Ayurveda is a system of medicine and holistic healing that comes from the Vedas, believed to be the oldest books in recorded history, composed in India between 1500 and 500 BCE, which is to say - incredibly ancient wisdom. Ayurveda’s core philosophy is one that feels so intrinsically right to me, and in many ways the antithesis to the western medical system; which is that food is medicine. All illness is caused by imbalances in the body, and we can heal the root cause of sickness by bringing the body into balance with food, herbs, movement and mindfulness practices.
I’m studying to be an Ayurvedic counselor right now, which is essentially a functional nutritionist. In our studies, we learn that when food is digested, nutrients are pulled from the walls of the large intestine and brought to the various systems in the body in a particular order.
The first to receive nutrients is our blood plasma or lymph system. And the rest follow in this order:
Lymph→ blood → muscle → fat/adipose → bone → marrow/ nervous system → reproductive organs.
After all 7 systems in the body receive their nourishment, the remaining nutrients that are left over make up your ojas. Your vitality, your life force. I think of it as your joie de vivre.
Learning this made me think about how many people are not only failing to nourish all of their bodily systems but not even coming close to overflowing with vitality.
I think of ojas as in the same way Esther Perel describes eroticism; a vital life force representing aliveness, curiosity, playfulness and imagination. In her words -
“I speak of [eroticism] often—not through the narrow definition of sex that modernity has assigned to it—but in the mystical sense. Eroticism is an elixir of vibrancy, curiosity, and spontaneity that makes us feel alive. It is the counterforce of deadness, a radiance that reminds us that, despite any darkness we may endure, we are here on this planet right now. And, at all times, we are on the edge of all that is possible, straddling hope and anxiety. “ (source)
You know those women that are so vivacious, so radiant, so magnetic, you know that their cup of life runneth over? That is the embodiment of ojas or eroticism.
If I could send people to a specific geographic location, to get dropped into this feeling of aliveness, it would be Ibiza; a tiny island off the coast of Spain that I spent the month of August in last year and that I return to in a few weeks. The island has a reputation for megaclubs and partying; which is not the side of Ibiza I’m referring to; although there is an underlying thrum of hedonism wherever you go.
If America is obsessed with restriction and control in the name of wellness and biohacking - now more than ever with the rise of GLP1s and peptides - the tyranny of less, smaller, tiny; the chokehold of perfect routines and hustle culture, than Ibiza is about magic and abundance. A free flowing haze of sensorial experiences. More, more, more and extra.
The air in Ibiza is thick with possibility, swollen with heat and set to a soundtrack of the cicada’s drumbeat. Almond, pomegranate and fig trees dot the landscape, oozing with fruit, ripe for the picking on the way to the beach. The island feels pregnant with possibility, synchronicity, pleasure and literal fertility in the abundance of produce spilling out of the farms and served up in the chiringuitos - little beach shacks slinging plates of salted tomatoes, clams cooked in their own juices, anchovy toast, & giant gambas.
And the melon. The melon deserves its own paragraph. The melon is so delicious, so flavorful, so fragrant, that it’s an affront to Ibiza melons to let American cantaloupes and honeydew carry the same name. If the Ibiza melons were embodied, they would be truly mortified to be considered in the same family as the tasteless green lumps that we’ve relegated to fill space in our fruit cups; picked around and ultimately thrown out. Which is to say - if you do nothing else in Ibiza; eat the melon.
Matt Haig wrote his book The Life Impossible about a magic force that emanates from the ocean waters off the coast of Ibiza and can do incredible things; but the book doesn’t feel like magical realism at all, it feels like an accurate description of what can happen to anyone in Ibiza. When you know where to look, there are plant ceremonies and moon ceremonies happening constantly. Singing circles and womb healing sessions. Concerts in natural rock amphitheaters and nude swimming in coves as the sun sets at 10 pm. Telepathy with horses and sound baths in caves. Holotropic breathwork and long dinners that don’t wrap until 1 am. An island of magic and wonder, curiosity and possibility.
Ibiza is said to be ruled and watched over by the goddess Tanit - an ancient Phoenician deity that represents - can you guess? - life force energy. She represents fertility in the literal sense, and in the growth, vitality and renewal qualities of ojas or eroticism. Tanit represents being fully alive in the body and to worship her means to be in celebration of the six senses.
In a world that keeps asking us to optimize, shrink, and perfect; let’s be abundant in nourishing all of our senses with content, music, experiences, people and food that fill us with wonder, pleasure, curiosity and aliveness. Cheers to the pursuit of ojas, the cultivation of eroticism and trips to Ibiza.
In Case You Missed It
A conversation with Dr. Eva Yacobi about why so many women feel emotionally flat
My personal healing journey with Jen Gnisci. We discuss how she works with women who are scared they won’t find partnership or have a child.
An analysis of the underlying cause of the manosphere.
A step by step exercise to finding your purpose, what energizes you, qualities to look for in a partner and qualities to cultivate in yourself for partnership
My wish for all of you on Valentine’s Day was more pleasure digestion and the discovery of your erotic blueprint.
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Now I’m exciteddd
An ode to the melon!!! And from here on out this perfectly captured prose shall be required reading for anyone I invite to Ibiza.