Living Ayurveda Practices

Reflect

1. The Path to Balance (L1): What are the three doṣas and how does Prakṛti differ from Vikṛti? In your own words — not definitions, but what it means clinically to understand someone's nature versus their current imbalance.
2. Your Ayurvedic Daily Routine (L2): What is Dinacaryā and why does Āyurveda consider daily rhythm a therapeutic tool? Which elements of classical Dinacaryā feel most relevant to the modern clients you will see?
3. Principles of Nutrition (L3): How does the Āyurvedic understanding of food differ from conventional nutritional science? What does the concept of Vipāka reveal that calorie or macronutrient counting cannot?
4. Balancing & Healing the Mind (L4): What are the three Guṇas of the mind — Sattva, Rajas, Tamas — and how does each present in a client's behaviour, speech, and relationship to their health?
5. Ayurvedic Cleansing (L5): What is Āma, and what is the difference between cleansing Āma and aggravating a doṣa? Why is this distinction clinically critical?
6. Asana, Prāṇāyāma & Meditation (L6–8): How does each of the three yogic limbs affect the doṣas differently? Give one example of a practice that pacifies Vāta, one for Pitta, one for Kapha.
7. Herbal Therapy (L9): What are the five keys to understanding an Āyurvedic herb — Rasa, Vīrya, Vipāka, Guṇa, Prabhāva — and why is Prabhāva the most mysterious of the five?
8. Sharing Āyurveda (L10): What is the practitioner's ethical responsibility when sharing Āyurveda outside of its classical clinical context? What does it mean to hold the tradition with both accuracy and accessibility?

Reflect

1. Find the classical description of Dinacaryā in Aṣṭāṅgahṛdayam Sūtrasthāna Chapter 2. Copy the śloka or its translation. What does the classical text emphasise that modern wellness culture tends to overlook?
2. Find the classical description of the three Guṇas in the Bhagavad Gītā (Chapters 14 or 17) or in a primary Āyurvedic text. What does the original source say about Tamas that is often softened in modern teachings?
3. Find one peer-reviewed study (post-2000) on either the doṣas and psychophysiology, the effects of Prāṇāyāma on the nervous system, or Āyurvedic herbal therapy. Summarize its findings in 3–4 sentences with citation.
4. Where do the classical sources and modern research speak the same language? Where do they genuinely diverge?

Reflect

1. Choose one herb from Lesson 9 — Aśhwagandha, Triphala, Tulsi, Brahmi, or one of your choosing. What is its primary Rasa (taste)?
2. Vīrya — is it warming or cooling? How does this affect which doṣa it addresses?
3. Vipāka — what is its post-digestive effect on the tissues?
4. Guṇas — what are its primary qualities (heavy/light, dry/oily, sharp/dull)?
5. Prabhāva — does this herb have a special action that its Rasa, Vīrya, or Vipāka alone cannot explain?
6. Clinical indication and contraindication — when would you recommend it, and when would you not?

Reflect

1. What does it mean to you to be 'established in the self'? How is this different from being healthy by conventional measures?
2. Think of a time when you felt genuinely Svastha — not perfect, but rooted. What was present in that time that is sometimes absent now?
3. How does the concept of Svastha change the practitioner's role? If health is about returning to one's own nature — not a universal standard — what does that ask of the person guiding someone back?

Reflect

1. Bring this question to the Forum or community: What brought you to Āyurveda — and what has surprised you most about what you found here? What did you expect, and what have you received instead?
2. Read what others have written before you write your own response. Let their stories settle in you.
3. Respond to one person — not to agree or add information, but to deepen the inquiry together. Ask them something.
4. Come back the next day. Notice if something has shifted in your own story.

Reflect

1. One thing from this course that confirmed something you already knew or sensed — about balance, about the body, about the nature of healing.
2. One thing that genuinely surprised you — perhaps about the mind, or about herbs, or about the relationship between yoga and Āyurveda.
3. One thing you will do differently — in your own daily life, your practice, or the way you will eventually share this knowledge with others.

