Introduction Into Ayurveda

Transcript

welcome to healthy ayurveda.com I'm Dr Mike dollywall Vedic sage in this video I want to make the correlation between the five Great elements called panch mahabhutas talk about the 20 gunas or the 20 qualities which are the 10 pair of opposite qualities and then talk about the three doshas which are Vata Pitta and kafadosha so ayurveda is an extremely vast science but for simplicity's sake we'll start our discussion with the five Great elements called the bansh mahabutas which are ether air fire water and Earth these five great elements create the building blocks of this material universe and ayurveda explains that each of these five elements are also associated with the five senses for example ether is associated do with sound or the ability to hear air is associated with the sense of touch perception fire with vision water is associated with taste and Earth being associated with the sense perception of smell so this implies that these elements are the means for which we perceive this material Universe which itself is a vast topic and we'll leave it at that for now knowing that it's these very Elements which are the building blocks which constructs and allows us to perceive this material universe the next step to understand is that various qualities spring forth from these five great elements and these qualities are rather intuitive and for our convenience these qualities can easily be categorized into 10 pair of opposites for example hot is the opposite quality of Cold Light is the opposing quality of heavy and smooth is the opposite quality to something which is rough so these are the 10 pair of opposing qualities which arise from the five Great elements and ayurveda goes on to explain that all substances or trevias are comprised of the five Great elements and depending on the proportion of these five grade elements substances will possess distinct qualities and depending on the qualities each substance will have a specific inherent action or cardamom for example a substance being predominantly of the fire element will tend to be pungent or spicy and this pungent spicy substance for example a green chili pepper will have a heating quality and therefore this Chili Pepper will help to improve or promote digestion as its action or cardamom another substance for example being predominantly of the water Earth elements may have a sweet taste and this substance will have a cooling effect and will tend to help alleviate the burning sensation which is almost the exact opposite effect of the previous heating substance of a chili pepper so these are just some basic examples to demonstrate that each substance has a specific effect depending on the qualities it possesses which is determined by the proportion of the five grade elements that it's comprised of now nature tends to organize these various qualities into functional units called doshas and it's these three doshas Vata Pitta and caffadosha when balance will support and maintain the underlining processes required for life and when in balance these same doshas will cause disease and eventually destroy the body hence this is why ayurveda focuses on keeping those shows in the most balanced normal state so these functional group of qualities or doshas are Bata Pitta and caffadosha is predominantly composed of The Ether and Air elements and Bata Dosha is the functional organization of dry light cold rub subtle and mobile qualities and Banta and its normal balanced state is the underlining principle which protects the body Vata provides enthusiasm to the individual Vata governs the respiratory patterns of inspiration exploration of the breathing cycle Vata provides the proper functioning of our senses and Vata also controls our natural urges and various reflexes such as sneezing coughing blinking as well as the natural urges of elimination Pitta on the other hand is predominantly of the fire element and Pitta is the functional organization of hot sharp and slightly unctuous qualities Pitta and its balanced state will help to maintain digestion maintains and regulates our body temperature Pitta gives us courage and it's also that which gives softness to the body and finally caffadosha is predominantly of the water and Earth elements kapha is the functional organization of unctuous cold heavy and stable qualities and when kapha is in its balanced state kuffa provides stability and lubrication to the body kapha provides firmness to the joints kapha is also that which maintains stability within the mind which provides us patience forbearance and mental fortitude so as mentioned earlier all substances in the universe including ourselves are made of these five great elements and all 20 qualities as well as the three doshas are present in all beings however depending on the proportion of the five Great elements within the individual will determine which Dosha is predominant within the individual and this will be the individual's predominant Constitution or prakruti so an individual who's predominantly of The Ether Air element will be a Vata predominant type of individual Vata types tend to be more of a thin frame being lanky or slim and slender Pitta on the other hand is predominantly of the fire element pittas tend to have a medium build and due to the hot and slightly oily qualities of Pitta pittas will have warm skin and tend to be more prone to sweating more easily one of the functions of pitadocia is to provide softness to the body as opposed to the cold dry rough quality savata vatas tend to have dry rough and cracked skin kapha types are predominantly of the water and Earth elements and because of this kuffas tend to have more of a solid well-developed body because of the heavier elements of water and Earth and because of the heavier more dense quality cuffers have the tendency of putting on weight easily which also contributes to having a more slower metabolism and sluggish digestion due to the dry and rough qualities Vata individuals often have hair that is coarse and often more frizzy pitas will often have oily or soft hair and this is due to Pitta being slightly oily in quality also due to the fire element pittas tend to gray earlier and are more prone to balding you can think of this as the fire within the mind which burns off the hair from pitta's head or we can look at it as one of the sites associated with Pitta are the sweat and sebaceous glands which have the tendency to obstruct and interfere with the hair follicles causing thinning of hair more associated with pitotype individuals kapha on the other hand is blessed with beautiful thick luscious wavy hair kapha individuals have a pleasant demeanor with a cheerful face and a cheerful smile and a nice gaze copper types have large beautiful eyes with thick eyebrows thick eyelashes pitas tend to have more sharp eyes with an intense stare with regards to appetite and digestion Vantas tend to have a more irregular or erratic digestion but the types tend to have a more intense hunger with strong digestion and kapha types will have a slower and more sluggish digestion with regards to the mind it's more accurate to consider the mind in terms of satva Regis and tamas but we can generalize the Vata due to the mobile subtle and light qualities of atadosia their minds tend to be more artistic creative and full of enthusiasm however when there's excess mobile light and subtle qualities this can lead to a sense of ungroundedness forgetfulness or indecisiveness and if this ungroundedness continues and progressively worsens this can make to type Minds more vulnerable to anxiety insomnia and feelings of insecurity whereas pittotypes tend to be more clear within the mind with regards to being analytical sharp intellectual and punctual these people are your type A personalities driven by success these are your high-powered CEOs however when Pitta is in Balance the fire element within the mind creates a hot tempered individual who may Express anger and impatience kapha on the other hand is the symbol of patience due to the stable qualities of water and Earth kapha provides for forgiveness due to its supportive nature perseverance and loyal nature however when kapha is imbalanced this may cause excessive attachment sadness and if severe may be more vulnerable to depression so this is just a basic introduction into the doshas looking at the deutsches from the elemental perspective while introducing gunas or the 10 pair of opposing qualities and briefly mentioning some of the common characteristics of each Dosha in the next videos we'll discuss common imbalances of each Dosha and how to re-establish balance and good health hope you guys have enjoyed and until next time be well