The 20 Gunas: The word Guna means “quality.” Within our bodies, the environment, our minds, food and drink, and anything else in existence, we notice different qualities that work together to create the action of a substance. In Ayurveda, there are the 20 gunas in 10 pairs of opposite qualities that are used to describe different substances:

HEAVY – LIGHT

  • heavy (guru): growth, sleep, nourishment, groundedness, stability, centered, dullness, slow digestion, stubborn
  • light (laghu): alert, attentive, spaciness, ungrounded, insecurity, fear, anxiety, reduces bulk

COLD – HOT

  • cold (śīta): numbness, unconsciousness, contraction, stagnation, fear, insensitivity, mucus, slows digestion, reduces immunity, sore throat, congestion
  • hot (uṣṇa): gastric fire, improves circulation, digestion, absorption, assimilation, liquifies kapha (like wax), cleansing, irritable, anger, ulcers, quick to criticize, inflammation

OILY – DRY

  • oily (snigdha): relaxation, smoothness, moisture, lubrication, vigor, compassion, love, nourishing, manipulation
  • dry (rūkṣa): dehydration, constipation, stimulates fire, choking, constriction, spasm, pain, dry rough skin, fear, nervousness, loneliness, isolation, separation, rejection, independence

DULL – SHARP

  • dull (manda): sluggish, relaxation, dull, calm, quiet, silence, rich & fatty foods, thoughtful
  • sharp(tīkṣṇa): spicy foods, fire, improves learning, concentration, understanding, appreciation, comprehension, ulcers, think too much, penetrates, loudness, keen intellect

SMOOTH – ROUGH

  • smooth (ślakṣṇa): cheese, oils, avocado, ghee, lubricates, flexible, prevents osteoporosis & arthritis, caring, discrimination
  • rough (khara): dryness, absorption, constipation, raw vegetables, many beans, rigidity, cracking, carelessness

DENSE – LIQUID

  • dense (sāndra): meat, cheese, compactness, grounded, stability, solid, density, strength, firmness of healthy muscle, highly concentrated
  • liquid (drava): diluted, water, salivation, compassion, cohesiveness, water retention, flexibility

SOFT – HARD

  • soft (mṛdu): delicacy, relaxation, tenderness, love, care, mucous
  • hard (kaṭhina): tumor, strength, rigidity, selfishness, callousness, insensitivity, callouses

STABLE – MOBILE

  • static (sthira): stability, support, sitting quietly, healing, obstruction, faith
  • mobile (cala): motion, shakiness, restlessness, thoughts, , feelings, emotions, insecurity, jogging, jumping, physical activity, instability

GROSS – SUBTLE

  • subtle (sūkṣma): drugs and herbs, spacey, alcohol, aspirin, emotional, penetrates subtle tissues
  • gross (sthūla): obstruction, obesity, meat, cheese, excessiveness

CLOUDY – CLEAR

  • clear (viśada): isolation diversion, purification, too much cleansing, pacification
  • cloudy (picchila): cohesiveness, attachment, lack of perception, dairy, confusion

“Balanced dosha, healthy agni, a good state of tissues and their metabolic end products lead to a balanced state of the senses, mind, and spirit, all of which lead to good health.”
– Sushruta Samhita, Chap.75/41