“Today, each of us individually generates more information than ever before in human history. Our world is now awash in an unprecedented volume of data. The trouble is, our brains haven’t evolved to be able to process it all.”

In Ayurveda, we would say that our tejas, or the fire of our subtle bodies, cannot efficiently process all of the information we take in. To dig deeper into the functioning of tejas, let’s first explore the symbolism and usages of fire.

Fire as symbol

In Ayurvedic philosophy, there are Five Great Elements [Pancha Mahabhuta] that make up our world. They are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. They all have their purposes. Fire is the element responsible for burning, clearing, cleansing, transforming, and illuminating. Metaphorically speaking, fire stands for intelligence, wit, clarity, truth, presence, and light. The element of fire lives in the physical body, keeping us “burning” at about 98.6 degrees. This fire [pitta dosha] directs the release of hormones via the endocrine system and oversees the digestive, metabolic, and regulatory functions.

Fire also resides in an even more subtle place: our minds. In our minds, fire provides clarity, illumination, and truth. This subtle aspect of fire is called tejas in Ayurvedic philosophy, and it directs all mental, emotional, and spiritual activity, including the crucial mental actions of discernment and discipline.

Tejas and discernment

Tejas is responsible for distinguishing falseness from truth, reality from imagination, or even genuine healers from snake oil salespeople. This is the activity of discernment and good discrimination.

Discernment is a power of inquiry that comes to supported, thorough resolutions. But it is a unicorn in our world today. Many people live off knee-jerk reactions and impulses. They are quick to judge and divide. They think they know the truth and are unwilling to challenge or question. Others choose to avoid any situation that asks them to stand their ground or speak their truth. They become passive and gullible. Neither group dives into nuance or subtlety. In Ayurvedic language, we would say that the first group has too much tejas, and the second group doesn’t have enough. When tejas is just right, you can easily discriminate between junk food and nourishing food.

Tejas and personal discipline

There’s a fundamental difference between discipline resulting from strong tejas and the kind of discipline fed by the ego. It would be valid to think of the ego’s discipline as more like force or immobile resolution, whereas tejas discipline is intention and mindful commitment. With tejas, you’re converting the fire’s energy into action, like spending money from your checking account. In the second situation, without a sufficient internal fire to draw from, you’re digging into reserves, like borrowing from a credit card. One day, that bill will come due.

When your discipline is fed by the fire of tejas, you have focus and clarity. You bring your entire being—body, mind, and soul—to your work. You are not deluded in your thinking, and you have no contradictions within yourself or between your words and your actions. A person with good tejas and high personal discipline has integrity, is honest, and shines like a beacon of truth in our world.

When to tend to your fire

Just like a fire in the real world, you must tend to your tejas regularly. Fire needs fuel and oxygen to burn. You have to use good judgment to know when to add fuel to the fire and when to sit back and let the tejas digest what you’ve already given it. Tejas in the mind can be sufficient, too high, or too low. Like Goldilocks and her porridge, you are seeking to build and maintain a “just right” level of tejas. Here is what each of those looks like:

When tejas is deficient, it manifests as:

• Intolerance to cold
• Lackluster, cloudy eyes
• Confusing speech
• Gullible and confused
• Lack of discrimination, clarity, and focus
• Disingenuity

When tejas gets too high, it presents as:

• Being overly critical/judgmental
• Headaches
• Negativity
• Anger
• Manipulative behavior
• Lack of empathy
• Aggressiveness

When tejas works best

A high [but not excessive] level of tejas leaves you feeling clear-headed, radiant, and filled with aspirations. When tejas is burning well within you, it results in a mind that is clear about what it wants and why. Tejas transforms the experiences of your life into wisdom and intelligence.

When the fire of your mind burns brightly and cleanly, the results are:

• Clear thinking
• High intelligence
• Luster in the eyes
• Clear speech
• Radiance
• Discernment
• Ability to endure cold
• Self-reliant and courageous
• Energy of discipline toward your pursuits, both spiritual and worldly

Here are seven ways to tend to your tejas

1. Be mindful about how much and what kind of information you ingest

You’re not a computer, and you’re not designed to simply store information. Instead, you’re supposed to ingest information the same way you take in food—in proper quantities, at designated times, and with the right intention.

2. Surround yourself by inspiring people/places

You learn from your environment. The more you surround yourself with people who have tejas [and you know it when you see it], the more you cultivate it from within.

3. Focus on strengthening your physical digestion

There is a parallel, supportive relationship between the fire of the body [pitta] and the fire of the mind [tejas]. Where one goes, the other follows. However, since it is easier to see the progress of our physical digestion than it is to notice movement in our mental digestion [at least initially], start with what you can observe. Focus on sustaining a bright, healthy digestive fire [agni], and this will, over time, build a glowing mental fire.

4. Get organized

Your external world reflects your inner world and vice versa. Clear the clutter and confusion in your life. Get specific about goals and intentions. Write things down. Speak clearly about them. By doing these things, you will start to feed your mental fire with the oxygen it needs to thrive, and before you know it, organization and clarity will feel like second nature.

[If you’ve determined your tejas is too high, allow more flexibility in your schedule. Let go of some of your fierce determination and practice spontaneity!]

5. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is not only a style of meditation; it’s a way of life. Drop into your five senses and explore your world through what you see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. As you raise your awareness and concentration, you will stoke and steady the fire of your mind.

6. Engage your curiosity

Curiosity is the urge to collect the food [information] our minds need to keep the fire burning. Asking questions and not being too quick to formulate an answer lets the fire linger, rather than raging hot before quickly dying out. It’s important to do curiosity the right way, like a child does, without expectation or judgment. Stay open! No matter your age, there’s more for all of us to learn.

