the body’s hidden intelligence
Author :: Jess Marie, CVC, CAHC, INHC, E-RYT 🌻
What if everything you’ve learned about breathing is incomplete?
Not wrong, exactly, but missing crucial chapters in the story of how vitality actually moves through the body. Recently, I encountered a perspective that stopped me in my tracks, one that perfectly mirrors what the Vedas have been teaching for thousands of years: the intelligence of the body operates on levels far deeper than most modern understanding acknowledges.
When one thinks of breathing, the lungs naturally come to mind. They expand, contract, fill with air; this much seems obvious. Yet the Vedas teach us that prāṇa (प्राण), the vital life force, doesn't simply enter & exit through the respiratory system. True vitality occurs when oxygen dissolves into the blood, when it begins its sacred journey through the circulatory system, nourishing every cell, every tissue, every function of Being.
One breathes through the blood. 🩸
This isn't merely poetic language, for it's physiological truth that ancient Vedic wisdom understood intimately. The lungs serve as the gateway, yes, but the actual exchange of life force happens in the intricate interplay between air, blood, and cellular consciousness. This is prāṇa in motion, the vital essence that Ayurveda recognizes as the foundation of all biological intelligence.
Here's where the wisdom becomes even more profound: manas (मनस्), the mind-organ in Vedic philosophy, receives all sensory information not through the ears, eyes, skin, tongue, or nose themselves, but through the blood delivering these signals to the brain.
One hears with the brain.
One sees with the brain.
One touches, tastes, and smells with the brain.
The sensory organs are magnificent receivers, but manas, housed within the brain, is the true perceiver. This understanding transforms one's relationship with embodiment itself.
The ears don't hear; they translate vibration into electrical signals that travel through the bloodstream to the brain, where consciousness interprets meaning.
The eyes don't see; they capture light that the brain transforms into visual experience.
Every sensation, every perception, every moment of awareness depends on the brain receiving adequate ojas (ओजस्): the subtle essence of vitality that Ayurveda describes as the finest product of digestion & metabolism.
And what does the brain require most abundantly?
Oxygen-rich blood carrying nutrients, the very prāṇa we're exploring.
The body possesses intelligence that operates far beyond conscious awareness.
When the brain, the organ consuming more oxygen than any other, begins to experience deficiency, it doesn't simply suffer in silence. It responds with exquisite precision.
If the brain lacks adequate ojas, if prāṇa flow becomes compromised, the body's innate wisdom activates compensatory mechanisms. Hormonal shifts occur not randomly, but intelligently. The endocrine system may increase estrogen production because estrogen holds moisture & nutrients: exactly what a depleted system desperately needs.
This is the body speaking its own language, attempting to restore balance through whatever means available. What conventional approaches might label as "hormonal imbalance" or "dysfunction," Vedic wisdom recognizes as the body's intelligent attempt at Self-preservation. The question becomes:
Does one listen to these messages with curiosity & compassion, or does one simply suppress the symptoms without addressing root causes?
Understanding these interconnections of breath, blood, brain, hormones, and perception offers something far more valuable than mere information. It offers an invitation into relationship with one's own constitutional intelligence.
When one recognizes ::
Prāṇa flows through the blood, not just the lungs
Manas perceives through the brain, not merely through sensory organs
Ojas sustains consciousness itself
The body's compensations reflect deep wisdom
... then symptoms transform from problems to be fixed into sacred messengers pointing toward imbalance requiring attention, care, and understanding.
This is precisely why Vedic Counseling approaches health from such a radically different paradigm. Rather than treating isolated symptoms or suppressing the body's intelligent responses, one learns to read the language of one's own constitution: to understand the unique ways prāṇa, ojas, and tejas (तेजस्) move through one's particular expression of embodiment.
Constitutional awareness means recognizing ::
How one's breath patterns affect mental clarity
How blood quality influences perception and emotional stability
How the brain's nutritional needs shape hormonal balance
How all systems interconnect in service of consciousness
This awareness doesn't arise from simply reading about Ayurveda or understanding concepts intellectually. It emerges through guided Self inquiry, personalized assessment, and the cultivation of Self-attunement that honors both ancient wisdom and one's lived experience.
listen to your body’s innate wisdom
One's body is not a machine requiring mechanical fixes. It is a sacred vessel of consciousness, operating according to principles that unite physiology with philosophy, biology with Being. When imbalance arises, whether in breath, hormones, perception, or vitality, the invitation is to explore more deeply, to ask what the body is attempting to communicate.
This is the heart of the work I hold sacred space for: supporting individuals in developing fluency in their own constitutional language, learning to recognize the patterns, signals, and wisdom already present within their unique expression of life.
If this perspective resonates with you, if you feel called to explore your own constitutional awareness with curiosity & care, I invite you to consider Vedic Counseling as a pathway toward this deeper relationship with embodiment, vitality, and Self.
I offer complimentary consultations and donation-based counseling.
The body's intelligence is extraordinary. The question is: are you listening?
Jess Marie 🌻
CVC, CAHC, INHC, e-RYT
Jess is a multi-certified, multi-faceted Vedic professional & business consultant. She offers wellness offerings to support those seeking a more holistic & integrative approach to healing, as well as business support services for professionals in the health, wellness & spirituality fields.
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