Ayurveda Approach to a Better Sex Life | Tips for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
Updated: Oct 3
Discover all the information you need about how Ayurveda views improving, enriching, and harmonizing one's sexual life. "The most powerful aphrodisiac may be found in the freedom to be authentic while being together. The practice of Yoga leads to liberation and complete freedom, also called moksha." -- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Explore more on the Saumya Blog, selected top Ayurveda blogs and websites.
According to Harvard Medical School, "Did you know an active sex life can help you...
Reduce risk of heart disease
Lower blood pressure
Ease chronic pain
Lower risk for prostate cancer
Improve sleep
And more"
With that in mind...
Time To Explore: Ayurveda Approach to a Better Sex Life | Tips for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
What is libido from the Ayurvedic perspective?
It’s a rich question. It would take a book, rather than an article, to address libido according to Ayurveda as there are several underlying principles such as the three doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha), agni and ojas to name a few. Libido may be considered an overall expression of one’s state health mentally and physically.
In Ayurveda, what is considered a balanced libido depends on the person’s doshic picture and stage of life. Understanding one’s dosha, and how it influences sexuality ,is important. It is also important to understand one’s partner’s dosha.
Ayurveda, Libido and Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
Generally speaking:
Vata: Plenty of interest in sex, but also the lowest vitality which leads to depletion. Vata type people have an erratic drive and are easily aroused. As Vata types tend to be creative, their sexual lives may be more eccentric than the other doshas. Vata’s ideal partners are grounding, earthy, nourishing and calming. Kapha types are an ideal balance.
Pitta: As a fiery type, there’s a strong passion for sex. As Pitta’s nature is intense, drama may be a dramatic in their sexual lives. Pitta types are fiery and may overindulge in sex because their natural energy allows them to regain stamina and avoid depletion. Pitta’s ideal relationships are with those who can partner and work together. Kapha types cool off fiery Pitta and with their sweet quality, balance the over intensity of Pitta.
Kapha: Sweet and steady, Kapha types have the highest vitality with reliable, moderate interest and do not get depleted from sexual activity. Kapha types are nurturing and balanced and this goes a long way to creating and maintaining healthy sexual relationships. The downside is Kapha may tend to be overly attached and needy. Pitta partners balance Kapha with their heated intensity. Vata relationships counter Kapha’s heaviness with Vata’s qualities of lightness and movement.
Sex can deplete ojas which provides strength, immunity, resilience and not only protects from colds, flus, aging, but provides a clear mind. So, to know what a balanced libido looks like for you, as a one of kind human being, you need to clearly know your doshic picture.
Related Readings: The 3 Ayurvedic Doshas and Their Impact on Your Life | The Dance of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
Check Saumya Ayurveda out in Mo Perry's article on libido and Ayurveda in Experience Life Magazine.
Ojas, Ayurveda, and a Better Sex Life
Ojas is the subtle form of Kapha dosha (water and earth elements) specifically the water element.
Ojas is related to immunity and vitality. From an Ayurvedic view, ojas circulates via the heart to create a natural resistance to aging and disease. Put simply, someone with healthy ojas rarely gets ill. This is due to the physical manifestation of ojas. Healthy psychological boundaries are another manifestation of ojas.
We need to care of ojas, protect it as it is our protector. Without sufficient ojas, we may experience fatigue, frequent illnesses, depletion, and low libido.
Ayurvedic Support for a Better Sex Life 1. Food is Medicine
To support healthy libido, it's important to have a clear understanding of one's doshic picture, including your original constitution (prakruti) and your current state (vikruti). "When this picture is clear, then a custom food as medicine program that fits you to a tea provides maximum benefit from the foods you eat--turning your food into medicine with every meal. It may sound complicated, but for most people, it is clarifying and relieving to know what foods restore balance." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
Key Ayurvedic Aphrodisiac Foods:
Aphrodisiac foods are one part of a whole treatment approach. To over state it, say someone has low libido and they eat frozen meals, fast food, overwork and are tense all the time. Will eating a mango change the state of their health and therefore their libido? Unlikely.
Ayurveda is a comprehensive, yet easy to integrate three-pronged approach, what I call the trident of treatment: food as medicine, herbs, and Ayurvedic lifestyle practices.
Fruits: Coconut, apples, pears, apricots, watermelon, bananas, grapes, mangos, melon, and pomegranate.
Traditional Ayurvedic Recipes for Healthy Libido
Eat these delicious ojas promoting Ayurveda foods. How do they work? Certain foods are tonifying, building, and rejuvenating, so they “feed” the tissues and systems. Think of food and herbs as targeted nutrition for specific organs, tissues, conditions, and constitutions.
1. Cow’s milk is a daily rejuvenating food which supports reproductive tissue and libido. At Saumya Ayurveda, clients are provided a custom nighttime milk remedy tailored to their specific needs. Try Saumya’s Rejuvenation Latte.
