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For better
understanding of prakruti you must first understand how Ayurveda
views the body. Individuals are considered to take form as
a result of three life-giving forces. These forces are called
“doshas”, namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha. They are
considered simply as the inherent intelligence of the body:
they are the invisible forces that orchestrate all the functions
of the body, thus shaping how we look, how our metabolic processes
function, how we respond to different surroundings, even how
we think and feel.
For
example, it is the influence of Kapha that makes us salivate
when we are hungry and see something that we want to eat.
It is Vata that facilitates swallowing the food and Pitta
that makes the digestion process possible. In this way we
can see that it is vital that doshas work together in harmony
for the body to work to its maximum potential. Likewise the
imbalance of the doshas is viewed in Ayurveda as the underlying
cause of all physical, mental and spiritual problems.
The
physical body is considered to be a combination of two kinds
of substances: which are dhatus & Malas
- vretainable
substances or substances that stay as part of the body known
as “dhatus”. These are what we commonly know
as plasma (rasa), blood (raka), muscle (mamsa), fat (meda),
bone (asthi), bone marrow (majja), nerve and reproductive
tissues (shukra).
-
unretainable substances, that is, substances that leave
the body, known as “malas”. These are the waste
products of the body; fecal matter, urine, sweat.
Then
we have Agni, the ruler of all the metabolic processes. Agni
is the transformer of what is outside to which we take in
and becomes part of our body or recorded experience. For example,
while it is Agni that digests food in the stomach so that
tissues can be built, it is also, less obviously, agny in
the mind that digests experiences to form impressions and
memories.
Bringing
balance and health to the whole system (doshas, dhatus, malas
and agni) is the fundamental principle of Ayurvedic healing.
It is also how Ayurveda engages the body to bring forth its
own inherent individual beauty.
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