Importance of Satmya and Asatmya in Our Daily Life
ABSTRACT
Different people have different likes and dislikes. Some people prefer spicy food while some can’t tolerate spicy food. Some develop allergies after having peanuts or smelling a certain type of flower. Some people prefer walking while some can pull off high-intensity cardio activities like jogging. Some people can tolerate a hot climate and sun while some develop sunburn while going in the sun or have a bleeding nose in a hot climate. Some can have frostbite in cold conditions. It all depends on the satmya and asatmya of the person. Which is different for every person so in this article we will be looking at the concept of satmya and asatmya
INTRODUCTION
The medicines, food, lifestyle conditions, and atmosphere which is suitable and habitual for the person are known as satmaya (charak/vi/1/20) this concept is also known as upshya in ayurveda. The medicines, food, lifestyle conditions, and atmosphere which is not suitable for the patient and are not adapted to it are known as asatmya. It is also known as anupshya. The food, lifestyle, medicines, and atmosphere which is adapted to the person but are not suitable for their prakriti or body constitution is known as oaksatmya.
It is a crucial concept in Ayurveda and it is used widely in every step while giving ayurvedic treatment. It has importance in pariksha (history) of the patient. It is also used when prescribing medicines for the patient and also while giving the diet and lifestyle modifications. Satmya and Asatmya can be studied according to Doshas Prakriti, Disease.
TYPES OF SATMYA (charak/vi/1/20)
Based on the type of food and their rasa we can classify satmya according to:
- Pravar satmya
- Avar satmya
- Madhyam satmya
Pravar satmya- Is a type of satmya in which a person can take all the foods which have a single rasa or foods including all 6 rasas.
Avar satmya- It is a type of satmya in which a person can eat only one type of rasa.
Madhyam satmya- it is a type of satmya in which a person is able to take food between avar and pravar satmya like foods which have 2-3-4-5 rasa. The foods which a person cannot tolerate are known as asatmya.
COMPONENTS OF SATMYA
- Prakriti satmya
- Desha satmya
- Ritu satmya
- Vyadhi satmya
- Swabhav satmya
- Jaati satmya
- Vaya satmya
1.PRAKRITI SATMYA
Every person has a different kind of Prakriti we can say its body constitution of the person, our body is made up of tridoshas i.e. vata, pitta, kapha and each individual have different measures of vata, pitta and kapha due to which each individual have different kind of prakritis of their body which can be single dosha dominated or combination of two doshas. (charak/sutrasthana/8/40)
Different Prakriti people have different kinds of satmya for their bodies for example
- Vaat prakriti people will be satmya to hot and moist food and will be asatmya to dry food, dry weather, intense exercise etc
- Pitt prakriti people will be satmya to cold atmosphere, doing less intense work and asatmya to hot and spicy food, hot environment.
- Kapha prakriti people are satmya to lavan ras, hot environment, they have more energy to satmya to high intensity exercises but asatmya to cold food, cold environment etc.
2. DESHA SATMYA
It refers to a person’s suitability for a particular geographical area. People living in a particular area have different kinds of food habits and lifestyles.
There are 3 types of desha told in ayurveda
- Jaangal desha- which mostly have dried properties of the area, plants and animals which grow in the area are also having dry properties and aggravate vata and pitta dosha so satmya for these people will be moist or foods which are sneh yukta.
- Anup desha- which is also known as marshy land, plants and animals grown there will have kapha aggravating properties. People living there will also have more kapha dosha in them so satmya for them is dry or hot kind of food
- Sadharan desha- it is the normal type of land which has all three doshas in balanced form and where all the climates are moderate in condition so people living there will be able to tolerate each kind of food.
The people who cannot follow the lifestyle or intake of foods which are mentioned for the specific desha are known as asatmya desha.
3. RITU SATMYA
It is a type of satmya according to different climatic conditions, different climates have different kinds of satmya.
In ayurveda there are 6 types of ritus (climate) and according to which every ritu has different kinds of diet and lifestyle recommendations in ayurveda.
