Ayurveda is India’s 5000-year old science of life, health, and longevity. According to Ayurveda, there is no separation between body, mind, and consciousness. Therefore, the concepts of health and disease must address all of these aspects. The mind is organically related to the physical body. Any imbalance of the doshas (psycho-physiological principles, or humors) will create signs and symptoms at all levels. The doshas rule and regulate all functions of the organism and determine disease proneness at the physical level and emotional response at the mental level. They are known as vata, the energy of movement; pitta, the energy of metabolism and transformation; and kapha, the energy of lubrication and cohesiveness.
The bond between body and mind can be easily observed when physical fluctuations disturb our mental state, as when we have a flu and aren’t able to concentrate, or when our behavior changes depending on diet and lifestyle habits. This is one of the reasons why Ayurveda places great emphasis on diet and lifestyle for preventing disease and restoring health through balancing the doshas.
The body-mind complex is an organic unity, but mind and body are not the same. The mind appears to be wherever we direct our attention. It can function apart from the body consciousness, as when we are dreaming. The physical body is primarily an organ of perception and expression through the senses and motor organs. We could say that the body is a gross form of the mind, as it serves as a vehicle for the mind to perceive, act, and express itself. On the other hand, the mind is influenced by the impressions of the world we receive through the senses and motor organs. So body and mind work constantly together. Yet what gives us the sense of who we are is not the physical body. It is what we think and feel, how we perceive and experience the world and others around us. So let’s look at the mind in more detail, from a philosophical and yogic perspective.
The bond between body and mind can be easily observed when physical fluctuations disturb our mental state, as when we have a flu and aren’t able to concentrate, or when our behavior changes depending on diet and lifestyle habits. This is one of the reasons why Ayurveda places great emphasis on diet and lifestyle for preventing disease and restoring health through balancing the doshas.
The body-mind complex is an organic unity, but mind and body are not the same. The mind appears to be wherever we direct our attention. It can function apart from the body consciousness, as when we are dreaming. The physical body is primarily an organ of perception and expression through the senses and motor organs. We could say that the body is a gross form of the mind, as it serves as a vehicle for the mind to perceive, act, and express itself. On the other hand, the mind is influenced by the impressions of the world we receive through the senses and motor organs. So body and mind work constantly together. Yet what gives us the sense of who we are is not the physical body. It is what we think and feel, how we perceive and experience the world and others around us. So let’s look at the mind in more detail, from a philosophical and yogic perspective.
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