Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Shitali
A practice of pranayama (breath control) that cools the system. Inhalation is through the curled tongue; exhalation is slow, steady, and complete.
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Sankhya
One of the schools of Indian philosophy, Sankhya denotes both “discriminative knowledge” and “enumeration.” It gives a systematic account of cosmic evolution from Purusha (Cosmic Spirit) and Prakruti (Primordial Matter) through the stages of creation: Mahad (Cosmic Intelligence),- Ahamkara (individuating principle),- Mana (mind),- Indriyas (the inner doors of perception),- Tanmatras (the objects of perception),- and…
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Samprapti
The pathogenesis of disease; the entire disease process from its cause through its various stages to the complete manifestation of the disease.
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Rudraksha
‘The “tears of Shiva”; the dried seeds from the fruit of the rudraksha tree. Said to be good for the heart both physically and spiritually, helpful for meditation and for “opening the heart chakra.”
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Rishi
A seer, a Vedic sage. The ancient rishis perceived and/or recorded the Vedic hymns. These enlightened sages shared their knowledge, medicine, philosophy, and spiritual teachings.
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Rasayana
Rejuvenation therapy which brings about renewal, regeneration, and restoration of bodily cells, tissues, and organs, giving longevity to the cells and enhancing immunity and stamina. A substance that tonifies and nourishes the whole system.
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Rasa dhatu
The first of the seven dhatus, rasa (plasma) is nourished from digested food, and after absorption, it circulates in the entire body via specific channels. Its main function is to provide nutrition to each and every cell of the body. The plasma tissue, which nourishes the other tissues in the body and has a direct…
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Rakta dhatu
The second of the seven tissues (dhatus), rakta mainly contains red blood cells, which carry life energy (prana) to all bodily tissues. This oxygenates, or provides the life function, for all the tissues. The blood tissue responsible for giving life and colour to the tissues.
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Purusha
Choiceless, passive awareness; the pure Cosmic Being.
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Prakruti
Prakruti (spelled with a capital P) is the Cosmic Creativity, the primordial matter. The inherent nature or psychosomatic, biological constitution of the individual, prakruti is the fixed constitution of a person, which reflects the proportion of the three doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha) established at conception.
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