In the Sushruta Samhita, perfect health is described as one having balanced doshas, balanced dhatus, balanced digestion/elimination, a strong immune system, a symptom-free body and a content state of mind. In some translations they even go so far as to say a “blissful state of the mind and emotions”.

That is the WHAT of perfect health, I like to think that Aristotle gave us a nod to the HOW. There is an Aristotelian quote that I love. It applies so well when we are working with our clients on the creation of Perfect Health.

Usually, we just see the heart of this quote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Even that small section is great, but to really understand how this particular quote applies to the concept of Perfect Health, we want to look at the full quote.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation; we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have these because we have acted rightly; these virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit; the good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life…for as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.”

-Aristotle, (384BC-322BC) Greek Philosopher

If we replace “excellence” with “perfect health” we begin to understand just how important our daily habits and routines are to our overall state of balance.

To deconstruct and use this quote to my own means, I would write…

Perfect health is achieved by commitment to our daily habits. We don’t commit to these habits when we have achieved perfect health, but we rather cultivate perfect health when we incorporate those habits that generate health into our daily lives.   Our state of health or disease is a reflection of our repeated actions. Perfect health, then, is not determined by a single herb or action, but by our health-increasing habits. When we create perfect health in the body, we create balance in the mind and emotions and this is reflected in our alignment with our soul’s purpose.   It is not one day of health or a moment of happiness that is recognized as perfect health, but the sustained expression of balance in the physical and mental bodies while aligned with our dharma.
Going back even further, we find this quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that may have been the motivation for Aristotle’s quote in the first place.

You are what your deep, driving desire is.

As your desire, so is your will.

As your will is, so is your deed.

As your deed is, so is your destiny.

                        -Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

To deconstruct this quote…

If your deep, driving desire is perfect health, then your will is to live in alignment with perfect health. This will drives your commitment to your daily habits. Over time, your commitment to daily habits will support you to achieve your deep, driving desire. Indeed, perfect health is your destiny.

Both of these quotes have always spoken to me because they give me hope that each day I can cultivate perfect health in the body and mind. Each day I can re-commit to habits that generate better health. They also allow me to be gentle with myself if a habit slips for a time, because my health wasn’t built in a day. If the foundation is strong enough, short-term slip-ups in my habits shouldn’t bring my health tumbling down. When I bring awareness to why I am doing what I’m doing, what is it that I desire, it is easier to stay committed to this path of Ayurveda.

When working with your clients it helps to remind them of the same thing. Making one small change that becomes a lasting habit is more important than doing everything perfectly for a single day.