In today’s world there has been a tremendous increase in demand for holistic health practices and interventions. People are seeking alternative views from the Western stance on key elements that constitute a healthy and balanced lifestyle such as diet, exercise, and ways of maximising energy levels while nurturing our mental health. While we can say that Yoga has, without doubt, had a primary role within the last few decades as an alternative way of increasing our physical, mental and spiritual well-being, it is only over the last few years that Ayurveda has slowly but steadily increased in popularity in the West (and will most likely continue to do so). Ayurveda is the Indian traditional system of medicine. This holistic science aims at restoring or maintaining the innate balance or “smrti” (memory) of health through individual constitutional analysis, diet, herbs and bodywork. Like the science and practice of Yoga, Ayurveda contains a wealth of knowledge that originated in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago and has been handed down from one generation to the next over the millennia. Much like in China practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and Thai Chi adopted a similar understanding of the human mind, body and spirit and integrated their forms of medicine and exercise, similarly in India we find that the disciplines of Yoga and Ayurveda share many key concepts and often support and strengthen each other through their practices and regimens. So how and where do Yoga and Ayurveda come together? What are the common elements between them and, most importantly, is it necessary to have a basic knowledge of both for people who want to practice just one or the other? In order to answer these questions, we will start by taking a close look upon the philosophy that lies behind both Yoga and Ayurveda : the Sankhya school of thought.

Sankhya: The Basis Of Yoga And Ayurveda

Both Yoga and Ayurveda adopt Sankhya, one of the six orthodox schools of thought in India, as their philosophical background. The philosophical school of Samkhya originated in India thousands of years ago, with the first references of it appearing in Hindu most sacred orthodox texts, the Vedas. Sankhya is a school of philosophy that attempts at explaining the entire creation by ways of categorising reality into different principles or ‘tattvas’. 

The word Sankhya means ‘empirical' or ‘number'. This is because Sankhya philosophy describes, categorises and enumerates everything that exists in the Universe. Sankhya is a dualistic school of thought - it states that all of creation stems from the two principles of purusa and prakrti. Purusha is spirit or soul, and prakrti is nature and creation. Purusha is said to be eternal, invisible, unchanging and not subject to the laws of nature, and it lies at the core of all living beings. On the other hand, prakrti is literally everything we see in the world, from trees to ocean to our own bodies, and is in a constant state of flux.

Therefore, by embracing Sankhya philosophy, both Yoga and Ayurveda recognise the presence of the soul, and with their practices aim at giving us the tools necessary to perceive our own purusha, so that we might experience our true nature. While the soul is an independent and complete principle, prakrti is categorised into 24 layers. Within these 24 building blocks of creation there are five 'great elements’ (pancha maha bhutas in Sanskrit) and three ‘gunas', or qualities. They are of primary importance as both Yoga and Ayurveda recognise the five elements and the three gunas, and perceive the human body through this lens.

The Five Elements And Three Gunas

According to Sankhya philosophy everything in the Universe is a combination, with different proportions, of the five elements and the three gunas. The five elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space and they are the building blocks of nature and anything that has a physical existence. They have different qualities and properties and they are present in nature as natural phenomenon like strong winds, ocean tides and volcanic eruptions, but also they manifest within human physiology.

The following is a short explanation of how each of the five elements relates to the human embodiment:
- Earth: bone structure, muscle tone, tissue formation and development
- Water: blood, Lymph and all fluids circulating in the body
- Fire: digestion and absorption, breaking down of nutrients but also “digesting” sensorial experiences
- Air: gasses and peristaltic movements
- Space: the empty, hollow spaces where everything else can move.

The three gunas are sattva, rajas and tamas. Sattva represents the qualities of lightness, luminosity, balance and clarity. Rajas corresponds to movement, change and dynamism, while tamas is darkness, heaviness and ignorance. Like the five elements, the three gunas are present in different proportions in everything that exists, and they relate to physical objects as well as mental dispositions: a rock for example will have a predominance of tamas and the earth element, as it is solid and heavy, while air is composed mostly of the air element and rajas, since it constantly moves. In a similar manner, the gunas apply to the mind: peace of mind and lucidity is sattva, agitation is rajas and a dull mind is tamas.

It is crucial for practitioners of both Yoga and Ayurveda to have a grasp on the five elements and the five gunas even on a basic level, as both the sciences of Yoga and Ayurveda aim at balancing the elements in the body and increasing the sattvic qualities of the mind.

The Ayurvedic Approach To Health: Balancing The Doshas

According to Ayurveda, the proportional distribution of the five elements within the body create three main constitutional types. People with a predominance of the air element have a vata body type - active mind, thin body frame with cracking joints and irregular metabolism. Individuals with more fire in their make-up have a pitta constitutional type with medium body frame and fast metabolism. People with more of the earth element will have a kapha constitution which translate in a larger body frame and a slower metabolism. According to Ayurveda when the doshas (and therefore the elements) are in balance, long lasting health is achieved. To balance the doshas, over 5000 different herbs have been studied, employed and prescribed over the centuries, alongside with ways of using food as medicine and understanding which foods we are meant to be eaten - while orange juice will be nourishing nectar for some, it will be a poison for others!

Ancient Yoga texts recognise the doshas or body types, as it is stated in the following verse of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: 'By practicing the six shatkarmas (purification techniques) one is freed from excess of the doshas. Then pranayama is practiced and success is achieved without strain' (Chapter 2 verse 36).

