The medicine of listening: Ayurveda’s 3 tenets
Move beyond lists into a lived practice of balance, choice, and joy.
I was happy, but not happy. Do you know what I mean?
Over the years, I’ve met many who felt the same. Often they’re privileged enough to not have to worry about their next meal, having a roof over their heads, or being able to fix their flat tire…
And also privileged enough to feel handcuffed by the life they’ve built.
When someone is truly, deeply happy and free, you can tell. Their aura fills the room.
They rarely get sick. And they’re wildly inspiring. Or depending on where your mind is sitting, wildly irritating. We say that they’re lucky, and perhaps they are. Or maybe, they took the risk to be happy.
Why am I talking about happiness?
Because it’s just as much — if not more — an ingredient to good health as food, sleep, exercise, and meditation.
When I stumbled onto my wellness path, questions emerged that I had never before thought to ask. They woke me up inside. I followed them like Alice following the rabbit. I entered rooms I used to roll my eyes at.
Everything I fell into had a common thread: rules were not set in stone. There was structure, but the choices asked me to know myself. I realized I didn’t know myself at all.
Yoga: for years I had been a 2-hours a day, 6-days a week gym rat. Being in good shape, I signed up for an intermediate yoga class. Wrong move. But of course I kept going, though I did add a beginner class once a week. I thought I knew my body from working out and diets that shrunk and toned my body beautifully. Guess what? I absolutely did not. I didn’t understand what my teachers were asking for when they’d say to rotate my thighs. I couldn’t find my breath. It was humbling.
And, it made me curious. I asked my teacher questions.
My curiosity led me to Ayurveda. I read Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra, my gateway. He challenged so much of what I believed about health and medicine. I brought questions to my doctor, gleaned more from real life, and kept testing. Over time, I worked with two Ayurvedic MDs; one psychiatrist (and a student of Swami Rama); a TCM; a French-chef trained, macrobiotic, whole foods chef, an Ayurvedic chef, an executive coach, a pastor, and some heavy-hitter kundalini yogis.
I was blessed to have found medicine (a way of being) that asked me to listen inward.
At first, Ayurvedic texts felt overwhelming: lots of new words and long ingredient lists in recipes. Of course, the dosha quiz was fun because quizzes always are. But then came the seasonal lists, the foods by dosha, the prakriti and vikriti, the sattva, rajas, and tamas. This is what many people see in Ayurveda.
We like black and white because we don’t have to think (yikes). Just pick a side. Eat raw. Eat plant-based. Eat by blood type. Eat by dosha. Know the rules. Set-it-and-forget-it. Get back to life as usual with the new set of rules.
Truth is, if you want the best of health and success, it’s not like that. You can’t set-it-and-forget-it. You’re in relationship with life. You change. Your body shifts. Your life evolves. The world does unpredictable things all the time. People surprise and disappoint. These impact your inner world, your nervous system, microbiome, gut, brain, liver, heart, and sense of ease and joy.
You don’t script every conversation in your life. You roll with what comes. How well you roll depends on how safe you feel in your body.
Ayurveda delivers. By guiding us to the infinite intelligence within.
So many who practice Ayurveda focus on their doshas (their mind-body constitution): how they’re baked and where they’re currently out of balance. They try to balance Vata, Pitta, Kapha.
But Ayurveda offers a deeper framework. One that goes beyond looking at the doshas intellectually. Ayurveda gives you…
…the 3 Tenets of Good Health
Balanced Dosha
Discernment
Bliss
Balance steadies the body.
Discernment sharpens your choices.
Bliss tells you you’re truly well.
It’s not really about what to eat and carrying a list of approved foods.
The better question becomes: how did I feel after I ate that?
If you stop eating raw apples forever because you think you’re Vata imbalanced, you might miss the shift in your own physiology that would be nourished by it, and could have made the difference, later on.
Listening (Discernment)
Wellness asks for listening. The very same way any healthy relationship does.
I mean true listening, where you’re not extracting judgment from it, and in conversation, you’re not forming your responses while the other person speaks.
This practice sharpens discernment. High discernment supports better choices for yourself. You become self-referred. You live less by other people’s rules and approval, and more by your own wisdom and integrity.
You become more curious than defensive. Your choices shift, and your life changes. This heals both you and the world.