Reflect

• AAssess Arjun's doṣic picture fully. What is driving his Vikṛti — his yoga practice, his diet, his mental patterns, or a combination? Be specific about which activities are aggravating which doṣas.
• BDesign a personalized Dinacaryā for Arjun. What time should he wake, eat, practice, and rest? Which Āsana style would you recommend instead of Ashtanga, and why?
• CWhich Prāṇāyāma practices would you recommend, and which would you ask him to reduce or stop? Justify each recommendation with the doṣic action of the breath practice.
• DDesign a simple herbal protocol for Arjun using two herbs from Lesson 9. For each, name the Rasa, Vīrya, Vipāka, and specific indication for his presentation.
• EArjun asks: 'How do I meditate when I can't sit still?' Write the answer you would give him in a real consultation — warm, practical, and rooted in the Āyurvedic approach to the Rājasic mind.

Reflect

1. Choose a real encounter — formal or informal. Bring what you have learned into it: ask about their daily rhythm, their relationship to movement, their mental quality. Observe their doṣic presentation.
2. Document the person as a narrative — not a clinical record. Who are they? What do they tell you without words?
3. What one recommendation from this course did you introduce or wish you could have? How did they receive it?
4. What did this real encounter teach you about the gap between knowing the sister sciences and helping a real person live them?

Reflect

1. Write a one-page personalized guide for this person — covering the key elements of their daily life through the lens of Sister Science Foundations: their Dinacaryā, their ideal approach to movement and breath, a simple herbal recommendation, and one mind-care practice.
2. Write it in language they can understand and actually use. No Sanskrit unless you explain it. Make it feel like care, not a prescription.
3. Read it aloud. Notice where it sounds like a lecture rather than guidance. Revise those passages.
4. Share it with one person. Ask: would you trust this guidance? Would you actually follow it? Note what they said.

Reflect

1. Design a morning routine of 30–45 minutes incorporating classical Dinacaryā elements: tongue scraping, oil pulling or Abhyaṅga, warm water, brief movement or Prāṇāyāma, a moment of stillness before the day begins. Make it realistic for your actual life.
2. Follow this routine for 7 consecutive days. Keep a brief daily log — even one honest sentence.
3. On day four, adjust something based on what your body or your constitution is asking for. Note what you changed and why.
4. On day seven, ask yourself: what is the difference between doing this as a student and recommending it as a practitioner?
5. Write a paragraph: what did living Dinacaryā for one week teach you that no description of it could?

Reflect

1. Practice a Vāta-pacifying sequence for 20 minutes: slow, grounded, held postures, emphasis on the lower body and joints, smooth breath. Note how your body and mind feel before and after.
2. On a separate day, practice a Pitta-pacifying sequence: cooling, surrendering, moonlit quality, avoiding inversion-heavy or competitive sequences. Note the difference.
3. On a third day, practice a Kapha-stimulating sequence: vigorous, warming, energizing, longer holds with breath engagement. Note the difference.
4. Reflect: which sequence felt most natural to your body, and which felt most foreign? What does this reveal about your own Prakṛti and Vikṛti?
5. Write a paragraph: how does understanding the doṣic effects of Āsana change how you would design a yoga practice for a client — compared to a generic class?

Reflect

1. For three days, follow a simple Āma-reducing protocol: warm water with lemon and ginger upon waking, Kitcharī or simple cooked food as your primary diet, no cold drinks, no raw food after sunset, early and light evening meals.
2. Each morning, observe your tongue before eating or drinking. Note the coating — its colour, thickness, and whether it changes across the three days.
3. Note your energy, digestion, mental clarity, and sleep quality across the three days. What changes? What does not?
4. On day three, research the classical signs of Āma (Āma Lakṣaṇa) and the signs of its reduction (Nirāma Lakṣaṇa). Assess yourself against both lists.
5. Write a paragraph: what did experiencing a simple cleansing protocol teach you about recommending it to a client — particularly about the emotional dimension of changing how one eats?

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1. Learn the Gāyatrī Mantra or the simple seed mantra for each doṣa: Vāta — Om Aim; Pitta — Om Śrīm; Kapha — Om Hrīm. Choose the one most relevant to your current Vikṛti and chant it for 5 minutes each morning for three days.
2. Before each session, note your mental quality: scattered or focused? Hot or cool? Heavy or light? After each session, note the same.
3. On day three, chant your chosen mantra immediately before your meditation practice from Lesson 8. Notice whether the quality of your meditation changes.
4. Research the classical Āyurvedic understanding of Nāda — sound as medicine. What does the tradition say about the therapeutic use of sound for each doṣa?
5. Write a paragraph: how might you introduce mantra or sound as a therapeutic tool in a clinical context — practically, non-imposingly?