Another central concept in Ayurveda is the one of agni. Agni is the digestive fire, the strength of our gut, and therefore the capacity we have to absorb the food we eat. If agni is weak, immunity will also be weak and diseases can easily enter the system. If on the other hand agni is strong, one can literally ‘digest' anything, and also absorb nutrients to a greater extent.

All major Hatha Yoga texts also recognise the importance of a strong agni and give dietary suggestions for the practitioners, in line with Ayurvedic principles. For instance it is suggested that food should be light, warm and nourishing, and prepared with the right intention.

Like with the doshas, Yogic texts also mention agni and its importance. Again we read from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: 'Perfection of hatha Yoga is achieved when there is… active digestive fire and purification of the nadis’. 

When one seeks to restore or maintain balance through Ayurveda, an arrangement of herbs, treatments and daily routines will be prescribed in order to balance the elements of the body and create stability and clarity in the mind. Along with these external tools, often Yoga practices like asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques) or meditation will also be prescribed.

We will now look at how Yoga aims at restoring and building health through internal means only.

The Yogic Way Of Building Health From Within

In his book 'Light On Life', Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar gives his definition of health: 'Health begins with firmness in body, deepens to emotional stability, then leads to intellectual clarity, wisdom, and finally the unveiling of the soul’. He also explains how Yoga impacts our health: 'Yoga has a threefold impact on health. It keeps people healthy, it inhibits the development of diseases, and it aids recovering from ill health.'

This definition implies that Yoga aims at a broader impact on health than just getting rid of back pain or other concerns. Health is something we have to literally build up through good habits and practices that not only make our bodies healthier, but also establish mental and emotional well-being. In order to ingrain in us these good habits and to also cure our current conditions, Ayurveda utilises both external and internal tools. External tools are things like herbs and treatments, while internal tools are things we initiate like a Yoga practice or meditation. On the other hand, with Yoga everything is internalised, and no external objects are generally employed.

In Iyengar Yoga, a strong emphasis is placed in the practice of asana as a primary tool to improve our current conditions and to gain ultimate health. If the practice of asana is undertaken with regularity and the right guidance, it has the potential to gradually act upon and improve each aspect of our being, from getting rid of pain and improving circulation, to nurturing a balanced nervous system and increasing the ability to focus and concentrate.From an Ayurvedic perspective, practising Asanas is  a way of keeping the elements of the body in balance, through the right amount of stimulation and relaxation, on a daily basis. Keeping the elements in a balanced state means to improve our physical and mental functions and to be on top of our energy levels.

This is possible because the totality of the different groups of poses, when practised regularly, act on all the physical/physiological systems, including the mind and the nervous system. Standing poses are the foundation as they give structural strength, balance and stability. Seated poses and forward bends are deeply nourishing for the kidneys and reproductive organs; twists improve the strength of our agni, while backbends are a tonic for the heart and the lungs. Most importantly, inversions go to the deepest layers of the brain, nerves and hormones and act upon the mind. Without any doubt, the practice requires effort, patience and consistence to give long lasting and deeper effects, and at times will also be challenging and confronting. In time we can start to feel our vital energy increasing steadily. When all the functions of the body are restored and running smoothly, there is a surplus of vitality, which was probably used before to attend to areas we might have been neglecting. 

It is evident here that one of the most common features of Yoga and Ayurveda is that they both consider health to be not just the absence of disease, but also the presence of great energy and vitality, along with emotional stability and mental clarity. 

The Parallels Between Yoga And Ayurveda

So far we have traced these major parallels between Yoga and Ayurveda:
- They are both rooted in Sankhya philosophy.
- They see the human body and mind as a mix of the five elements and the three gunas.
- They both recognise the importance of agni and cultivating a strong digestion through nourishing natural foods.
- They both perceive ultimate health as something built through good habits and practices. 
- They both offer practical tools we can employ to improve our health and well-being. 

Now the questions that arises is: is it essential to have an understanding of both Yoga and Ayurveda? How do we integrate them together? 

Over the last three years I have been seeing patients on a regular basis as an Ayurvedic practitioner, and I have been prescribing herbs as well as other treatments. Oftentimes I would suggest they take up Yoga, or simply show them a few postures to do at home, and with this integration, the results would be faster and greater.

Likewise, many of my Yoga students started asking me for some Ayurvedic herbs in order to improve energy, digestion or any other ailments, and those students also told me how the herbs were helping them with their overall health and Yoga practice. My conclusion is that many Ayurvedic practices, like taking herbs and establishing a daily routine, can be implemented very easily by everyone, and will enhance positively their life and their Yoga practice. It is a natural integration after all of very similar techniques and principles that help each other. It is not essential to know about the five elements or Sankhya philosophy for Yoga or Ayurveda to work: the practical tools they offer like postures, breathing and herbs are enough to help us feel better. However, if we do get a grasp of the basic concepts that constitute them both, we will have a deeper appreciation and understanding of what we are doing and why we are doing it in a particular way. 

Just as with asana practice it is not necessary to perform elaborate postures to reap the benefits, we don’t necessarily need to dig very deep into the philosophy of Yoga and Ayurveda to be familiar with their principles. Their philosophy and background offer an alternate view of the world which will not only enrich our practice, but also broaden our perspective and open our minds.

Lorenzo Sacchini

Lorenzo Sacchini has been teaching at Central Yoga School since 2016 and is a Level 2 certified teacher as well as a qualified Ayurvedic consultant.