Daily Life
Do you know this feeling?
You have actually slept enough – and yet you don’t feel truly rested. You manage your everyday life, take care of your tasks, are there for others – but your inner strength seems to run out faster than it used to. It takes you longer to recover from strain, or you feel less resilient, physically and mentally.
And then there are other times: you wake up feeling clear, calm and full of energy. Challenges don’t throw you off balance so easily. Your body recovers well, you feel strong and at the same time inwardly balanced.
In Ayurveda, this difference leads us to a fascinating concept:
Ojas.
Ayurvedic Insight
Ojas – More Than Energy
In Ayurveda, Ojas is described as the finest essence of the seven body tissues – the Sapta Dhātus. It is associated with vitality, stability, resilience and the capacity to regenerate.
In modern terms, one aspect of Ojas can be compared to our physical resistance and thus also to the function of the immune system. But Ojas is not simply the Ayurvedic word for the immune system.
The concept is broader. It describes not only our ability to cope with external stress, but also our ability to regenerate, to preserve our strength and to remain in balance – in body and mind.
“Ojas is the reserve we draw on when life asks something of us.”
We need this reserve every day.
When we are physically active. When we work with concentration. When we care for others. When we have to cope with stress. And especially when our body needs to recover from illness or a major strain.
A healthy organism can compensate for a great deal. For a while, we can do more, sleep less or cope with extraordinary challenges.
What matters, however, is whether we are able to replenish our reserves afterwards.
How Is This Precious Reserve Created?
In Ayurveda, the formation of Ojas begins with what nourishes us – and with our ability to truly process this nourishment.
Our food is transformed by Agni, our principle of digestion and transformation. Well-digested food gives rise to Āhāra Rasa, the nourishing essence of food.
According to Ayurvedic understanding, it nourishes the seven body tissues – the Sapta Dhātus – step by step:
- Rasa – nourishing body fluids
- Rakta – blood
- Māṃsa – muscle tissue
- Meda – fat tissue
- Asthi – bone tissue
- Majjā – bone marrow and nerve tissue
- Śukra/Ārtava – reproductive tissue
Ojas is described as the particularly fine essence of well-nourished Dhātus.
This makes it clear why Ayurveda asks not only what we eat, but also whether we can digest and assimilate what we take in, and transform it into something that truly nourishes us.
We Digest More Than Food
In Ayurveda, this idea goes far beyond our meals.
From morning to night, we take in impressions from our surroundings.
We see. We hear. We smell. We taste. We touch and are touched.
Our five senses – the Jñānendriyas – are our gateways to the world.
Through them we perceive beauty, pleasure and a sense of security. But through the same gateways we are also reached by noise, restlessness, a flood of images and information, and almost constant stimulation.
A beautiful sound can calm us. A familiar scent can evoke memories and feelings. A warm, freshly prepared meal can be much more than the sum of its nutrients. A loving touch can give us a feeling of safety. The sight of nature can bring something within us to rest.
That is why it is worth seeing our senses as more than instruments of perception.
What we see, hear, smell, taste and feel can also nourish us – or drain our strength.
When We Begin to Live on Our Reserves
There are times when life demands more of us. That is completely natural.
But what happens when a temporary strain becomes a permanent state?
When, over a longer period, we use up more than we rebuild?
From an Ayurvedic perspective, too little sleep, overexertion, ongoing stress, illness, burdensome emotions, an unsuitable diet or an impaired Agni can all contribute to weakening Ojas.
Ayurveda describes a depletion of Ojas as Ojas Kṣaya.
At first, we may simply feel more tired. We regenerate more slowly, feel less resilient or lose our inner balance more easily.
This is exactly where the connection to our modern understanding of resilience and physical resistance becomes interesting. The immune system is an important part of our body’s defences. In the Ayurvedic view, however, Ojas goes beyond this and looks at human resilience more comprehensively.
So the question is not only:
“How can I strengthen my immune system?”
But rather:
“How can I nourish my inner reserves again?”
What Nourishes Your Ojas?
There is no answer that is the same for everyone.
Of course, Ayurveda knows foods, herbs, daily routines and ways of living that are traditionally associated with supporting Ojas.
But Ojas also leads us to a very personal look at our own life.
- What truly allows me to come to rest?
- How do I sleep?
- How do I eat – and not only: what do I eat?
- Which people and encounters do me good?
- How much silence is there in my life?
- Which sensory impressions nourish me?
- And which ones leave me exhausted?
Perhaps this is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Ayurvedic understanding of Ojas: we begin to perceive again what truly nourishes us.
Not Only Understanding Ojas – but Experiencing It
This is exactly what our program in Vienna is about:
OJAS – The Essence of Life Experienced Through All Our Senses
Together with Dr. Sushrut Sardeshmukh, we want not only to look at Ojas in theory, but to make it something you can experience.
We begin with the Ayurvedic foundations: What is Ojas? How is it formed? What strengthens it – and what can weaken it?
Then we turn our attention to our five senses.
We will smell, taste, listen, see and feel – and consciously observe how different sensory impressions affect body, mind, emotions and our well-being.
We explore our very personal sources of Ojas – and the things that rob us of it.
On the last day, we connect what we have experienced with everyday life:
What do I want to take home with me?
Because Ayurveda does not begin only when we fall ill.
It begins with perception.
With mindful eating. With mindful listening. With mindful seeing. With mindful smelling. With mindful touch.
And with the realisation that every day we can do something to preserve our inner reserves and nourish them again.
Ojas is the reserve we draw on when life asks something of us.
Perhaps it is time to nourish this reserve again.
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