Swastha in Ayurveda: The Healthy Person

Who Is a Swastha (Healthy Person)?

Ayurveda denotes a person as healthy when there is harmony in the three doshas, strong agni/metabolism, which creates optimal nourishment of sapta dhatus, along with effective excretion of the wastes from the body. The person should also be peaceful in his soul, mind with calm senses. In this Upaveda of Atharva Veda, it is detailed how to maintain your health by following the Dinacharya – the daily regimen, Ritucharya – the seasonal regimen and Sadvrtta – the good conduct.

Harmony of Vata, Pitta and Kapha

The harmony in vata, pitta and kapha dosha supports the body in its normal functioning. The gunas/properties of our body are represented and grouped under these three categories or doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The region above the heart is predominantly kapha sthana, pitta is located from heart to umbilicus and vata is in the region below the umbilicus.

Any imbalance in one or two of the doshas can lead to an illness. It has to be mitigated in the initial stage by taking food, medicines and therapies which bring back the balance of doshas, otherwise, over time the pathophysiology can progress to affect the srotas/channels of the body and the corresponding dhatus.

Agni and the Seven Dhatus

Agni is the sum total of the metabolic activities of the body wherein, the ingested food is digested by the action of digestive enzymes and the microbial action of the gut microbiome, to be broken down to the Pancha Mahabhutas. The nutrients thus formed are absorbed and utilised by the body for the nourishment of sapta dhatus which are rasa/plasma, rakta/blood, mamsa/muscles, medas/adipose tissue, asthi/bones, majja/bone marrow and sukra/semen or ovum. They are formed in that order by the action of dhatu agni.

Patent srotas, and proper functioning of the dhatu agni is essential to have all the dhatus at optimum level. When there is improper metabolism, stress or vitiation of doshas, it will lead to improperly metabolised food or ama in the body which in turn causes inflammation and poor nourishment of the dhatus.

Excretion of Waste: Keeping the Body Pure

The waste material from our body is excreted as faeces, urine and sweat. Proper functioning of these channels is primary in maintaining the purity of the body. For example, when the channels of sweat are blocked, it can lead to accumulation of doshas in the rasa dhatu, over time it can vitiate the medo dhatu and the mamsa dhatu causing skin diseases. Karmas like virechana and vamana are used to eliminate the accumulated ama and cleanse the body from accumulated toxins.

A Peaceful Mind, Soul and Sense Organs

To be healthy, a person should have a serene and peaceful soul, mind and sense organs. One should always strive to stay away from emotions like jealousy, hatred, anger, worrying, etc. as they will start to affect the functioning of the body as well and increase the manasika doshas which are rajas and tamas. Even if you eat nutritious food at meal time, it will not digest properly if you are emotionally distraught.

Our emotional or mental balance along with nutritious food, peaceful sleep and adequate exercise is key in maintaining the harmony of doshas. Overuse or disuse of any sense organ can lead to its degeneration, for example too much screen time can damage your eyes.

Seasonal Cleansing and Karkidakam

As we are a part of nature, there are changes which happen in our body during the different seasonal changes in the environment. This can cause an increase in doshas which have to be cleansed out of the body in frequent intervals. The dosha accumulated in the cold season during spring, those aggravated during the summer should be expelled in the rainy season and those vitiated in the rainy season should be expelled in the autumn.

Regular cleansing or detoxing of our body can help maintain the purity in doshas, strong agni and peaceful sleep. This is the reason why traditionally the people of Kerala used to take out time to consume Ayurvedic medicines and do panchakarma therapies in the month of Karkidakam.

Find Balance with Nerium Ayurveda

Staying healthy begins with understanding your own balance. As a trusted Ayurveda clinic in Kerala, Nerium Ayurveda and Wellness Clinic in Kakkanad offers personalized consultations to assess your Prakriti and guide you back to balance. Explore our Ayurvedic treatments, or book a consultation with our Ayurveda doctor.

Call or message us on 088487 64701.