Ayurveda Glossary

Self-massage with warm oil — a nourishing, grounding daily practice that calms the nervous system and is especially settling for vata.

The digestive fire — your capacity to break down and absorb food, impressions and experience.

Undigested residue and toxins that accumulate when the digestive fire is weak.

The vehicle a herb or remedy is taken with — such as warm water, milk, honey or ghee — chosen to carry it where it is needed and to soften or direct its action.

A medicated enema, traditionally given by a practitioner.

A finely ground herbal powder, often a blend of several herbs and spices, usually taken in small pinches with a suitable vehicle.

One of the seven bodily tissues — plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow and reproductive tissue — built in sequence from well-digested food.

The daily routine — aligning waking, self-care, meals, movement and sleep with the body's natural rhythms to keep the doshas in balance.

One of the three functional energies — Vata, Pitta and Kapha — that govern every process in body and mind.

Medicated ghee — clarified butter gently cooked with herbs so that it carries their qualities.

A quality or attribute.

The earth-and-water dosha, governing structure, stability and lubrication.

A simple one-pot dish of rice and split mung beans with gentle spices — easy to digest and deeply nourishing, the classic meal for a digestive reset.

The body's wastes — chiefly stool, urine and sweat.

Vital points on the body where flesh, vessels, bone and energy meet.

A subtle channel through which prana flows; the word also refers to the wrist pulse, read in Ayurveda to sense the state of the doshas.

The practice of applying medicated oil or drops in the nose — used to lubricate the nasal passages and support the head, senses and clarity.

The subtle essence of vitality and immunity — the refined product of healthy digestion.

A set of deeper cleansing and renewal therapies, traditionally done under guidance, to clear accumulated ama and rebalance the doshas.

The fire-and-water dosha, governing digestion, metabolism and transformation.

Your natural constitution — the balance of doshas you were born with.

The vital life-force carried by the breath.

The quality of activity and movement in the mind.

Taste.

Rejuvenation — the practices, herbs and foods that build ojas, restore the tissues and support longevity and vitality.

The seasonal routine — adjusting food and lifestyle as the qualities of each season shift the doshas, favouring what counterbalances the weather.

The quality of clarity, balance and lightness in the mind.

The body's channels — the pathways through which nutrients, fluids and wastes flow.

The quality of inertia and heaviness in the mind.

The subtle essence of radiance and metabolism — the refined fire behind clarity, courage and a healthy glow in the eyes and complexion.

The air-and-ether dosha, governing movement, breath, circulation and the nervous system.

Your current state — how the doshas are out of balance right now, compared with your natural constitution.

The post-digestive effect — the longer-term influence a food or herb has on the body after it has been fully digested.

The heating or cooling potency of a food or herb — its active energy in the body, beyond its taste.