Ayurvedic definition of health showing balance of body, mind and digestion

In our modern life, health is often defined by what isn’t present — no diagnosis, no alarming lab values and no obvious symptoms that can be measured.

And yet, something still feels off.

You may find yourself sensing that something isn’t quite right, but unable to pinpoint exactly what it is. You might experience recurring migraines, ongoing digestion issues, unexplained allergies or chronic pain that seems to come and go. Sleepless nights may be becoming more common, brushed off as part of modern stress, or you may notice energy crashes that hit hard in the afternoon. At the end of a demanding workday, you reach for an extra candy bar or a stimulating energy drink because it offers a brief moment of relief — a small pause from constant pressure.

For many women, menstrual cycles arrive with heightened anxiety and stress. The heart may race. The mind feels unsettled.
And yet, lab results come back “normal.”

So you take a painkiller to reduce the headache. You push through the day and hope tomorrow will be better.

This is a familiar experience in the landscape of modern stress and health, where constant stimulation and pressure can mask deeper imbalances.

A Different Question Altogether

Ayurveda asks a different question altogether:

Is the system functioning in harmony?

Rather than focusing solely on disease, Ayurveda looks at how the body, mind and inner rhythms are working together — day after day, season after season. This naturally leads us to ask: what is health according to Ayurveda, and how does it differ from modern medical definitions?

The Ayurvedic Definition of Health

Classical Ayurvedic texts describe a healthy person with a simple yet profound statement:

Sama Doṣa Samāgni ca Sama Dhātu Malakriyāḥ |

Prasanna ātma indriya manah Swastha iti abhidhīyate ||

—Sushrutha Samhita

This definition is not poetic abstraction.
It is practical, observable and deeply relevant to daily life.

Let’s break it down.

Sama Doṣa — Are the doshas functioning in balance, or is one aggravated or depleted?
Sama Agni — Is digestion and metabolism (Agni) steady, intelligent and adaptable?
Sama Dhatu — Are the tissues properly nourished and resilient?
Malakriyāḥ — Are waste products being eliminated efficiently and naturally?
Prasanna Atma Indriya Manaha — Are the soul, the senses and the mind calm, clear and content?

A person in whom all of these remain in balance is considered healthy — a person established in Swastha.

This understanding reflects the core principle of Ayurveda and balance. Health is not a fixed goal or permanent achievement, but a dynamic state that continuously responds to life.

Health Is More Than the Absence of Symptoms

Health in Ayurveda is defined as far more than the absence of symptoms.

Ayurveda does not promise a symptom-free existence. It acknowledges that life brings stress, hormonal shifts, seasonal transitions and emotional change. A healthy system is not one that never fluctuates — it is one that can adapt, recover and self-correct.

This is where Ayurveda shifts the conversation from symptoms vs root cause, helping us understand why imbalance is arising rather than only managing its outward expression.

Symptoms are not enemies to suppress. They are messages — early signals that balance is shifting and attention is needed.

Many of the experiences we normalize today reflect a deeper disturbance in mind-body balance, even when medical tests appear normal.

The Individual as the Healer

At the heart of Ayurveda lies a deeply empowering truth.

All disease arises in the body, the mind or both together. At the same time, all the systems required for healing — digestion, metabolism, hormones, immunity and cellular intelligence — already exist within the individual.

Ayurveda teaches that the true healer is the individual themselves.

Healing is not something imposed from the outside through medicines alone. It naturally unfolds when the internal environment supports the body’s innate intelligence. This understanding lies at the heart of self-healing in Ayurveda.

The Conditions That Shape Health

Every day, health is shaped by countless influences:

The food and water we consume
The air we breathe and the sensory inputs we absorb
Seasons, climate and surroundings
Relationships, stress, emotions and lifestyle
Genetics and long-standing habits
And the stage of life we are in — because time itself brings change

When these influences consistently support imbalance, disease progresses. When they support the body’s natural intelligence, healing unfolds — often without force and sometimes without anything additional from the outside.

This is the essence of holistic health in Ayurveda — seeing the body, mind and inner rhythms as an interconnected whole.

A Closing Reflection

Ayurveda does not ask us to fix the body.

It invites us to listen, to understand patterns and to cooperate with the wisdom that already exists within us. Health becomes less about control — and more about relationship.

And this naturally leads to an important question.

If healing intelligence already exists within us, why do imbalances persist?
Why are chronic conditions so common in modern life?
And what helps us recognize subtle shifts before they become acute or chronic illness?

I’ll share more about this in the next blog post.