The Heart is the Seat of the Consciousness - Hridaya
At our Abhyanga massage therapist training our students learned about the Ayurvedic perspective of the heart and the importance to nurture it.
The heart is the seat of the consciousness, the seat of knowledge, intellect and the mind. The word Hridaya is the Sanskrit word for the heart.
In Ayurveda the brain can also be called hridaya, showing us that the heart and brain interact in a dynamic relationship, regulating many aspects of cognition and emotional experience.
I find this so interesting as in western medicine it is all about the brain when it comes to cognitive function and intellect. According to Ayurveda we have two brains.
Think of this when making a decision in life. Our life is full of decisions from simply ones, small and inconsequential to large and life determining.
How do you make decisions?
Do you feel in your hridaya (brain) by evaluating, analysing, weighing out your pro and cons, specify your objectives, understand consequences, or do you feel in your hridaya (heart).
Are you less drawn to spreadsheets, risk assessments and feel your heart rather then the intellectual brain on what decisions feels right for you?
Trusting the feeling from your heart can be very powerful and helpful in fulfilling Dharma.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this
Some more information about the heart for the students of Ayurveda from the classical ayurvedic text
Did you know those 5 facts about the Hridaya?
The Pranayatan 10 regions include the right and left temporal regions, Marmas – shiras (head), hridaya (heart), basti (bladder/kidneys), kantha (larynx and tracheal region), rakta (blood), shukra (semen), ojas (vital essence), and guda (anal region).
Ojas is the essence of the dhatus (bodily tissues). It represents the energy required for all the functions of the body and mind. All the sense and motor organs, mind and life itself depends on ojas in their proper functioning.
The blood is nourished with oxygen in the lungs and is moved by the Vyana vayu. The heart is an organ which draws fluid including blood from all over the body and then supplies it to all the parts of the body.
A very good treatment for Hridroga (heart disease) is called Uro Vasti. The treatment involves the patient retaining warm medicated oil on a specific area of the chest over a specific period of time. The medicated oil used for this treatment are Balaashwagandhadi taila, Bala taila and Narayana taila.
The treatment is best done over a period of 7 days.
A heartfelt welcome to Lakshmi Ayurveda
The heart is the seat of the consciousness, the seat of knowledge, intellect and the mind. The word Hridaya is the Sanskrit word for the heart.
In Ayurveda the brain can also be called hridaya, showing us that the heart and brain interact in a dynamic relationship, regulating many aspects of cognition and emotional experience.
I find this so interesting as in western medicine it is all about the brain when it comes to cognitive function and intellect. According to Ayurveda we have two brains.
Think of this when making a decision in life. Our life is full of decisions from simply ones, small and inconsequential to large and life determining.
How do you make decisions?
Do you feel in your hridaya (brain) by evaluating, analysing, weighing out your pro and cons, specify your objectives, understand consequences, or do you feel in your hridaya (heart).
Are you less drawn to spreadsheets, risk assessments and feel your heart rather then the intellectual brain on what decisions feels right for you?
Trusting the feeling from your heart can be very powerful and helpful in fulfilling Dharma.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this
Some more information about the heart for the students of Ayurveda from the classical ayurvedic text
Did you know those 5 facts about the Hridaya?
- The word Hridaya is the Sanskrit word for the heart. It is derived from the 3 verbs.
- Hru – means Harati (to receive from)
- Da – means Dadati (to give)
- Ya – means Yagati (to control)
- Ayurveda considers the Hridaya as one of the 10 important regions where the prana (life) exists (pranayatan). Ch. Su. 29/3
The Pranayatan 10 regions include the right and left temporal regions, Marmas – shiras (head), hridaya (heart), basti (bladder/kidneys), kantha (larynx and tracheal region), rakta (blood), shukra (semen), ojas (vital essence), and guda (anal region).
- The hridaya is situated in between two mammary glands and is the essence of rakta (blood) and sleshma (kapha dosha). It has been conserved as a derivative of matraj bhava (maternal factor) by Charaka Ch. Sha. 4/15.
- Sushruta described the shape of hridaya is a like a reverse lotus (Su. Sha 4/32). The functioning of the heart has been described as a lotus which opens at day time and closes in the night. While asleep the cardiac output decreases.
- Did you know that all the 3 doshas are located in the hridaya? It is the seat of Vyana Vayu (responsible for our circulation), Sadhaka Pitta (represents the enzymes in the heart as well as emotions) and Avalambaka Kapha (represents interstitial fluid) and Ojas (8 drops).
Ojas is the essence of the dhatus (bodily tissues). It represents the energy required for all the functions of the body and mind. All the sense and motor organs, mind and life itself depends on ojas in their proper functioning.
The blood is nourished with oxygen in the lungs and is moved by the Vyana vayu. The heart is an organ which draws fluid including blood from all over the body and then supplies it to all the parts of the body.
A very good treatment for Hridroga (heart disease) is called Uro Vasti. The treatment involves the patient retaining warm medicated oil on a specific area of the chest over a specific period of time. The medicated oil used for this treatment are Balaashwagandhadi taila, Bala taila and Narayana taila.
The treatment is best done over a period of 7 days.
A heartfelt welcome to Lakshmi Ayurveda