Hello Everyone! Recently at my daughter’s school, they had a debate. The topic was a very interesting one- Health is beauty or Beauty is Health. While she was preparing, I found it very beneficial and interesting to be discussed...
Hello Everyone! Recently at my daughter’s school, they had a debate. The topic was a very interesting one- Health is beauty or Beauty is Health. While she was preparing, I found it very beneficial and interesting to be discussed in the present age , So here it is— So guys, What do you people think- Beauty is Health or Health is Beauty? A confusing Question is it? Hopefully we will find an answer by the end for of the blog. Ayurveda, the holistic Indian science believes in the balancing of internal and external elements of the body to maintain health and wellness. We will also have a look at the connection between Beauty and Health in Ayurveda.
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”-In today’s world, beauty is considered mainly as a physical or outer beauty. But it is said that beauty is visually pleasing and can satisfy the other senses as well, but it can not be fully defined through only senses. The word beauty originates from the Anglo-french word “beuti” meaning physical attractiveness, goodness & courtesy. But the society sets beauty standards through appearance-especially in younger generation.
The changing definition of beauty & the present generation showing more concern for beauty than for health is possibly influenced by several factors like- social media, role of advertisements, local and global trends in fashion industry and adaption of foreign cultures. This change in thoughts and practices after a certain stage has led to sever side effects on health. Extreme diets to get into ideal physical body shape, unlimited use of chemical make-ups to look beautiful, cosmetic & plastic surgeries to get needed feature at some stage effect the health of the person. On the long run, we come to a stage where we ask ourselves if maintenance of beauty is health? or just maintaining health can enhance our beauty?
So what is beauty? What is health? Ancient philosophy defines beauty as a characteristic present in objects such as nature, artwork, human person, that provides an experience of pleasure joy and satisfaction through sensory manifestations like shape, color and personality. This means that beauty conveys certain levels of harmony amongst components of objects. Classical philosophy considered beauty a constitutive element of cosmos associated with order, harmony and mathematics alongside truth, goodness, love, being and the divine. The study of beauty or aesthetics can be seen in many of the ancient civilizations. In the ancient Greek philosophy- Socrates believed that the beautiful is permissible through sensorial senses. In his view, “The beautiful is the useful”, which means that the beauty is not associated with the appearance of an object, but in how profitable or practical it is. Plato, another Greek philosopher, believed that beautiful is linked to an universal essence and is not dependent on the observer as it is contained in the object and its creation. He also believed that everything in this imperfect world is a copy of things available in the perfect world.
Egyptian civilization is another of the ancient culture who held beauty with great importance and significant value. Beauty was associated with holiness and cleanliness and taking care of the body was necessary not only for good health and warding of evil but as a sign of humility as well. The beauty rituals were not only aesthetically functional but were also socially and spiritually significant. Other ancient civilizations like the Aztec, Indian and The Chinese also described beauty as a philosophical aspect mostly relating it to divinity and considering the balance of various factors, both cosmic and natural. But as the time passed on, the thought process started changing. It became more and more physical and external beauty. The color and texture of the skin, the shape and weight of the body, facial and body feature especially on the feminine gender got more focus. The society and its views has been pressurizing people to do things like crash diets, cosmetics, cosmetic surgeries and so on. These trends have quite a bit of side effects on the physical and physiological health of the person and the constant stress of having to maintain the beauty affects the psychology of the person as well. It is also observed that emotional conditions like anxiety, depression or also seen. This means that Health and wellness of the person is extremely affected by the various methods adopted to maintain the beauty.
Before we go into the details of health & how it helps to maintain beauty, I would like to briefly go into the concept of beauty in Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the ancient lifestyle science which deals with various aspects of human life. Beauty, especially divine beauty, is one of the most important aspect described in Ayurveda. It is considered as a integrate part of the human body. Ayurveda defines beauty as Roopam Gunam Vayastyag iti shubanga karanam. Roopam is the external beauty like hair, skin, complexion etc. Gunam indicates the internal beauty which shines from the inner elements from the heart, mind & soul. Vayastyag indicates the age factor where modification is seen in the human body. Even though emphasis is given for both external and internal beauty, the modern generation is seen giving importance to external beauty rather than the inner beauty. Ayurveda believes that the human body is made up of the five basic elements (Panchabhutas) which are there in the macro-universe around us. The particular combination in which they combine is different for every individual & this is known as the prakriti which is determined at the time of conception & during pregnancy. The prakriti & the levels of each panchamahabhutas in the human body is dependent on the diet, emotions, season etc of the panchamahabhutas during conception & pregnancy in and around the pregnant lady.
