not in balance. These three Doshas are named as Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These three represent the whole metabolism going on in the body.
Kinetic force has the ability to bring about the changes in the subject matter where ever it is applied. This force is represented in our body by Vata. Etymologically ‘Vata’ means “that which moves things.” In the absence of Vata other two forces are considered to be lame, incapable to bring about any change. It also governs our sensory and mental balance and orientation, and promotes mental adaptability and comprehension. Vata regulates movement and is represented by the nervous system.
Potential force in our body is Kapha. Etymologically Kapha means “that which holds things together.” It provides substance and gives support, and makes up the bulk of our body tissues. It also provides emotional support in life and governs such positive emotional traits as love compassion, modesty, patience, and forgiveness. In brief it is the on going anabolic process in our body.
The stimulant for kinetic or potential force to be working is Pitta. Etymologically it means “that which digest things.” It is responsible for all chemical and metabolic transformations in the body. It also governs our mental digestion, our capacity to perceive reality and understand things as they are. Pitta is the principle of biotransformation and is the cause of all metabolic processes in the body. Together, these three doshas determine the physiologic constitution of an individual.
Tissues (Dhatus): the tissues are classified into seven categories: plasma, blood cells, muscular tissue, adipose tissue, bony tissue, bone marrow and the reproductive tissue.
Waste products (Malas): three main waste products are urine, faeces and sweat.
For the metabolic processes in the body, there are three main groups of biological factors, probably exhibiting enzymatic functions (agnis). Jatharagni (Hunger) is responsible for the digestion and the absorption of nutritious substances. During this process, digestion takes place in three stages: first the digestion of sweet (madhura) and salty (lavana) nutrients, then the digestion of sour (amla) nutrients, and finally the digestion of sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent (kasaya) nutrients.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Pathology of Ayurveda
Under normal conditions, the doshas, dhatus and malas correspond to certain standards regarding their quantity, quality and function. However, this situation is not static, and due to several endogenous and erogenous factors, the doshas may become unbalanced, resulting in disease. Every disease is related to an imbalance of the doshas. Other coherent factors can be: the disturbance of the biological factors (agnis), the formation and accumulation of undigested nutrients (ama), obstruction of the body channels (shrotorodha), and a disturbed assimilation in the tissues.
Ayurveda gives us a model to look at each individual as a unique makeup of the three doshas (Prakruti) and thereby design treatment protocols that specifically address a person’s health challenges. When any of the doshas (Vata, Pitta or Kapha) get imbalanced, Ayurveda will suggest specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing or increasing the doshas that has become imbalance. If toxins in the body are abundant, then a cleansing process known as Pancha Karma is recommended to eliminate these unwanted toxins.
Few Examples:
Obesity:
Mainly due to absence of physical activity. Other causes may be sleeping during the day, intake of Kapha - increasing foods, finally results in the accumulation of fat. These block the channels of nutrition. This blocking causes an increase in hunger because the body does not get nutrition.
Indigestion/dyspepsia:
Taking excess of water, taking small/large quantities of food at odd times, suppression of the natural functions of the body, loss of sleep at night and sleeping during the daytime, causes gastric fire (Jatharagni) responsible for the indigestion.
Skin problems:
Are often due to imbalances in Pitta dosha & rakta dhatu. This is caused by excessive exposure to sunlight, taking foods which are pungent, hot and alkaline.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Pharmacology of Ayurveda
The materia medica of the Ayurveda, composed of the five basic elements, has been categorized according to the derivatives of these elements. They include: taste (rasa), potency (virya), taste of the digestive product (vipaka), properties (guna), specific properties (prabhava) and action (karman).
Taste (rasa) is six fold: sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salty (lavana), sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent (kasaya). Each taste is composed of two of the five elements. The condition of the food after digestion is also expressed in terms of taste (vipaka), however it can only be sweet, sour or sharp.
The properties (guna), are grouped in 10 pairs, each one complementary to the other: heavy and light, cold and hot, fat and dry, slow and sharp, stable and labile, soft and hard, clear and slimy, smooth and raw, fine and massive and viscous and liquid.
The potency (virya) of a drug is defined as its capability to express its property. Sometimes, potency is grouped in the same way as the property, but for practical reasons, it is usually expressed in terms of hot (ushna) and cold (shita).
