Healthy digestion is the most fundamental aspect of overall wellness in Ayurveda. The complete digestion, absorption, and assimilation of food nutrients create the building blocks of the body, called ahara rasa, or “the essence of food.” When you chew and swallow your food, it mixes with water, enzymes, and acids, and the end product is the essence or juice, which is used to make tissues. In this way, healthy digestion makes a healthy body. Digesting food properly connects us to the essence of the food we eat every day and to our planet that provides this food. This explains why diet is a profound aspect of Ayurvedic healing.
Complete wellness, however, takes into account not only physical digestion in the stomach, but mental digestion as well. The digestion of ideas, experiences, and emotions is a key function required for our overall well-being. The right amount of input and enough space to process it result in a calm, steady mind and nervous system. This sustainable, low-stress reality underlies the health of the physical body as well.
The connection between stress and sickness is becoming clearer through scientific research—reinforcing the importance of a body/mind connection that has always been at the heart of Ayurveda.