Bliss
Bliss is a byproduct of good health, both physically and mentally. It’s a sense of wholeness and connection. A sense that all is and will be more than okay.
In Bliss, you have access to the full range of emotions, and you can return to equilibrium.
You meet the world, digest it, and respond with more love than hate, even through anger. You feel safe and grounded enough to meet conflicting views with curiosity and kindness. You know when to be firm and when to be funny. It’s not happy clappy, walking on clouds. It’s complete wisdom.
In practice
I check my inner balance (balanced dosha), I listen (discernment), and I gauge my Bliss. If my bliss is low, I listen more deeply (discernment) to find balance (balanced dosha).
My body tells me quickly whether my choice fits me. This strengthens self-awareness and honors change. It keeps me agile. It teaches me how to talk to myself, stay open, and stay curious. It teaches me to honor my emotions and to respond rather than react. And yes, I still react at times. But I don’t beat myself up for it. I take it as information that points to where I need more understanding.
Ayurveda isn’t just theory for me. It’s lived practice.
Food as medicine, not just fuel. I don’t live by lists.
Food is feedback, not a fix. I see information.
It’s a response, not a script. I’m engaged and empowered in my choices.
The following is a simple way to understand, and work with, these 3 tenets of good health
If you follow me on Notes, you’ve seen these in parts. Here, they live together.
My hope is that these will help you find your inner wisdom, enhance your intimacy with food, and take you from ‘happy but not happy’ to deeply happy and well. Here you go –
The 3 Tenets of Good Health are a system, not a checklist:
Balanced dosha steadies your body.
Discernment guides your choices.
Bliss tells you you’re on the right path.
Miss one, and the others wobble.
Tend all three, and health feels whole.
Balanced dosha (mind body constitution) = resilience
When your doshas are balanced, digestion is steady, energy flows, and your mind feels clear.
When they’re out of balance, you’ll feel it:
Vata: scattered, anxious, bloated
Pitta: irritable, overheated, inflamed
Kapha: heavy, sluggish, stuck
Balance is about flow. That’s what steadies the body.
Discernment is the real superpower
Discernment is your ability to choose what truly nourishes you. Not what’s trending. Not what’s convenient. Not what someone else swears by.
Ask yourself:
Does this food energize or deplete me?
Is this thoughtful, useful or draining?
Is this rhythm supportive or destructive?
Discernment doesn’t come from rules. It comes from listening.
Where do you notice you override your inner knowing most: food, thought, or rhythm?
Bliss is the marker of health
Ayurveda says bliss isn’t extra. It’s essential.
When digestion is strong and choices are aligned, joy naturally rises. Not the fleeting kind of indulgence, but the steady hum of vitality.
Bliss is your body’s way of saying: You are well.
The 3 Tenets of Digestion
Balanced dosha keeps your gut steady.
Discernment helps you choose what your body can actually digest.
Bliss is how you feel when digestion is clear: light, energized, calm.
Good digestion isn’t just about food. It’s about tending all three
The 3 Tenets of Anxiety Relief
Balanced dosha = nervous system steadiness.
Discernment = noticing what stirs your anxiety (caffeine, rushing, chaos).
Bliss = the ease that comes when you choose calm food and calm rhythms.
Anxiety doesn’t always start in the mind. Often, it starts in the gut.
The 3 Tenets of Energy
Balanced dosha = stamina.
Discernment = knowing when you need food vs. when you need rest.
Bliss = the joy that makes energy feel light, not forced.
Energy isn’t a hack. It’s rhythm.
The 3 Tenets of Inflammation Relief
Balanced dosha = less internal chaos.
Discernment = choosing warm, calm meals over cold, reactive ones.
Bliss = the signal your body sends when inflammation has cooled.
Inflammation isn’t just physical. It clouds the mind too.
The 3 Tenets of Lifting Mood
Balanced dosha = less heaviness in the body.
Discernment = leans into lighter meals, earlier dinners, and saying no to food that drags you down.
Bliss = joy that naturally arises when digestion is clear and mind is steady.
Mood follows metabolism. Always.
If you try one thing this week, listen before you choose.
Let meals be your messengers. Let your digestion be holy. Build structure that breathes. Then watch what softens. And when you forget, begin again.
– Savitree
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