Sister Sciences: Ayurveda and Yoga

Ayurveda is a sister science to Yoga. Many people in the west associate yoga with a physical practice, but it is so much more than that. Yoga is fundamentally a science of self-realization –  a deep spiritual practice that includes hatha (physical practice), meditation, and pranayama (breath control). These practices move us from an outer, bodily and ego-bound identity to our divine, immortal self that is in our heart.

Ayurveda is a science of self healing that supports yoga practice. Both yoga and Ayurveda follow the Vedic vision and wisdom in their fields of health and spiritual practice.  Ayurvedic knowledge and practices help us live long, healthy and spiritually rich lives by restoring wholeness and providing a foundation and the energy needed to pursue a quest for deeper meaning and connection to the self through yoga.

The link between Yoga and Ayurveda is prana (our vital life force). Yoga is the intelligence of prana and Ayurveda is its healing power. Every time we breathe we are bathing ourselves in healing prana. Yoga teaches us how to master prana and use it to heal.

Dr. David Frawley sums up the profound effects of these two sciences in his book Yoga and Ayurveda:

“Together Ayurveda and yoga afford a complete discipline, one which can transform our existence from the physical to the deepest spiritual levels of our being with extraordinary vitality and creativity on all levels.”