Oppositional medicine

A major approach to healing in Ayurveda is this: opposites are the cure for opposites. 

This means that we pay attention to the qualities (gunas) that are present in the body, and we bring in the opposite quality to create balance. 

This approach is called Oppositional Medicine, and it’s an approach that can be quite easily implemented into your own life. 

The qualities (gunas) are explained in these 10 pairs of opposites:

• Heavy/Light

• Dull/Sharp

• Cold/Hot

• Oily/Dry

• Smooth/Rough

• Dense/liquid

• Soft/Hard

• Static/Mobile

So for example, if you have a very static sedentary lifestyle, the medicine you may need is movement. If the skin, nails, and hair are presenting as very dry, we will bring in oily substances as the oppositional force. This may be done through body oiling and adding more healthy oils to the diet. If you run cold, introducing more warmth to your life by the way of clothing and heating foods, spices and practices.

This is often quite subtle work, and it is very much advised to work 1:1 with an ayurvedic counsellor. However by beginning to pay attention to these gunas (qualities) and how they present in the bodymind, we can begin to introduce the opposite quality and move towards balance.