7. Work with a spiritual guide/coach

To help you sort through the clutter and rekindle your fire, it helps to work with someone—whether that person goes by the title of coach, counselor, teacher, or therapist. They can take you through the process of sifting and sorting and building a clear, bright, inviting fire.

Once you raise your tejas, you will know it. You’ll be decisive and direct, without insult or anger. You’ll have clarity and discipline about your future as well as imaginative ways to get you there. You’ll be able to sort through the piles of information that come your way for what matters and what doesn’t. Finally, you’ll notice that people will be drawn to you, inspired by your passion and enthusiasm. From there, perhaps others will also find their own way to greater clarity and higher intellect through the power of tejas. It’s certainly one way to change the world.

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Ayurveda translates to “knowledge of life.” It is often considered the sister science of yoga. Whereas yoga is [traditionally] a quest for self-knowledge, Ayurveda is focused on supporting that path with self-healing. Ayurveda may be an ancient science—over 2,000 years old—but its wisdom remains relevant for those of us today who are interested in health for our whole constitution.

The doshas of Ayurveda

In Ayurvedic philosophy, all things of the world, including our bodies, can be categorized and organized by the three doshas (constitutions) of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The doshas, in turn, represent various combinations of the Five Great Elements (Pancha Mahabhuta): Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. And these, in turn, have qualities associated with them. So we have:

Vata (Air/Ether) =  light, cold, and dry

Pitta (Fire) = light, hot, and dry

Kapha (Water/Earth) = heavy, cool, and damp

The goal of Ayurveda is to make dietary and lifestyle choices that best suit our dosha by using the principle of like attracts like and opposites heal. In regards to exercise, this means that while your body is wise, your cravings and desires are not always pointing you in the right direction. Often, people tend to be attracted to an activity that aggravates, rather than balances, their constitution, leaving them feeling depleted, frustrated, bored, overstimulated, or in some other state of imbalance. And when exercise leaves you feeling in any of these states, you’re not likely to enjoy it, continue it, or reap the benefits from it.

What’s the best exercise for your Ayurvedic dosha?

Knowledge about your dosha and the effect different exercises will have on it, you can create an exercise programme that fires you up when you need inspiration, grounds you when you need support, or opens you up when you need flexibility.

Know who you are

To begin with, discover what your dosha is by visiting with an Ayurvedic practitioner or taking a simple test online. Try to find a quiz or practitioner that will help you find your prakrithi [original constitution] versus your vikrithi [current state]. If you are dual-doshic or tri-doshic, focus on which one is primary. The others can come into play as you refine your programme.

The next step is to make choices that will keep you, and your dosha, in balance and best health. Below is a brief description of each dosha, their tendency, and the types of exercise that would most effectively bring them into balance.

Vata dosha

Tendency

People with vata dosha like to move like the wind [air + ether], so they tend to be drawn to vigorous exercise that keeps them moving, such as aerobic activity or running. They crave a lot of change and variety, and never want to repeat the same class twice. They like to feel light and resist activities that keep them tied to one place.

Result

As a result of performing vata exercises, vata people run the risk of further increasing the vata within them, setting them up for imbalance. They might initially come away from their workouts feeling great about the calories they burned, but also feeling ungrounded and unfocused as they move into the rest of their day or evening. They tend to crash into exhaustion.

How to balance the vata dosha via exercise

While they often resist it, vata types benefit from grounding exercises that keep them close to the floor/earth. They would benefit from weight training, getting outdoors, and exercises with repeated, steady routines (a repeated Vinyasa yoga sequence, for example).

Pitta dosha

Tendency

Pitta dosha tends to join competitive teams and play active sports such as tennis, squash, football, etc. With the heat of their inner fire, they go all in with any sport they choose. They’re also generally good at most sports, so that’s a draw, too!

Result

But, if you’re pitta dosha, you likely don’t need yet another area of competition in your life. This choice of exercise can leave you more aggravated, angry, and hot-tempered. Pittas eventually “burn out.”

How to balance the pitta dosha via exercise

You might not like it initially, but an activity like tai chi or qigong would be a powerful counter-activity to keep the fire of your pitta in check. Another great option would be swimming—individually or in small groups—as the water is cooling and soothing for a pitta type. The key for pitta is to slow down and cool down, finding joy in the simple movements of life.

Kapha dosha

Tendency

For kapha types, made up of water and earth, the tendency is often not to choose an exercise programme at all! The water and earth in them tend to keep them grounded. If they do choose to exercise, it’s generally a short walk or gentle stretching.

Result

Without movement to get the water and earth swirling, little to no improvement is seen, and the adversarial relationship with exercise continues. This creates a cycle in which the dosha continues to accumulate, which eventually causes disease.

How to balance the kapha dosha via exercise

Out of all the three types, this is the type that could benefit the most from (and has the stamina for) vigorous exercise. Working up a good sweat warms kapha dosha and helps break things up and get them moving. It would be helpful for kapha to join in-person classes (or even Zoom live classes) so they can feel the motivation of the other students and use that to get them gently pushing limits.

The bottomline

Getting regular exercise is good for all of us. As long as we’re moving our body in one way or another, we’re reaping benefits: stronger muscles, better balance, increased cardiovascular health, etc. But just “getting through it” is not enough to keep us coming back for life, especially if it’s putting us into greater imbalance.

By employing just a bit of Ayurvedic wisdom, along with an increased understanding about your dosha, you can use your exercise time to take care of your body while also harmonizing, healing, and balancing your constitution as a whole. The best part is this: once you start seeing these additional results from your exercise programme, you are more likely to return to it, setting up habits that can keep you exercising for life.

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