Ayurvedic Guides to Reduction and Tonification

Based on the findings from an Ayurvedic consultation, your practitioner will diagnose your doshic balance (current versus optimal) and prescribe a tailor-made Ayurvedic treatment plan, which won’t just help you achieve good health but also maintain it. This plan will suggest various steps including Ayurvedic treatments and techniques to help you return to and/or maintain your natural, optimal doshic balance. Each of the steps, Ayurvedic treatments and techniques generally fall into one of two categories – Reduction or Tonification.

  1. Reduction in Ayurvedic Therapy

Ayurvedic therapy involving ‘reduction’ methods decrease excesses in the body, aiming to eliminate the factors that, according to Ayurveda, cause illnesses. ‘Reduction’ Ayurvedic treatments are used to get rid of deep-seated toxins as part of illness prevention and internal cleansing programmes. Reduction treatment is called ‘discontenting’ (asantarpana) because it includes practices of discipline, hard living and giving things up. It makes us doubt ourselves and question who we are and what we are doing. It stimulates us to change and give up bad habits that are unsettling our diagnosed optimal doshic balance. Reduction techniques include:

  • Detoxing Via Panchakarma
  • Avoiding Harmful Food Combinations
  • Eliminating Doshic-Disruptive Foods
  • Drinking Toxin-Releasing Herbal Teas
  • Implementing Ayurvedic Massage Treatments To Release Toxin Build Up
  • Meditating
  • Addressing Emotional Stress Causes
  • Bathing
  • Tongue Brushing
  • Taking Ayurvedic Herbs

     

     2. Tonification in Ayurvedic Therapy

Tonification methods in Ayurvedic therapy nourish deficiencies in the body and work at building up inadequate energy or lack of substance in the body that may bring illness about. It is indicated in convalescence, or after reduction Ayurvedic treatment methods have been used. Tonification in Ayurvedic therapy is called ‘gladdening’ (santarpana) because it consists of methods to give us greater nourishment, care, relaxation, ease and enjoyment. Gladdening Ayurvedic therapy techniques aim to make us feel better about ourselves; encouraging faith, love and positive attitudes. Tonifiction techniques include:

  • Introducing Complementary Food Combinations
  • Taking Ayurvedic Herbs
  • Drinking Nourishing Herbal Teas
  • Implementing Nourishing Ayurvedic Oil Massages and Treatments
  • Introducing Yoga
  • Exercising


In the practice of Ayurveda, the usual rule is to reduce first and then tonify. If we tonify first, we may feed toxins or excess doshas into the body and make matters worse. However, every individual will have a different optimum Ayurvedic treatment path, so there is no one-size-fits-all plan. You can read more about what’s involved in an Ayurvedic lifestyle on the Ayurveda treatment pages of  my website, including my Ayurvedic Rebalancing Signature Package.