Ayurveda • Somatic Yoga • Contact
“Air is exceedingly light and almost intangible—unless you feel it as a wind.” — Dr. Carl Jung
Vata, the primary dosha in Ayurvedic’s tridoshic system, is synonymous with Vayu derived from the Sanskrit root Va (to move/ to blow) and represented in Hinduism by Lord Vayu, the Wind God.
Varyovida’s perspective on Vata
Thousands of years ago, a conversation among sages on Vata’s power is recorded in the Caraka Samhita. Varyovida (वार्योविद), who is the royal sage known as the ancient expert on Vata, declares:
“Vata is God, the author and everlasting one, the maker and unmaker of creatures, the dispenser of happiness and misery, the death, the ruler of the underworld, the controller, the lord of creatures, the undivided one, the universal artificer, the omniform, the omnipervading, the disposer of all processes, the subtlest of all things, the omnipresent, the immanent, the pervader of all the worlds.”
When asked how this translates into a medical understanding of Vata, Varyovida replied:
“If the physician is unable to predict the destructive Vata, exceedingly strong, exceedingly fierce and exceedingly swift-moving, how can he, withstanding all his vigilance, forestall its sudden outburst, with a view to safe-guarding the people from destruction?”
Varyovida’s message is an ominous one—a kind of warning not to overlook the subtlest of doshas capable of shifting and changing directions invisibly and without warning. Stated thousands of years ago, could you imagine what Vapryovida’s message would be if he lived in the modern world? What would he say about electricity, smartphones, A.I., Starbucks, the internet, air travel, fast food, gyms, pop music, skyscrapers, cars, industrial farming, social media, Coca Cola? One can only guess that there would be an urgency to tame the excited Vata that modernity provokes both in the environment and within the body.
Taming Vata
The constantly mobile and invisible quality of Vata makes it a difficult force to tame both in the culture and in our bodies. It is not a force that can be easily measured by modern medical standards; Vata needs to be observed in relation to the environment, culture and personal habits.
Vayu,
the god of the wind
and guardian of the north-west,
riding on a deer
circa 1820
and guardian of the north-west,
riding on a deer
circa 1820
At the core of Ayurvedic ideology is the balancing of qualities to maintain health as well as spiritual growth. Derived from this principle, the Charaka Samhita offers the qualitative remedy to a vitiated Vata.
As Vata qualities are dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, mobile and clear, “The sedative agents are, conversely, those that promote unctuousness, heaviness, heat, smoothness, softness, sliminess and compactness.” For example, if the mind and senses have been too mobile by watching 80 Tik Tok videos in a row, settling it down through inviting silence for stillness of mind and smooth deep breathing can bring the Vata back to a balanced state.
Regularly integrating calming, meditative and contemplative practices calm an excited Vata. However, for many of us the pendulum has swung so far into overstimulation that to bring in sedatives of equal proportion would be too drastic for the body to maintain. The same way the body will ‘crash’ after an extended period of overwork or overexcitement, if one consumes high amounts of caffein, one might begin to crave larger amounts of sedation through alcohol, marijuana or overeating in an attempt to bring the system back into balance. These extremes have become validated by cultural norms and ayurvedic practices strive to gently restore a more sustainable rhythm.
Rhythm
An integral aspect of Vata’s main function of movement is rhythm. Like listening to a symphonic masterpiece, the body’s numerous rhythms synchronically work together, and a balanced Vata is its conductor, keeping the coordination between our heart beats, internal clocks and the sleep wake cycle governed by the sun and the moon. Modern science’s field of chronobiology has termed this as our “circadian rhythms”.
“Most of our physiological functions,” Kim Tingley writes, “are governed by an untold number of carefully synchronized biological clocks that each complete one cycle about every 24 hours.”
Respecting this internal rhythm starts with a basic understanding of when we should be awake and when we should be asleep. As sensitivity to this rhythm deepens, understanding when and how much we should eat, exercise, rest, walk, meditate, work, drink, are done with an awareness of and in sync with this symphony in motion.
