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Ojas, Tejas and Prana Written by John Joseph Immel, Asheville, NC

Introduction to an Ayurvedic Diet | Other Ayurvedic Concepts | Ojas, Tejas and Prana

Ojas

Ojas is an umbrella term to describe a property of bodily tissue. If a person has healthy bodily tissues and "juiciness" they have good ojas. A thin person with dry skin might lack ojas. A person who is overweight with clammy skin might have lots of ojas, but poor quality because the tissues are toxic / overwhelmed with fluids. Poor quality ojas is similar to kapha type ama such as mucous.

Ojas is the end product of digestion. Ojas is produced everywhere in the body but especially by the genital organs. Semen is pure ojas because the body produces high quality semen only after other tissues have been nourished. Food that is high in ojas also feeds the genital organs.

Although warrior white blood cells are Tejas (described below), Ojas also plays an important role in immunity. Ojas give innate immunity; it gives cells strength for survival. In military terms, the immunity of ojas is like the castle wall while tejas is the archer.

Ojas is said to have the smell of burnt rice and the color of ghee. Some ojas building foods include ghee, rice, milk, sugar, almonds, and raisins.

Tejas

Tejas is 'cellular intelligence.' Our cells know how to communicate with each other via hormones and other chemical messengers. They know exactly how much oxygen and food to eat and waste products to eliminate. When this natural intelligence becomes occluded due to injury or toxicity then tejas can be blocked. Excess tejas is similar to pitta type ama such as bilirubin in the blood.

Prana

Prana is the vital energy of the body. Oxygen is a form of prana because oxygen provides the immediate spark our metabolism needs to convert food into energy. Prana is kinetic energy. Excess prana is similar to vata ama.
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