Till now we saw about the beauty mostly the external beauty which is referred to. But we also saw that when people start concentrating only on this beauty leads to various health problems & conditions. This simply means to say that Beauty if not carefully maintained is not Health. So now let us see if health is beauty. Health is defined as the physical, physiological as well as the psychological well being and balance. Ayurveda goes a step further, to add that satisfaction and pleasure of the mind and soul is also required to define health.
Some of the major factors which are important to maintain the health include:
food Water Stress management Sleep1.Food- Ahara or a balanced diet is always important to maintain good health. While one is considering only external or physical beauty, crash diets or extreme diets which may help to maintain body shape, weight etc are followed but these do not provide the essential nutrients or balancing elements to the body. But a healthy diet, which is balanced nutritionally and according to one’s prakriti and imbalances will make sure that all the systems and organs are functioning properly and nourished adequately. A balanced Ahara also makes sure that waste and toxins are regularly expelled from the body. It also ensures that fluid intake is adequate and no excess fact or fluids are accumulated in any parts of the body. If the body is deficient in any of the macro or micro nutrients, diet can be adjusted so that the deficiency can be eradicated. So, you see a healthy food habit will make sure the skin and the body are toxin free and beautiful.
2. Water–water or fluids are very essential for the various functions in the body. It is essential for the nutrients to cross the cell membrane as well as helps i digestion and excretion also. Fluids doesn’t mean only water, it includes the juices, soups, beverages and so on. In my previous blog Jalamrutham –i have given a short note on the importance o f water and its sources as well. Dehydration or deficiency of water in the body first appears on the skin making it dry. Dehydration also leads to accumulation of toxins in our body thereby hampering the health and beauty as well. Internal and external hydration ensures that the body is balanced with all the nutrients as well as doshas, is cleansed of all toxins and wastes properly and the pH is also well maintained. All these ensure that the body is in proper shape and structure and the skin is bright, soft, blemish free and radiant.
3. Stress management–‘Stress’ the unavoidable gift of modern times to mankind. Stress not only affects the emotional/psychological aspect but also the health and the beauty of the person. The stress which gives way to the body’s fight/flight response leads to unnecessary production of various hormones in the body. Physically and physiologically, the various systems like liver, pancreas, adrenal, heart are affected by severe stress. Beauty wise the skin and hair are the effected because of increased cortisol secretion. It leads to severe break outs, acne, loss of elasticity and thereby premature ageing. As it is impossible to eliminate stress from our lives, we need to manage it effectively. regular exercise, meditation and breathing exercises help to manage stress effectively.
4. Sleep– Ayurveda considers sleep as one of the 03 pillars of life. sleep is a period where our body repairs, heals and rejuvenates itself. Though we consider it as a rest period, our body internally is constantly working. Insufficient or disturbed sleep takes a massive toll on the skin as well as the health as the body perceives lack of sleep as a stress and hence stress reaction starts in the body. During our sleep, the stress hormone (cortisol) levels reduce and melatonin (sleep hormone) levels increase. This process makes our body get into a recovery mode where the nutrients and oxygen are supplied to our skin, hair and body, thereby rejuvenating them and restoring health and wellness. Ayurveda considers Nidra/sleep as one of the 03 pillars of life. Anidra/insomnia is said to be the root cause of many systemic and psychological ailments in Ayurveda. It is said to increase the vata imbalance leading to severe dryness etc thereby destroying the health as well as beauty.
Now that we have seen the 04 main factors which effect our health and beauty, what are your thoughts? Health is beauty or beauty is health?
My view is that Health is beauty, because when on tries to maintain his/her health, the various systems are taken care of and balance is also maintained. This makes sure that every organ and cell gets the required nutrients and hydration which constantly help the cells and tissues repair and rejuvenate themselves. It also ensures that no toxins get accumulated in the body. With Ayurvedic daily regimens, seasonal regimens, and diet regimens, health can be maintained specifically according to one’s own body type as well. This ensures that the body is physically, physiologically and psychologically healthy as well as balanced. When the body is balanced with a peaceful mind and happy soul, naturally the skin glows and beauty radiates.
In the other aspect, if one is considering to maintain only beauty, usage of various unwanted chemical based products, procedures and diets without considering one’s body type or requirements will lead to adverse effects on the systems and health. It may provide temporary enhancement of beauty but in the long term or when the usage is stopped, one will observe drastic ill effects on the skin, body as well as systems. So in most of the cases Beauty is not health but in all cases Health is Beauty.
finally I would like to end with a quote—“Beauty is not about having a pretty face. It is about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and most importantly a beautiful soul.”
So Guys & Girls, feel free to comment your thoughts but as an Ayurvedarian i hold on to my view that Health is Beauty–size, shape, colour doesn’t matter as long as one has a kind heart and beautiful soul.
