Understanding Ayurveda: The Role Of The Five Major Winds

Ayurveda is an ancient traditional system that focuses on the health of the entire body. This does not mean the corporal entity alone. As a holistic approach to healing, it perceives the physical body as the container for the mental/ emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual. To treat one ailment requires an understanding of this approach. In Kerala, Ayurveda coursesensure this tradition is upheld.

Finding Healing

To reach an understanding of how to keep the entity we refer to as a body healthy, it is important to purify the mental and physical faculties. Integral to the healing process is learning to control the mind and seeking union with the Absolute – whatever you may define it as such – God, the Gods, a Supreme Being. Studying the important aspects of Ayurveda demands the recognition of the holistic nature of the body as well as the importance of the Five Winds.

The Five Winds

The learned ones in Kerala note the importance of the five winds in purifying the body and helping the mind find union with the Absolute. In Ayurveda, the five winds are also referred to as the five energies. They act in specific ways on precise parts of the body. They are known as:

1. Apana – the focus is on the navel. The moving force is downward and outward. Apana is the wind that moves air and fluids from your body. It gives your legs stability. Apana maintains the immune system but also works to eliminate any negative sensory and emotional experiences from within.

2. Samana – This is found one step above the apana on your body. It, therefore, is at stomach level. Moving in a clockwise direction, samana has a pronounced affect on your abdomen and colon. It, therefore, is in charge of such things as digestion. It also aids the lungs and helps you synthesize or digest any experience you have in life.

3. Udana – This upward moving energy is located in the throat. It governs speech and physical and spiritual growth.

4. Vyana – an outward moving wind, vyana is specifically in the area of the lungs and the heart. It handles blood circulation and, by extension, the flow of all thoughts and emotions.

5. Prana – a forward moving energy, this is the most recognized “wind” of all. It is the Life Force, the Heart of all entities. It controls all sensory perceptions as well as mental impressions. Prana feeds the brain and is the animator of all things.

In such places as Kerala, Ayurveda is of great importance. To understand it requires studying it in depth and with serious devotion. While some may scratch only the surface, others discover how it helps them to grow as a person. The learn how to physically, emotionally and spiritually renew their vitality through the concepts they gain knowledge through the courses they take at such acknowledged centers of learning.