Ayurveda and the 5 senses – Part 2

 

Our senses are our intimate and unique connection with ourselves and the world. An intimate and unique connection. And yes, the uniqueness of our current world, often based on statistics, is completely ignored. It is perhaps one of the major strengths of Ayurveda to perceive the individual in all their colors as a unique being, both genetically and epigenetically (environmentally).  Our senses are our vital energy; they inform us and react in close connection with our soul, our Self.

As the gateway and exit to our perception of the world, what could be more important for holistic health?  If you read the spring blog, I will continue with only 3 senses: vision, hearing, and touch, whose range of perception extends to all human facets.  For taste and smell, topics already covered in previous blogs, it is diet that offers the greatest benefit, and Ayurveda pays particular attention to it with nutritional programs adapted to the individual, according to their state of health and environment.

 

Let’s talk about vision:  vision is a form of mental digestion of ideas, opinions, criticisms… The eyes are a frequency-receiving organ whose information is decoded by the brain. Overstimulated and in today’s world, exposed to long hours of cold, blue light from computer screens, it goes without saying that visual digestion is negatively affected, often perceived as extreme fatigue.  How can this be remedied? Shirodhara, a warm oil session on the forehead, is an Ayurvedic therapy of choice for resting and rebalancing any discomfort in the head.  It engages the brain in meditation mode, encouraging eye rest. This proves to be a therapy of choice for any overstimulation of the senses.  As for chromotherapy, it is very useful for pain and psychological disorders.

 

Let’s talk about hearing:  related to speech, hearing is listening to oneself and others and the expression of thoughts and ideas in response to what is perceived. bWe are surrounded by sounds, audible and inaudible (unconscious) frequencies. bAll these sounds can cause auditory overstimulation; walk in the forest, far from the city, and you will immediately feel an interconnection with yourself, an auditory calm that may be preceded by discomfort due to a lack of stimulation, like a detox…  Then, when you return to the city, there will be a moment of transient overvoltage followed by a more or less conscious adaptation.  What does Ayurveda offer?  Pranayama, the science of breathing to better center oneself, the use of mantras, and marma therapy to realign vital energy between listening and speaking.

 

Let’s talk about touch (tactile sense):  the tactile sense is linked to the hands and feet with the ability to hold and let go, to grasp and move, otherwise there will be physical accumulation, mental procrastination… The skin, the largest organ of the body, is the receptor including a range of specialized cells that perceive well beyond the physical realm.  Touch is the broadest sense; it affects the physical as well as the mental, emotional and spiritual.  For example, the expressions “it is touching, or touched, to be in contact, or to have a green thumb, or even tact…”.  All these expressions bring us back to other dimensions than physical allowing touch to achieve balance by producing neurotransmitters such as serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine.  Yoga nidra is an excellent approach for letting go and returning to oneself.  Abhyanga (Ayurvedic massage) allows for muscular and mental relaxation to clear and rebalance the nervous, lymphatic, and circulatory systems.  Marma therapy (energy points) reestablishes the energetic connections linking the centers of touch.  Touch is both the first perception and the last sense to leave us.

 

In everyday life, we constantly use terms related to the tactile sense, unaware of their vast impact on all levels of our being. We touch upon the awareness of our states of mind.  Awareness that our senses go beyond the physical, and that the mind and consciousness are part of our intimate connection with ourselves, can contribute to the creation of a better world, the transition from the senseless to the sensible.