Conversely, going against this rhythm creates “internal chaos’ and “can throw our physiology out of whack”. In her article summarizing the latest developments in circadian science, Kim Tingley exemplifies this with the liver, which has its own rhythm, and can be disturbed when eating is done in the middle of the night:
“The liver will be receiving contradictory cues from the brain, which is telling it to rest. As a result, when the liver starts processing the midnight food, it will do so less efficiently than it would have done after a daytime meal — and it sends conflicting signals back to the brain and other organ systems.”
A similar “misalignment” occurs when light is present during the night. “Some 40 percent of Americans report leaving a TV or bedside lamp on at night” which has become a risk factor for various disroders. Further studies have also shown that the quantity and quality of sleep has significantly impacted the ability to heal from traumatic events.
These scientific studies validate the core ayurvedic principle of living in alignment with nature’s elements. Ayurvedic practioner Dr. Bhanupriya Kaushik states, “As a part of nature human beings are very closely associated with the rhythm of nature.” and this reality is obscured by modernity’s addictive distractions. Robert Svoboda analyzes a Sanskrit phrase from the Mundaka Upanishad:
“ satyam eva jayate nānrtam, “truth alone triumphs, not falsehood.” The word for falsehood here is an + rtam, “not-rhythm”, literally “out of alignment with cosmic harmony” – which is what a falsehood is, a failure to portray reality accurately.”
This basic truth is seen in Ayurvedic’s emphasis on daily habits (Dinacharya) and seasonal habits (Ritucharya), which Kaushik stresses “regularizes a person’s biological clock, aids digestion, absorption and assimilation, and generates self-esteem, discipline, peace, happiness, and longevity.” Furthermore, it helps us find the current from which Vata flows strengthening the connection to its natural rhythm. Following such ayurvedic guidelines gracefully increases sensitivity to all of vata’s directional movements and how they work together to keep life in motion and moving us through the different stages of life.
Space
Finding this current requires making room for Vata’s space element, the primary element in which all other elements are born. Cultivating space is a rebellious fight against the culture’s 24/7 stimulation machine. Not letting your attention be dragged away to the latest news update, notification or email frees up space.
Ayurvedic practitioner David Frawley writes:
“ Wherever space is created, there must come into being a force or Prana to move within it. The key to creating energy is to create space. Once the right space is created, the energy or spirit must come forth of its own accord. Similarly, energy is mastered by creating a space of consciousness, by creating the proper environment for the energy, not by trying to control the energy directly, which only causes greater constriction.”
Frawley’s words go deeper than the scientific and practical advice of setting up a circadian routine and limiting technology use. He describes a zen like mastery over the space element which requires humility to tap into the space and rhythm within without domination. Reducing the distractions creates a space ripe for spriritual growth. This echoes Varyovida original message, “Vata alone is God” and to observe and direct focus on Vata within and in the environment is a sacred practice. As Frawley states, “Actually all space is sacred and the sacred is of the nature of space.”
In the context of reflecting on sacred space, one could ask:
What creates a sense of spaciousness in my life?
Is there a particular practice or activity that leaves me feeling more open and free?
Which internal and external rhythms am I most aware of?
Charak Samhita. (2022, February 24). Vatakalakaliya Adhyaya. Charak Samhita. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/mediawiki-1.32.1/index.php?title=Vatakalakaliya_Adhyaya
Frawley, D. (2005). Tantric yoga and the wisdom goddesses: Spiritual secrets of ayurveda. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
Joshi, S. V. (2005). Ayurveda and Panchakarma: The science of healing and rejuvenation. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
Kaushik, B. (n.d.). Dinacharya: The essential daily routine - svastha ayurveda. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://svasthaayurveda.com/dinacharya-the-essential-daily-routine/
Lad, V. (2012). Textbook of ayurveda. Ayurvedic Press.
Svoboda, R. (2024, July 23) Truth Triumphs: An Update from Dr. S. Email Newsletter
Tingley, K. (2022, July 6). The quest by circadian medicine to make the most of our body clocks. The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/magazine/circadian-medicine.html