In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores how Ayurveda helps people maintain balance and health while living in urban environments.

It is useful to remember that classical Ayurveda, the form that we find today, was created specifically to address the challenges of living in an urban environment. People were living in towns and cities, and the benefits of urban life always had to be balanced against the disadvantages. One of the greatest disadvantages has always been the amount of waste that accumulates in cities.

In the past, this waste was largely organic and would eventually return to the environment. Today, however, we are surrounded by many different kinds of pollutants. There are toxins in our air, water, and food, along with waste containing heavy metals, toxic hydrocarbons, xenoestrogens, and other harmful substances.

Therefore, it has always been important, and it is especially important today, for people living in cities and towns to cleanse themselves regularly. Urban dwellers are exposed to more toxins than many people living in rural environments, and they need to pay particular attention to maintaining balance.

This requires proper cleansing of the sense organs every day, careful attention to diet, and taking time regularly to fast. Fasting does not only mean fasting from food. It can also mean fasting from screens and other forms of sensory input that we constantly consume. Food is anything that we take in through our sense organs, and we need to be mindful of what we allow into ourselves.

For everyone, but especially for people living in urban environments, it is essential to keep the breath moving, the bowels moving, and the body moving. As Vimalananda used to say, keep the breath moving, the bowels moving, and the body moving.

You must exercise. You must breathe calmly, deeply, and from the abdomen. You must make sure that elimination is functioning properly. If elimination is healthy, there is at least a possibility that digestion is functioning properly. If elimination is poor, then no matter how many digestive aids or supplements you take, there will continue to be challenges.

If Apana Vayu is not moving downward properly, then Samana Vayu cannot function correctly, and the digestive fire, Jatharagni, cannot become properly established.

It is also very important for anyone living in an urban environment to take a retreat of at least one week every year in a place without an urban environment. Go somewhere with trees, birds, rocks, and natural surroundings that you do not experience in the city. Even a park within a city is still surrounded by the city. Find a place where nature itself surrounds you and allow yourself to remember what life was like before human beings became so urbanized.

Traditionally, Ayurveda included very intensive forms of purification. If you are able to do Panchakarma, that is very beneficial, and doing it regularly is even better. In the past, people also practiced Kayakalpa or Kuti Pravesha, a method of deep rejuvenation.

This involved entering a dark hut and taking rejuvenative substances while remaining there for up to seven weeks, or 49 days. Traditionally, it was said that people undergoing this process could experience a profound renewal of the body, with hair, teeth, nails, and skin being renewed.

The last person known to have completed such a process was Tapasvi Ji Maharaj, who is said to have lived to approximately 185 years old. A book about him called Maharaj was written, although it is currently out of print and difficult to find.

The last person who attempted this process was Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University. Tapasvi Maharaj attempted to guide him through Kayakalpa, but the intensity of the medicines was too great, and he left the hut shortly after beginning the process.

Even if such complete rejuvenation is not currently practical, we can still use the methods available to us wisely. Through proper cleansing, balanced living, connection with nature, and attention to our bodies, we can reduce the effects of aging and maintain greater vitality than those who live in urban environments without taking steps to protect themselves.