Reflect

1. Practice Nāḍī Śodhana (alternate nostril breathing) for 10 minutes each morning for five days. This is tridoṣic — it balances all three doṣas — and a safe foundation for any constitutional type.
2. On days one and two, simply observe. What is the state of your mind before the practice? What is it after?
3. On day three, practice Śītalī (cooling breath) after your Nāḍī Śodhana. Notice the Pitta-pacifying quality of the cool breath.
4. On day four, practice Bhastrikā (bellows breath) for 2 minutes before your Nāḍī Śodhana. Notice the Kapha-stimulating, Vāta-mobilizing quality.
5. Write a paragraph: how does understanding the doṣic effects of different Prāṇāyāma practices change how you would guide a student or client through breathwork?

Reflect

1. Write a 3–5 minute introduction to the sister sciences — as you would present them to a complete beginner who has never heard of Āyurveda or yoga philosophy. Make it grounded, warm, and free of jargon.
2. Record it using your phone. Listen back to your own voice. Notice: does it carry conviction? Warmth? Clarity? Does it sound like someone you would trust?
3. Ask one person — a friend, a family member, a fellow student — to listen and give you one specific piece of feedback.
4. Revise one section based on what you heard in yourself and what they offered.

Reflect

1. Identify your current dominant Vikṛti. Research the foods that are most supportive for that imbalance — the tastes, the qualities, the preparation methods.
2. For one week, cook primarily from that list. Keep a brief daily log of what you ate and how you felt — digestion, energy, mental quality, sleep.
3. On day four, eat one meal that is specifically contraindicated for your Vikṛti. Observe any difference in how you feel in the following hours.
4. Note the foods you found most difficult to give up. What does this difficulty reveal about the addictive quality of aggravating foods?
5. Write a paragraph: what did cooking for your constitution for one week teach you about Āyurvedic nutrition that reading about it could not?

Reflect

1. Using your knowledge from Lesson 9, formulate three simple herbal teas — one for each doṣa. For each herb in your blend, note the Rasa, Vīrya, and the specific doṣic action.
2. Make and drink your own Vikṛti-appropriate tea each morning for three days. Observe any change in your energy, digestion, or mental quality.
3. On day two, adjust one ingredient based on what your body told you after day one. Note the adjustment and the reason.
4. Write a clinical card for each of your three formulas: ingredients, preparation, dosage, indication, and contraindication.
5. Which of the three blends would you most want to share with someone you know? Why?

Reflect

1. For three days, cook meals specifically designed to reduce Āma: warm, light, well-spiced with digestive herbs (ginger, cumin, coriander, fennel), easily digestible, no cold or raw food, no heavy combinations.
2. Cook a pot of CCF tea (coriander, cumin, fennel) and sip it warm throughout each day. Observe your digestion and tongue coating across the three days.
3. Research the classical Āma-reducing spices and their specific actions. Which of these are already in your kitchen?
4. On day three, cook your most beautiful Āma-reducing meal — something that is also genuinely delicious. Note the recipe.
5. Write a paragraph: how does cooking to reduce Āma differ from cooking for health in the conventional sense? What changes when you cook with a clinical intention?

Reflect

1. Move for 8 minutes as Vāta — erratic, quick, changeable, light, spacious. Let your body find what this means. Notice your breath, your mind.
2. Transition into Pitta — purposeful, directed, generating heat, intense. Feel the shift.
3. Transition into Kapha — slow, continuous, grounded, heavy. Notice what changes in your mind.
4. Return to stillness. Sit for 5 minutes. Notice which quality your body naturally returns to.
5. Write a paragraph: how does moving through the doṣas change how you understand them clinically — beyond the textbook descriptions?

Reflect

1. Design a 30-minute complete sister sciences protocol for your chosen doṣic type: 15 minutes Āsana, 10 minutes Prāṇāyāma, 5 minutes Dhyāna. Each element should be specifically chosen for its doṣic action.
2. Practice your own protocol three times across the week. Note what you adjust after the first practice.
3. Add a simple herbal tea recommendation from Lesson 9 to accompany the protocol. Which herb, in what form, at what time of day?
4. Write clinical notes for your full protocol: indication, contraindication, modification for a secondary doṣic imbalance.

