Ayurveda and The Five Senses
Our 5 senses — taste, touch, hearing, smell and sight — allow us to perceive and experience the world around us. From tasting the decadent flavors of a perfectly blended chai, feeling the warmth of sesame oil on the skin during abhyanga, hearing the sacred sounds of mantra, smelling the exquisite aroma of jasmine flowers, to taking in the beautiful sight of a field of poppies, our senses connect us to the wonder of the external world. When we surround ourselves with prana rich foods, natural skincare products, harmonious sounds, delightful aromatherapy and soul-soothing landscapes and images, we take an active role in maintaining homeostasis and balance within the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies.
Our Sense of Sight
Our eyes are a highly evolved sense organ that we rely on heavily to navigate through our daily life. They have the ability to absorb and transform light, shapes and colors into electrical signals which are then carried to the brain to be processed, digested and transformed into images we can understand. From the Ayurvedic perspective, our eyes are the seat of alochaka pitta, a subdosha of pitta. Since pitta dosha is related to the fire element, alochaka pitta is the fire present within the eyes. Specifically found within the retina, alochaka pitta is responsible for taking in light from the outer world and initiating the process of vision.
In today’s modern world, our eyes, and thus alochaka pitta, are easily overworked and overused. The constant and persistent use of smartphones, computers, tablets and televisions exposes our eyes to an unnatural level of blue light which can expedite the aging process of our eyes. Some symptoms of overworked eyes include dryness, inflammation and puffiness. Ayurvedically speaking, dry eyes are a result of a vata imbalance, inflammation a result of a pitta imbalance, while puffy or swollen eyes point to a kapha imbalance.
Luckily, Ayurveda has some simple, DIY eye care remedies you can utilize to cultivate more balance, health and harmony for your peepers. Let’s explore some easy-breezy eye care recipes that you can prepare at home to maintain the health and vitality of your vision and eyes.
Ayurvedic Remedy for Dry Eye (VATA)
Vata dosha is made up of the air and ether elements. Because of this, vata has the qualities of being light, dry, cold, mobile and flowing. When vata goes out of balance, these qualities become excessive and can cause things like dry skin, constipation and, as you might have guessed, dry eyes. In order to restore balance, Ayurveda recommends bringing in moisture to the eyes through the application of oil. One way to do this is by washing the eyes with ghee. Here’s how it’s done:
Ghee Eye Wash
Ingredients
Eye Wash Cup (we love PAAVANI Ayurveda’s Glass Eye Wash Cup)
Organic Ghee (like Ahara Rasa Ghee)
Directions
Scoop 1 teaspoon of ghee into a clean, sterilized eye wash cup. Place the eye wash cup into a bowl of hot water with the waterline below the top of the eye wash cup. Allow the hot water to warm up the eye wash cup and liquify the ghee. Make sure to let it cool down to a pleasant temperature prior to using it in your eyes (you can do a spot test on your wrist to ensure that the ghee is to the desired temperature). Once the ghee is ready, simply tilt your head down and place the eye wash cup up to your right eye. With the eye wash cup firmly pressed around your eye socket, tilt your head back and open your eye. Blink and move your eyeball around to allow the warm ghee to moisturize and nourish your entire eye. Stay here anywhere between 15-60 seconds and then repeat on the other eye.
We recommend doing this eye wash ritual once per week for maintenance or daily for acute dryness. It is best performed as a nighttime ritual just before bed so that you can allow the eyes to rest and restore while you get your beauty sleep.
Ayurvedic Eye Remedy for Inflammation (PITTA)
Pitta dosha is made up predominantly of fire with a small amount of water. Thus, pitta has the qualities of being light, hot, rough and sharp. When in excess, these qualities can cause things like sensitive skin, hyperacidity and inflammation. When pitta goes out of balance within the eyes, we can experience dry, hot, bloodshot eyes that are inflamed and strained. One of our favorite remedies to soothe the hot and intense energy of pitta dosha is a rosewater eye wash. Here’s how it’s done:
Rosewater Eye Wash
Ingredients
Rosewater (like PAAVANI Ayurveda’s Floral Water)
Directions
Fill your eye wash cup ¾ of the way with your rose water or Floral Water. Next, tilt your head down and place the eye wash cup up to your right eye. With the eye wash cup firmly pressed around your eye socket tilt your head back and open your eye. Blink and move your eyeball around to allow the cooling water to soothe and replenish your entire eye. Stay here anywhere between 15-60 seconds and then repeat on the other eye.
Ayurveda recommends this eye wash ritual be performed in the morning as part of your dinacharya, or Ayurvedic daily routine. You can enjoy this ritual once per week to maintain the health of your eyes or daily for acute pitta imbalance.
Ayurvedic Eye Remedy for Puffiness (KAPHA)
Kapha dosha houses the elements of earth and water. Due to this, kapha has the qualities of being heavy, cold, dense and cloudy. In excess, these qualities can cause things like oily skin, sluggish digestion and lack of motivation. When kapha goes out of balance in the eyes they may appear to be puffy or swollen, which from an Ayurvedic perspective, is also the result of imbalanced pitta . First, pitta causes inflammation brought on by overworked, fatigued eyes, which provokes kapha dosha to rev up in an attempt to contain the heat of pitta. The result is swollen and puffy eyes. Since pitta dosha is also involved in puffy eyes, doing a Rosewater Eye Wash is indicated but one can also call upon the Ayurvedic formulation of Triphala to help reduce swelling and revive the eyes.
Triphala is the most widely used classical Ayurvedic formulation in the world and for good reason! Comprised of 3 Indian fruits, haritaki, amalaki and bibhitaki, Triphala is commonly used to establish regular bowel movements, eradicate ama (toxins) from the body and aid in healthy digestion. Its high amount of Vitamin C can help the eyes combat the oxidative stress that commonly causes inflammation and ultimately soothe swollen, puffy eyes. Here’s how it’s done:
Triphala Eye Wash
Ingredients
8oz freshly boiled water
Directions
To prepare your Triphala Eye Wash, blend ½ teaspoon of Triphala powder with 8oz of freshly boiled water. Allow this mixture to sit for at least 8 hours. Next, you must strain the solution with a triple fold of cheesecloth in order to remove ALL of the Triphala powder sediment. If necessary, repeat this step a few more times as it is important to make sure all of the sediment is removed.
Fill your eye wash cup ¾ of the way with your infused Triphala water. Next, tilt your head down and place the eye wash cup to your right eye. With the eye wash cup firmly pressed around your eye socket tilt your head back and open your eye. Blink and move your eyeball around to allow the cooling water to soothe and replenish your entire eye. Stay here anywhere between 15-60 seconds then repeat on the other eye.
Triphala Eye Wash can be performed once per week for maintenance or daily for acute symptoms. It is best done in the morning in order to strengthen and prepare the eyes for the demands of your busy day.
Ayurvedic Preventative Care for the Health of Your Eyes
Now more than ever, in this technological age, our eyes are being pushed to the point of exhaustion. Obviously the best solution to remedy the overuse of our eyes would be to log off completely, chuck all devices into the trash and take a sabbatical from the demands of everyday life. Yet, this best case scenario is certainly not an option for the majority of us. Thus, in order to do our work in the most healthy and optimal way, Ayurveda teaches us that we can do little things daily to maintain the strength and longevity of our eyes. The eye wash remedies outlined here are some simple and effective rituals that will not only restore the health of your eyes, but they will also get you into the habit of caring for yourself as an act of self-love and self-preservation. Wishing you joy, health and abundance on your Ayurvedic journey!
Written and contributed by Trudy Collings, co-founder of PAAVANI Ayurveda
