The Answer my Friend, is Blowin in the Wind

Bob Dylan’s famous ballad “The Answer my Friend, is Blowin in the Wind,” seems to aptly summarize my learning about wind in Ayurveda. The winds that pass over a land are not just atmospheric—they shape the inner winds of the body and mind. How we feel, what we eat, even our clarity of thought—these shift with the direction of the breeze.

To live in balance, one must not resist the wind, but listen to it. What if we could listen to the wind from the foundations of Ayurveda, namely the forces of vata (movement), pitta (transformation), and kapha (stability), and honoring the idea that well-being is not built on control, but on harmony?

LISTEN TO THE WIND

Which direction is the wind coming from, and what is it whispering?

In Ayurveda, each wind carries specific gunas (qualities) and influences the balance of doshas within the body. The ancient physician Sushruta offers a detailed observation of the effects of winds from the four cardinal directions:

• East Wind – Cool, heavy, slightly saline. Aggravates pitta and blood, disturbs wounds and ulcers; yet may relieve vata fatigue.

• South Wind – Light, sweet, soothing with an astringent aftertaste. Strengthens the senses, calms pitta and blood, without disturbing vata.

• West Wind – Dry, rough, sharp. Drains moisture, depletes strength, aggravates vata, and dries kapha.

• North Wind – Cool, gentle, sweet, slightly astringent. Restorative and balancing; supports the chronically ill and enhances vitality in the healthy.

Wind or Climate	Primary Qualities (Gunas)	Tends to Disturb	To Invite In (for Balance)
East Wind	Heavy, cool, slightly saline	Pitta, blood, ulcerative conditions	Lightness, warmth, clarity (e.g., bitter greens, turmeric)
South Wind	Sweet, light, soothing	Generally beneficial	Maintain, absorb, protect (e.g., stable routines, grounding)
West Wind	Dry, rough, sharp	Vata, ojas, internal moisture	Oiliness, stillness, nourishment (e.g., ghee, sesame oil)
North Wind	Cool, sweet, gentle, slightly astringent	Minimal disturbance	Enhance its gifts (e.g., tonics, healing foods, inward reflection)

— Source: Sushruta Samhita, Sutrasthana, Chapter 20, Slokas 23–29

These winds are not symbolic. They are nature’s speech—felt through the skin, digested through breath, and absorbed by the deeper tissues of the body (dhatus). A scientific mind would raise an important question. Where was Sushruta situated when he made his observations, and would those observations change if he were in North America instead of India? Indeed, more important than the pronouncements of Ayurveda are its first principles of observation. 

Therefore, ask yourself: What qualities are moving in the wind around me? How is that being echoed in my breath, skin, or state of mind?

BALANCE THROUGH OPPOSITES

When the qualities around you shift, the qualities within you must respond.

Ayurveda teaches that the world is woven from gunas—qualities that shape all matter and experience. These qualities are not good or bad in themselves, but they must remain in the right proportion for harmony to be sustained. When one rises excessively, it calls forth its opposite to restore balance.

This principle is not only true across the seasons—it becomes essential when we move to new places, live under new skies, and breathe unfamiliar air. A change in wind, moisture, or terrain reshapes the inner winds of the body, the texture of the skin, the weight of the mind.

What once nourished may now create heaviness. What once felt excessive may become exactly what is needed. Ayurveda does not demand rigidity. It invites attunement.

When you relocate to a different country or climate, your body’s needs shift. A person raised in the arid regions of Rajasthan may find ghee essential for countering dryness. But in a tropical or humid climate, the same food may cause sluggishness. A person from coastal Bengal, accustomed to mustard oil’s pungent heat to balance dampness, may feel its sharpness overpowering in a dry, high-altitude region. These aren’t contradictions—they are signs of wisdom moving.

The body speaks through sensation: dryness on the skin, heaviness in the limbs, sharpness in the joints, fogginess in the mind. These are not inconveniences. They are invitations to realign.

When qualities change, the wise course is to welcome their gentle opposite—not to neutralize or control, but to support what has fallen out of balance. There is no perfect diet, and no fixed list of what is good or bad. What matters is what serves balance in this moment. This moment is shaped not only by constitution, but also by wind, season, soil, and sky.

What if we choose food based on an awareness of the air we breathe and the skin we live in? What the locals eat seasonally often carries deep intelligence—can we observe and absorb what makes sense? Can we let habit give way to presence?

A life in motion demands living attention. A body in a new place is not a problem to fix, but a story to listen to.

Therefore, ask yourself: What qualities are rising in my body, breath, or mood? What would gently soften or counterbalance them? Am I still eating from memory, or am I listening to what is true now?

EAT WITH THE WIND, NOT AGAINST IT

Food is not chosen by tongue alone—it is chosen by the land, the season, and the body’s needs.

Ayurvedic kitchens across India whisper this wisdom in their recipes:

• In Kashmir, noon chai—a salted, alkalizing tea with milk and baking soda—warms the body and aids circulation during harsh winters.

• In Bengal, pungent mustard oil is used to protect the lungs and balance the effects of coastal dampness.

• In Kerala, coconut oil is favored for its cooling properties, harmonizing with the region’s tropical lushness.

• In dry interiors, tamarind, lemon, and amchur are commonly used to draw moisture inward and counterbalance internal dryness.

These are not simply traditions—they are living acts of respect. Each meal says: I see the wind that moves through this land, and I meet it in peace.

Therefore, ask yourself:

• Am I able to mine patterns between climate and diet?

• Am I able to apply these patterns to my current land, honoring its living reality and mine ?

  
  

LIVE FROM INNER ALIGNMENT, NOT HABIT

Let action arise from the quiet knowing within, not from the noise of repetition. To walk in balance is to return again and again to the present moment—its wind, its weather, its invitation. While the world may pull us toward convenience or routine, well-being asks for attunement.

Ayurveda does not prescribe rigid perfection. It encourages customization—living in tune with place, season, and inner condition. When we act from this rooted presence, even simple acts—how we stir a pot, speak a word, or choose when to rest—become wise. This is not about doing more. It is about doing what fits now, gently, honestly.

Therefore, ask yourself:

• What does this moment truly ask of me?

• What is the smallest act that would bring me back to center?

  
  

A Rhythm to Remember

This framework is not a method to master, but a rhythm to remember:

1. Listen to the wind — around you, within you. Let it speak through skin, mood, appetite, breath.

2. Meet it with its companion — warmth where there is cold, softness where there is sharpness, stillness where there is scatter.

3. Let food and action follow the land’s rhythm — not from rule, but from relationship.

4. Let your next step come from your center — not from habit, but from harmony.

   
   

In this, Ayurveda becomes not a system but a companion. And you, a listener walking gently through a living world.