AyurvedaDosha

Modern Ayurveda as healthy lifestyle for Westerners

Glossary of terms

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Click one of the letters above to be taken to a page of all terms beginning with that letter.
Agni

“Lord of fire, home and hearth”, the digestive fire which regulates digestion, absorbtion & assimilation of food into the body.

Ama

Undigested food or experiences that create harmful toxins.

Apana Vayu

A sub-dosha of Vata, responsible for downward movement in the body, like menses, ejaculation, and discharge of urine and faeces.

Astringent

Substance that tends to contract body tissues; commonly experienced via the mouth-puckering feeling caused by tannis in certain fruits like quince or persimmon.

Chakra

(Also written as Cakra) Describes the concept of the seven subtle energy centres in the human body along the spine, connecting the physical body to the astral body.

Panchakarma

Ayurvedic detoxifying and cleansing treatments. There are five treatments available, depending on the constitution of the patient.

Prakruti

Sanskrit for ‘nature’; a person’s mind-body-type comprised of the balance of the three Doshas, determined at the moment of conception.

Prana

The subtle essence of the life force; comparable to Chi in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Absorbed from the air, food and nature it travels through breath and blood and serves as link between body and mind.

Samhita

(Sanskrit saṃhita, “joined” or “collected”); Hindu umbrella term for a collection of texts which is used in Veda, Ayurveda and Tantra.

Sanskrit

Historical and complex Indian language (Indo Aryan classification), language of the Vedas and the classical Indian culture. One of the 22 scheduled languages of India; serves to standardise Indian knowledge like Latin does for Western knowledge.