Reflect

1. Practice a Vāta-appropriate meditation for 10 minutes: grounding visualization, counting the breath, body-scan — something that gives the mobile Vāta mind an anchor. Note your experience.
2. On a separate day, practice a Pitta-appropriate meditation: open awareness, cooling visualization, compassion practice — something that releases rather than focuses. Note the difference.
3. On a third day, practice a Kapha-appropriate meditation: energizing visualization, walking meditation, or chanting — something that moves and elevates the heavy Kapha mind. Note the difference.
4. Which style of meditation felt most natural to your mind? Which felt most challenging? What does this reveal about your own mental constitution?
5. Write a paragraph: how does understanding the doṣic effects of different meditation styles change how you would guide someone who 'can't meditate'?

Reflect

1. Practice a 20-minute Yoga Nidrā three times across the week — ideally at different times of day. Note the quality of your rest in each session.
2. After each session, note the quality of your mental state: clearer or foggier, lighter or heavier, more or less present than before.
3. On your second session, enter the practice with this question held in the body: What does my constitution need most right now — that I am not giving it? Let the stillness answer.
4. Research the Āyurvedic understanding of the different qualities of sleep (Nidrā) — Sāttvika, Tāmasika, and the role of Ojas in deep rest. What does the tradition say about the relationship between sleep quality and doṣic balance?

Reflect

1. For three sessions across the week, sit in meditation for 15 minutes using a practice suited to your current mental quality (from Lesson 8). After each session, write for 5 minutes — freely, without editing — whatever arose.
2. After your third session, read back through your three pieces of free-writing. What quality of mind do they reveal — predominantly Sāttvika, Rājasika, or Tāmasika?
3. Reflect: does the quality of mind you observe in meditation match how others see you, or how you see yourself in daily life?
4. Write a paragraph: what did sitting with your own mind for three sessions reveal about the relationship between mental Guṇas and clinical presentation?

Reflect

1. Upon waking, before the day begins, write for 3–5 minutes: any images, sensations, or fragments from the night. Do not interpret. Just note.
2. At the end of the week, read back through your entries. Look for any images related to balance or imbalance, movement or stillness, heat or cold, lightness or heaviness.
3. Reflect: is there anything in your dream material that seems to respond to what you have been studying — or to your week of Dinacaryā practice or doṣic cooking?
4. Write a paragraph: what is the relationship between the sister sciences we practice in waking life and the quality of our inner life at night?

Reflect

1. Choose one person who knows nothing about Āyurveda. Explain the three doṣas to them in 10 minutes or less. Use no Sanskrit. Use only words, images, and examples they already know.
2. Watch their face as you explain. Notice what lands — what creates recognition — and what creates confusion.
3. Notice where you hesitate. These are the places where your own understanding is still forming.
4. Ask them one question when you finish: what did they understand, and what remained confusing? Listen carefully — their confusion is more valuable than their comprehension.
5. Return to Lesson 1 to address one gap you identified. Note what you found.

Reflect

1. Choose one thing from this course that feels genuinely useful for someone who is not studying Āyurveda: the concept of Dinacaryā, a doṣa-balancing recipe, a Prāṇāyāma practice, the three Guṇas of the mind, or the idea of Svastha.
2. Offer it in some form — share it with a friend, write it in a message, cook it for someone, demonstrate it.
3. Notice how it feels to give something from your learning away with no expectation of return.
4. Write a paragraph: what is the relationship between understanding something deeply and being willing to give it away freely?

Reflect

1. Write a 2-page study guide for Sister Science Foundations covering all ten lessons. For each lesson, write one essential principle in your own words — not a summary, but the single most important understanding a practitioner must carry from that teaching.
2. Include a brief section on the most common mistakes you believe practitioners make when applying the sister sciences — based on what you have learned and observed in yourself.
3. Include one piece of wisdom from your own practice or observation that is not in any textbook. This is your contribution to the lineage.
4. Share it with one fellow student. Ask for their honest response. Then post the final version to the Forum.