Ojas - Resilience and Immunity in Ayurveda
Hi and welcome! I’m Evangeline—mom, Registered Massage Therapist, Yoga teacher, and lover of all things health and wellness. I started this blog back in the early days of Covid19 as a way to stay in touch with my clients, and it’s grown into a space to share what I love most. Here you’ll find simple, nourishing recipes I make for my family, sprinkled with Ayurveda and Yoga wisdom. My hope is that these posts inspire you to care for yourself in small, joyful ways and feel a little more balanced in everyday life.
Self Care & Ojas
In Ontario, self-care is an important part of every Registered Massage Therapy treatment. Towards the end of a session, clients are often given suggestions—whether it’s remedial exercises, reminders to drink more water, take a warm bath, or breathe deeply—to help extend the benefits of treatment. Even something as simple as adding cooked greens to the diet can be part of supporting recovery and resilience.
No one can deny the importance of self-care. In Ayurveda and Yoga, we find a treasury of time-tested practices that require no gadgets, only simple, effective tools to nourish and restore balance.
At the root of all self-care—whether it’s cooking a healthy meal, stretching at your desk, unplugging from devices, enjoying quiet time, or booking in with your therapist—is our essential need for love and nurturing. By listening and honoring what we need, we feed not just our body, but our mind and spirit as well. In Ayurvedic terms, every act of genuine self-care helps us cultivate ojas, the vital essence of life.
What is Ojas?
Ojas is described in Ayurveda as the finest product of well-digested food—the subtle essence that gives us health, strength, vitality, immunity, and a radiant glow.
Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra, my Ayurvedic teacher, called ojas “the connecting factor between every organ and system.”
He also described ojas as the neurotransmitters and hormones that keep body and mind functioning in harmony.
In Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda, Marianne Teitelbaum, DC, explains that ojas is made when we are happy, peaceful, and joyful—similar to how serotonin is released in moments of contentment.
Ojas, Soma, Prana
Ojas is what sustains us day to day, and cushions us in times of stress. But it’s not only generated within us—we also receive soma, the cooling, nourishing energy from the moon. Walking under moonlight or having a solid night’s sleep are ways we naturally take in soma.
According to Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA):
Soma is the raw material for ojas.
Agni, the heat from the sun, balances soma.
Marut, the vibrational energy of space and air, moves soma and agni.
Together, soma, agni, and marut form prana, the vital energy that powers all life. We receive prana from food, water, and breath—but it can be weakened by over-processed food, polluted air and water, pesticides, and electromagnetic stress.
When ojas is low, we are more vulnerable to fatigue and illness. Daily replenishment is essential, and Ayurveda teaches that this is best done by strengthening three foundations of health (Charak Samhita):
Supporting and Replenishing Ojas
Food (Ahar): fresh meals and pure water, rich in prana
Sleep (Swapna): early bedtime, waking with the sun, living in rhythm with nature
Conduct (Brahmacharya): right action and mindful living
Keep Ojas High: Simple Practices
Seasonal transitions can be challenging for the body. As we move into fall and towards winter, try these SVA-inspired practices to keep your ojas—your vitality and resilience—strong:
✨ Keep your channels open.
Unclogging the body’s physical channels (shrotas) and energy channels (nadis) prevents stagnation that can lead to constipation, bloating, fatigue, joint pain, or low mood. Children, with their free-flowing channels, show us what vitality looks like!
✨ Soothe your heart.
Nourish your emotional center with calming rituals: a moonlit walk after dinner, a cup of tulsi tea, relaxing music, meditation, or a warm bath with rose and lavender.
✨ Cool your liver.
Avoid habits that overheat and stress the liver, such as staying up too late or skipping meals. Keeping a steady rhythm helps preserve energy and balance.
✨ Eat warm, unctuous meals.
In the colder seasons, favor moist, grounding foods cooked with ghee or olive oil. Reduce overly dry, salty, or rough foods that aggravate fall and winter imbalances.
✨ Practice abhyanga (oil massage).
Massage warm oil into your skin to detoxify, hydrate, and calm the nervous system. Leave the oil on for 20 minutes before a warm bath or shower. Almond or grapeseed oils are balancing; sesame oil may be too heating for sensitive skin, and coconut oil is best saved for summer.
The Essence
Self-care is not indulgence—it is nourishment. Each mindful act, from food to rest to ritual, creates ojas, the essence of immunity, vitality, and radiant health.
To learn more about building and protecting your ojas, explore our Ayurvedic and Yoga offerings, free wellness webinars, and Ayurvedic cooking course.
References
Vaidya R. K. Mishra- Personal Notes from Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda Courses, Practicum, Conferences and Lectures 2003-2015
Marianne Teitelbaum- “Healing the Thyroid with Ayurveda”, 2019