The specific property (prabhava) distinguishes two drugs that have the same taste, taste after digestion and potency. This might be due to the composition of the drug or the location in the body where the drug acts.
Finally the action (karman) of a drug on the body is expressed in terms of the three doshas. A drug can increase or decrease the vata dosha, the pitta dosha and the kapha dosha.
The drugs used in Ayurveda are made by several processes from vegetable and mineral raw materials. Mostly plant alkaloids are the active ingredients. Obviously barring some chemical changes it is mostly natural derivatives.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Pancha maha bhootas of Ayurveda - Five universal elements:
Today more than 100 elements have been detected by modern scientists. These are the basic elements like; hydrogen, carbon, sodium etc; which unite together to create all the beings, living or non living of our world. Presence of any one of these relative to other elements in any material will decide its physical and chemical qualities and its function in the ecological system of ours.
According to Ayurveda everything in Universe is poised of the Panchmahabhootas – Aakash (Space or ether), Vayu (Air), Teja or Agni (Fire), Jala (Water) and Prithvi (Earth). These are mixed in countless varieties of relative magnitude such that each form of matter is distinctly unique. Although each element has a range of attributes, only some get evident in particular situations. Constantly changing and interacting with each other, they craft a situation of full of life flux that keeps the world going. This all happens under the control of TriGunas.
In a simple, single living cell for example the earth element predominates by giving structure to the cell. The water element is present in the cytoplasm or the liquid within the cell membrane. The fire element regulates the metabolic processes regulating the cell. The air element is the gaseous part therein. The space occupied by the cell denotes the presence of ether, the Aakash
In the case of a complex, multi-cellular organism as a human being for instance, Akash corresponds to spaces within the body (mouth, nostrils, abdomen etc.); Vayu denotes the movement (essentially muscular but nervous system also); Agni controls the functioning of enzymes (intelligence, digestive system, metabolism); Jala is in all body fluids (as plasha, saliva, digestive juices); and Prithvi manifests itself in the solid structure of the body (bones, teeth, flesh, hair et al)
The Panchmahabhootas therefore serve as the foundation of all diagnosis and treatment modalities in Ayurveda and has served as a most valuable theory for physicians to detect and treat illness of the body and mind successfully.
Panchamahabhoota - sensory Faculty In Our Body
Space - Sound
All body channels, working for the movement of the nutrients and all other fluids. Vacuumed organs of the body are made of Akash
Air - Touch
Governs inhalation, exhalation, opening and closing of eyelids, locomotion and other motor functions.
Fire - Visual(Sight)
Coarse and bright, pedals temperature and luster of body color. Digestion and assimilation of food is done by it inside the body
Water - Taste
The adhesive force and fluid part of the body is Jal, making things supple and smooth
Earth - Smell
Heavy, immobile, compact and rough. Controls organs as teeth, nails, flesh, skin, tendons and muscles. Sweet taste.
If Percentile involvement of Panchmahabhootas is known, an individual can do better with the health. Sushruta tells in His great text of Ayurveda- “There are five Prakrutis according to the involvement of these five in the body. At Atharvayurveda, we access your Prakruti according to the involvement of Panchamahabhootas also.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Psyche Components- Sattva, Rajas and Tamas
TriGunas are also character and activity specific just like Panchmahabhootas. As the term ‘Tri' tells – these are three and their characteristic features are as follows:
a. Sattva:
Neutral balanced, positive, Cool! Calm! Sweet! Disturbances can't affect this. High spirits are core of this aspect. This is able to enlighten all the objects by its glow. Rest two may cause any deformities but purity of it's never allows disturbances to invade. Kind as love of nature and pure as blessings of God!
b. Rajas:
Rajas Guna is activity, factor responsible for change, works to rearrange the things and ideas, transaction from darkness to light or vice-versa. It transforms potential energies of life and nature into kinetic energies. New formations anywhere in the world are controlled by this specific factor.
c. Tamas:
Inertia!! Binds things to their places, hates any alteration or renovation. This is orthodox in nature. It makes things to deposit. Negative approach is a big and positive is zero here. Important for a pause, which give the relaxation to all animates.
Where Sattva is enlightened like a sunny day; Tamas is darkened as a no-moon night, Dawn and Dusk are Rajas for a Human Body.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