2. Ghee is also part of a daily rejuvenation food program. Ghee made from cow’s milk supports rejuvenation in general and sperm production specifically. Combining ghee and milk together with the correct herbs for each individual, potentiates the benefits.
3. Honey is a third component of rejuvenating through food and nourishing a balanced libido. Honey is made from the sexual part of plants—the connection is clear. Honey can be added to a warm cup of milk, with ghee, correct herbs to create a nourishing libido supporting and nourishing beverage.
4. Garlic is a known aphrodisiac and nourishing food and yes, garlic milk is a nourishing treatment in Ayurveda.
5. The humble almond offers so much by way of nourishing reproductive tissues and overall vitality. At Saumya, we blend ten soaked peeled almonds, a cup of hot cow’s milk, a teaspoon of ghee, a few threads of saffron, a couple of pinches of ground cardamon and a pinch of black pepper for a nourishing tonic and aphrodisiac drink.
6. Eat Saumya’s Rose Pistachio Kheer Click here.
2. Ayurvedic Lifestyle Practices for a Better Sex Life
1. Saumya Guided Practices Enjoy twice a day, 11 minutes as part of your morning routine, and 11 minutes as part of your evening routine.
2. Dinacharya or Daily Rhythm
Creating these anchors to the start and complete our a daily life, is what keeps us filled with vitality. Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day.
3. Keep the company of positive people. What is not supportive, is likely depleting physically and mentally. 'Nuf said there.
Feeling stressed lately? You’re not alone. Our whole society is operating from a state of agitated intensity. Work demands too much of us. Life is getting more expensive, but salaries are stagnant. We feel overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated.
Yikes. It’s no wonder 89% of people who left their jobs last year said they felt burnt out and unsupported. The Great Resignation (the extreme spike in employee turnover in 2021) has opened up an important dialogue about work/life balance, mental health, and what we deserve from our employers.
According to a recent poll, over 50% of US workers are “quiet quitting,” meaning they simply aren’t going above and beyond for their employer. And an astonishing 40% of US employees are thinking about leaving their job in the next three to six months.
It’s clear, our work culture isn’t working. We’re burnt out, tired, and ready to reclaim our calm. From an Ayurvedic standpoint, this means restoring balance in our minds, bodies, nervous systems, emotions, and our entire lives.
Overdoing it burns out ojas and leads to depletion and results in low libido.
5. Enkindle your digestive fire (agni) A healthy fire supports balanced digestion, optimal absorption of nutrients, and healthy elimination.
6. Yog-asana (yoga pose)
Practice a few gentle yog-asanas daily, such as leg up on the wall. Imbalanced Vata disrupts Apana Vayu which governs the downward energy. When Vata is out of whack, Apana reverses and flows upward any may lead to anxiety, constipation, and acid reflux.
So, when the energy is flowing up, put yourself upside down to restore pranas direction. Yes, inverted yog-asana, and specifically legs up on the wall (viparita karani).
How to Perform Legs Up on the Wall | Viparita Karani
Sit on the floor near a wall. Use a yoga mat or blanket on the floor if needed. Swivel your body to be facing the wall and raise your legs slowly with awareness. How close with your butt be to the wall depends on your flexibility. There is no award for being closer, so go within your comfortable capacity.
Now, lie down on the floor. Use any support you need for your back so that you are comfortable. Settle into the pose surrendering the body to the support of the floor. Place your arms with the elbows slightly bent and allow your chest and heart region to open. Close your eyes. Hang out here as long as you are comfortable.
3. Ayurvedic Aphrodisiac Herbs for a Better Sex Life
In Ayurveda, treatment is specific to the person, it's not one size fits all approach. What herbs are correct depends on constitution, current state, and the overall doshic picture. Determining the doshic picture requires experienced guidance.
Each herb has many qualities and actions and needs to fit the individual. The wrong herb may have an unwanted effect. Herbs listed here are for informational purposes only.
Ashwagandha: Ironically, this herb is a tonic and sedative rolled into one genius plant. It reduces Vata and Kapha and its virya (energetic quality) is heating. It bolsters an exhausted nervous system (which may manifest as hyper qualities, such as unstable emotions, agitation, and feeling stressed out.)
Ashwagandha is renowned for providing the sexual stamina of a horse, increases overall strength, increases ojas, promotes restorative sleep, and it increases sperm production. It increases sexual potency and so in terms of libido, it’s a natural remedy to think of.
Shatavari: Called “the woman with a hundred husbands” this herb a tonic for the female reproductive system and anti-inflammatory. It reduces Vata and Pitta.
It is an aphrodisiac, improves strength, and enhances sexual appetite. (Aka libido). It also promotes fertility, lactation, and sperm production, and increases ojas.
Gokshura: (aka tribulis in Latin, aka Goatheads which are infamous in New Mexico for stabbing feet and popping bike tires) It is nourishing to the reproductive system, enhances sexual appetite and potency, improves strength. It supports all doshas, but primarily Vata reducing.
