What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda Meaning, Explained

Alex Taylor
Sep 26, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Jun 20

If you’ve heard the term “Ayurveda” before, but still don’t know its true meaning—don’t worry! You’re not alone. For those of you wondering “What is Ayurveda?,” this introductory guide to ancient Ayurveda is here to help.

Ayurveda Meaning

Ayurveda means "life knowledge” in Sanskrit. “Ayur-” means “life,” and “-veda” means “knowledge,” so the literal translation of Ayurveda is “life knowledge.”

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda—which directly translates to “life knowledge” in Sanskrit—is the ancient knowledge of health passed down over 5 thousand years ago from India. Ayurveda helps us understand our bodies as they relate to the natural world and the five elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth.

Ayurveda (sometimes called "Ayurvedic medicine or Ayurveda medicine”) is a holistic health modality because it incorporates all dimensions of wellness: diet, exercise, spirituality, daily routine, and more. Ayurveda is considered one of the oldest alternative medicines, but is becoming widely accepted in the modern world of healthcare as a complementary lifestyle medicine.

According to Ayurveda, nature’s five elements—ether, air, fire, water, and earth—are present within your physiology. These are manifested by what are termed "doshas". There are three doshas that govern different organs and bodily systems. The three doshas influence everything from your body type to your digestion, disposition, sleep habits, stress, and so much more. Every body has a unique combination of these doshas with a single dosha typically dominating the person's constitution. Knowing your predominant dosha makes finding the best foods, exercise, and lifestyle practices easy to support your unique needs.

The 5 Elements in Ayurveda

Ayurveda emphasizes the connection between the five elements of nature with our own physiology. In Ayurveda, the five elements are considered as having the following properties:

Ether (space): subtle, moving, cold, unmanifest
Air: light, moving, cold, rough, irregular.
Fire: sharp, hot, pungent, moving
Water: flowing, cold, oily
Earth: stable, cold, structured, oily

The 3 Doshas in Ayurveda

The three doshas in Ayurveda are: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. They are the manifests of combining the five elements together.

Vata Dosha: Vata is made of ether and air elements. This makes this dosha house very irregular, moving, cold, and sometimes rough. Vata house governs the colon and the nervous system (brain). When we consider the role the colon plays in the body, it is moving eliminations out of the digestive system through peristalsis. It needs to be moving. When we think about the nervous system or brain, it has an almost unmanifest quality: unboundedness and open space.
Pitta Dosha: Pitta is made of fire and water elements. Pitta governs the stomach and digestive processes. The stomach has a low pH with a lot of HCl (hydrochloric acid) that churns up food and begins the first stage of turning food into nutrients. The hot, sharp, and pungent qualities of Pitta help this process happen.
Kapha Dosha: Kapha is made of water and earth elements. Kapha governs the structure of the body like our muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and also governs our head and chest (lungs).

Take this fun Dosha quiz, where you have a chance to see which one predominates in your body.

But what does all of this mean for our physiology? The doshas are what make each person so unique. Some of us have qualities of a specific dosha more than another. For example, I have high Pitta qualities. I tend to hold a lot of excess heat in my body and this can show up in ruddy skin or hyperacidity in my stomach. Someone else may hold more Vata qualities like excess dryness or cold skin. When we understand how these doshas operate in our bodies, we can answer these questions on a personal level:

How does your nervous system respond to stress?
How does your digestive system process food?
How does your body feel/respond to pain?
How do you sleep?
What is your body's Dinacharya (daily routine)
What imbalances are you prone to?

How Ayurveda Medicine Can Improve Wellness

Ayurveda medicine is all about balance vs. imbalance. These doshas are responsible for operating body systems. If they become imbalanced, these governing places of the physiology tend to show symptoms.

Here is an example: Kapha is responsible for the head and chest. Kapha has qualities of cold, lubrication, and oiliness. If Kapha has too many of these qualities, called "aggravation", these can present in the head or chest like a common cold, flu, or respiratory illnesses. Creating balance in the doshas is how Ayurveda helps us stay healthy and vitalized.

The most important controlling factor of lifestyle that Ayurveda medicine recognizes as maintaining balance is the daily routine. Our bodies operate in accordance with nature and nature has a daily routine that it follows strictly. The sun rises and sets at the same time every day, the seasons change every year, and we require the same level of commitment to routine. The body is constantly trying to maintain homeostasis, balance, and health. If we work on making our daily routine consistent as part of Ayurveda medicine, this helps our body out a lot so it can focus on the other jobs it needs to prioritize.

Here are some of the basic daily lifestyle routines everyone can incorporate that help maintain balance, according to Ayurveda medicine:

Consistent wake/sleep time
Avoid anything in excess
Avoid extremely cold food/drinks
Meditate
Reduce stress
Eat cooked/fresh foods
Biggest meal at lunch
Hot water routine: The body desires to stay in a warm state. Avoiding cold food and drinks helps keep the body's systems functioning.