Counting on Balance

The incessant counting and chatter of Mad Girl Math make us crazy.  Sometimes, though, we can count for pleasure.  Take the six tastes, which hold a special place in balanced eating according to Ayurvedic  beliefs.

The ancient Indian science of Ayurveda – dating back more than 5,000 years and technically translated as “Science of Life” – aims to tell us how our lives can be influenced, shaped, and ultimately controlled without interferences from sickness and old age.    Ayurveda is based upon the principles of balance and awareness and the belief that our awareness is the key to our freedom from sickness.  This ancient wisdom recognizes that your mind exerts the deepest influence upon your body.

According to Ayurveda, the primary information in food – the manner in which food “talks” to your body – is contained in its taste. There are six primary tastes, or rasas, and in order to achieve balance, it is important to eat all six tastes at every meal.  They are:  sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.

According to Deepak Chopra in his Ayurvedic manual, Perfect Health (find it here), “Without knowing about nutritional balance in terms of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, native cultures around the world realized that their diets had to be dynamic.  They had to have tastes that wake up the body, like bitter and astringent, and others that soothe it, primarily sweet.  Digestion sometimes needed to be increased with “hot” tastes – pungent, sour and salty – and at other times decreased with “cold” tastes – bitter, astringent, and sweet.  All of this was understood instinctively.”

Ayurveda is a system of health that steers us away from the punishing counting of Mad Girl Math, toward an intuitive understanding of our bodies – and toward balance.  It’s both complicated and simple, and it’s a fascinating read.  

I started my journey with several of Deepak Chopra’s books and then attended a couple of outstanding workshop/retreats at the Chopra Center.   I was so caught up in the "aha" moment of Ayurvedic balance and the peace I experienced that I couldn't help but enthusiastically inform everyone I encountered. (My husband teased me at the time that I could use a little less Deepak and a little more Tupac.)  Perhaps more than any other discovery, the idea that balance – rather than rigorous self-discipline – is the key to happiness and a sense of personal peace, has changed my life.

I've since been introduced to an entire group of wonderful writers and speakers who make Ayurveda accessible and easy to understand.  Lisa Coffey has an excellent book called What’s Your Dosha, Baby? and a supporting website at   http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/. Here you can take a quiz to determine your dosha – or Ayurvedic body type.  She also sends out beautiful daily messages from her site coffeytalk.com.  John Douillard applies Ayurveda to exercise, explaining why certain fitness activities are better suited for certain body types – and in specific seasons – in Body, Mind and Sport (buy it at Amazon.com).  You can learn about cooking for Ayurvedic body types in Eat, Taste, Heal (get it here), which features gorgeous photos.

If you’re looking for a new way to be well that doesn’t include a calculator, consider an old way: Ayurveda.   And remember the number six at mealtime, so you can count on balance and satisfaction.