To achieve a strong immune system, attractive beauty and a radiant zest for life, Ayurveda believes you only need one thing: sufficient ojas. This vital life force is a metabolic product that determines the physical and mental energy status and can be constantly renewed through the right diet, yoga and meditation.
Many of us invest a lot of time and effort in order to feel healthy and fit. We practise yoga and exercise, eat consciously and try to avoid environmental toxins. And indeed - if we manage to balance out the exhausting stress factors of everyday life with sufficient exercise, relaxation and food rich in vital substances, we enjoy a strong resilience and immunity in body and mind.
From an Ayurvedic point of view, the digestive system is the decisive factor for the success of our health-promoting efforts. Only through an active tissue metabolism can we convert food into ojas, the substantial life energy. And for this to work well, we need a balanced nervous system that ensures a good environment for intestinal bacteria and flora (microbiome) and thus strengthens the body's digestive and defensive powers.
Prana and ojas - subtle and substantial life energy
When it comes to our own tangible energy and health status, we distinguish between the different qualities of prana and ojas.
The principle of prana is well known to yoga practitioners: With the breath, we take in the subtle life energy prana during asana practice and pranayama and allow it to circulate through the energy pathways (nadis) in the body. In Ayurveda, Prana is described as the subtle function of Vata, which ensures the dynamic power of body and mind through movement and breathing. Exhaustion, listlessness and feeling heavy are often signs of a lack of prana flow and can be successfully regulated through balancing movement in combination with conscious breathing and relaxation.
The term ojas, on the other hand, literally means "rays" and refers to the substantial life and immune force that forms our tissue metabolism as a nourishing essence. If we have active cell renewal, we enjoy plenty of ojas, which provides us with everything that makes us healthy, beautiful and happy. According to Ayurveda, love, contentment, intelligence, radiance and immunity are among the direct signs of a good ojas status. Premature ageing, immunodeficiency, depression, burnout and infertility, on the other hand, result from a lack of ojas, which is often caused by too much stress and poor nutrition.
More ojas and prana through the right diet
In Ayurvedic medicine, the right diet plays a leading role in supplying the body with sufficient ojas and prana. With fresh, sweet and easily digestible food, which is carefully prepared and eaten mindfully in a relaxed atmosphere, we gain new vitality that gives us physical and mental strength.
We find the highest prana content by eating seasonal fruits and vegetables, which should be consumed as fresh and natural as possible. A daily fruit meal and a smoothie in between meals are therefore real prana boosters.
Ojas-rich substances are characterized by a sweet, uplifting and slightly oily quality. Ayurveda names milk, ghee, honey, almonds, mango, grapes, mango, pomegranate, raisins, dates and amla as the best foods to supply the body with the immune and performance-enhancing vital force. The amla fruit, which is particularly rich in ojas, is processed into chyavanprash according to a traditional recipe: A jam that also contains many other herbs for physical and mental strengthening. And in Ayurveda, a teaspoon of chyavanprash a day is the easiest way to gain more ojas for physical and psycho-mental well-being.
