Glowing with Ojas
By Karyn Chabot, M.Ay., LMT, RYT
-Sacred Stone Online School has been an esteemed Ayurveda School since 2001 where students successfully study Ayurvedic Medicine to heal, body and spirit.-
Ojas is moonlike in properties, unctuous in color and cold in potency, stable moving forth, clear, soft, slimy and is chief among the seats of life: the entire body with all its organs are pervaded by it, and in its absence the body of living beings perishes.[1]
Processed ojas lives in the heart in a quantity of about 8 drops and if it is destroyed, the person will die. It is considered the essence of all bodily tissues (dhatus). Modern medicine as not found the exact equivalent of ojas, however it is similar to a combination of biological substances such as albumin, globulin and various anti-bodies such as white blood cells and lymphocytes: all of which are found throughout the various dhatus to maintain vitality and natural resistance against illness. This is called natural immunity or glowing with ojas. Unprocessed ojas circulates through out the body and becomes processed in the heart. [2]
Some foods that will build and preserve ojas: (These foods will also build kapha, so eat them in moderation.)
1. Raw peeled almonds
2. Raw unprocessed milk
3. Ghee
4. Saffron
5. Raw honey
6. Mejool dates
7. Shatarvri (herb)
8. Ashwaganda (herb)
Activities that build and preserve ojas:
Blissful singing (kirtan)
Walking in the forest, nature or along the shore
Meditation
Prayer
Being in love
Being pregnant (after 2 pregnancies, ojas can be depleted)
Thinking joyful thoughts
Warm oil massage
Activities that burn or deplete ojas:
Too much computer work
Too much exercise or profuse sweating
Excessive worry
Insomnia
Negative thinking
Workaholism
Alcoholism
Excessive sex (especially masturbation)
Stress
Fatigue
Loneliness
Heartbreak
Over-thinking
Excessive reading
[1] Sushruta Samhita, Sutrasthana, ch 15
[2] Maharishi University