- Grishma ritu (summer climate)- anulepan of chandan, living in a cold room, cold water, sweetened water, meat of animals living in jangal desha, sattu mixed with ghee.
- Shishir ritu (late winters)- this weather has satmya of hot potency food, oily foods, foods including salts or sour foods, and can also take meat from animals which are grown in marshy lands or fish.
- Vasant ritu (spring season)- In this ritu exercise, chandamn lepa, barley millet, wheat flour etc.
- Varsha ritu (rainy season)- Can take honey, old barley millet, wheat, sour and salty food, oily food , ubtan applying etc can be used
- Sharad ritu (Autumn season)- sweet food, light food, foods which do not accumulate pitta dosha.
- Hemant ritu (early winters)- same as shishir ritu
As different ritus have different kinds of satmya, every ritu also has different kinds of asatmya. The lifestyles and foods which are contraindicated in every ritu is asatmya for that ritu.
4. VYADHI SATMYA
It is suitable according to the nature of every disease that is different, doshas included in every vyadhi is different. There are acute and chronic conditions of the disease so diet and lifestyles are made according to that for example: In rheumatoid arthritis black lentils are not suitable , yavagu is preferred in almost every disease, warm water is helpful for digestion, and in acute conditions, curd in loose motions.
5.SWABHAV SATMYA
It refers to suitability according to different groups of people as charak has described mother’s milk as suitable for infants. And the unsuitability of certain foods and lifestyle is known as swabhav asatmya .
6. JATI SATMYA
it can be understood as suitability of certain foods or lifestyle in different species like wheat is suitable for humans and grass in suitable for animals and meat is suitable for carnivores. And foods or lifestyles which are unsuitable for different kinds of species are known as jaati asatmya like grass is unsuitable for humans etc.
7. VAYA SATMYA (Age)
It can be understood as the suitability of different lifestyles according to the age of the person. Infants and children should be given a liquid or semi-solid diet while adults can have every type of food. And like this the foods that are to be avoided for different age groups. Solid foods are to be avoided for infants etc. is known as asatmya
CONCEPT OF OAKSATMYA
It refers to the satmyta of the foods or lifestyle that are not healthy or should be avoided to stay healthy but with the consumption of foods and lifestyle like this body has adapted to the food or lifestyle and medicine etc.
For example- hot and spicy food is asatmya for people having pitt prakriti or people living in jangal desh but with the daily practice of this type of food, people do not have any problems related to pitta doshas. People should consume light and cold food in the summer season but with the practice of daily eating non-veg food, they do not get any side effects. This concept of ayurveda is known as the oaksatmya
IMPORTANCE OF SATMYA AND ASATMYA IN OUR DAILY LIFE
IMPORTANCE IN DIAGNOSIS
it is beneficial in the diagnosis of disease if a person is aggravating the symptoms of a disease after intaking oily food then it can be understood that the disease is caused by Kapha dosha, if symptoms of the disease are aggravating in the Hemant ritu i.e. early winters that means it is a kind of pitta disorder.
2. IMPORTANCE IN TREATMENT
It has a vital role in treatment also, as the medicines are decided after the knowledge of disease and looking at what are the satmya for the disease as described in vyadhi samya.
Diet modifications are also done after the knowledge of the satmya asatmya of the patient. The rasayan therapies are also administered after the knowledge of satmya and desirable results of the patients.
Every type of panchakarma therapy is also only performed if it is satmya for the patient who is lean and emaciated we can not give Vamana therapy to that patient.
DIET- Satmya asatmya is important for deciding the diet of the person. Every person has different kinds of diet preferences according to the prakriti, desh, kaal etc.
CONCLUSION
As we read above the concept of the satmya and asatmya we can conclude that it’s a very vital concept in the Ayurveda and also it is very beneficial in our daily lives. Every person should follow their lifestyle and food habits according to the satmya and asatmya of their body type, geographical area, climatic conditions, etc.
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