Shilajit: This is an exudate from Himalayan rocks. Also known as mineral pitch and vegetable asphalt. It has a high mineral content making it an amazing supplement. It is balancing to all doshas but aggravates Pitta in excess. It enhances sexual potency.
Ayurveda offers food as medicine, herbs and Ayurvedic lifestyle practices to support healthy libido. It is not only about sexual drive, it's about balancing Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, about taking care of ojas, tending to the digestive fire, avoiding depletion, rejuvenating, and understanding (and appreciating) what is a healthy libido for you, your doshic picture, and at one's current stage of your life. It's about feeling that vitality!
If hormones are out of balance, it may impact libido. Read more on Ayurveda and Menstruation – Creating a Healthy Flow and The Best Ayurvedic Herbal Remedies for Men's Health
4. Connecting, Union, and Ayurveda for a Better Sex Life
Relationships in life that are fulfilling are based on trust and connection. Yoga means union of body, mind, and spirit and it also means to be in union with everyone and everything. When we understand our nature Ayurvedically, and our partners, that knowledge expands the ways in which union (yoga) can occur.
All relationships in life that are fulfilling are based on trust and connection. Nurturing relationships is about being there for each other’s highest good. A satisfying sex life doesn’t start in the bedroom, it starts with listening, connecting, holding hands, bringing each other a cup of tea, taking turns picking out movies—simple gestures that create a deeper connection each day.
Ayurveda Approach to a Better Sex Life | Tips for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha is a great place to start understanding Ayurveda in terms of vitality and libido.
"Perhaps the most potent aphrodisiac is being together in a way in which each person is free to be themselves. The path of Yoga is a path of liberation, of total freedom, known as moksha." -- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
There is a saying, "The mind is more in the body, than the body is in the mind." The Saumya 3 Step Meditation Process shifts us from fight-flight-freeze mode, to rest-restore-relax mode. Give it a try for forty days and observe the changes. The more grounded and relaxed we are, the smoother life flows.
"The breath is the connection between the mind and body, so by training the breath, we become calm, focused, and grounded, we slow down the aging process by decreasing stress. These practices are so simple and easy to have as part of our daily life. We actually feel and look younger."
- Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
1. Learn Diaphragmatic Breathing and Change Your Life. When we re-learn to breath diaphragmatically, we move from the flight-fight-freeze mode, to rest, restore, relaxation mode from where we want and need to live.
2. Daily Guided Practices: 11 minutes in the morning and in the evening, as anchors of your daily Ayurveda routine.
3. Ayurveda Daily Routines: --Ayurvedic Morning Routine | 6 Rituals for a Calm and Centered Day
"Choose a couple of practices from the routines that provide you with the greatest support. Perform them while applying our two minute meditation technique and your mundane tasks, just transformed into a mellifluous meditation. This is meditation applied to daily life." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
“Veena was able to help me regain my energy in just a few months and I’m feeling like my “young” self again! I love the food plan she designed for me, and all the supporting practices (am/pm routines, breathing techniques, herbs, and spice mixes) are so enjoyable to incorporate into my day. I highly recommend Saumya Ayurveda if you want to feel better and have more vitality.”
-Molly Rossini, Minnesota
Explore More: Ayurveda Breathwork Pranayama
“Veena has literally changed my life. I was struggling with mental and physical symptoms that my doctor had no answer for. I thought I was going crazy and just making symptoms up.
With Veena’s guidance, with herbs and diet changes, I soon realized that my symptoms were very real. After making the changes, I made small victories along the way, and became better with each appointment with her.
Now almost 6 months later, I am a completely different person. I still have some things to work on, but with Veena’s help, I know I will be able to take control of my health and not leave it to Western medicine that was giving me little to no help and covering up my symptoms with another medication.
I highly encourage getting the longer package, especially if you are working with challenges with your monthly cycle. Working with Veen has been the best decision I have made for my health. You won’t be disappointed!” -- Maria Fumagalli, St. Paul, Minnesota
“I have been so fortunate to have been introduced to Veena by a friend, and I absolutely want to share her information with you. Veena is so dedicated to one’s health that it feels amazing to have her on my side. She's truly a beautiful soul. She is helping me navigate all my issues with perimenopause and I am so glad, as the herbs she has given me have not only boosted my immune system greatly, but have chilled my nervous system out", and I’m sleeping again.” – S.J., Saudi Arabia
“Working with Veena is incredible. She sees the possibilities that lay dormant in us and is so patient and kind in sharing her wisdom and tools to help birth those possibilities. As Ayurveda is a living science, it takes conviction and discipline to change habits, to live a different reality. Veena makes navigating the changes smooth and meaningful, inspiring at every meeting, letting me know that, YES, changes are happening! Thank you, Veena. Many blessings!”
-Kyle Sangster, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ayurveda Approach to a Better Sex Life | Tips for Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
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MEET VEENA: YOUR AYURVEDIC GUIDE
Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
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