Srotas

Srotas comes from a Sanskrit root meaning "to flow". The srotas are the body’s circulation channels: some are anatomically obvious (the digestive tract, airways, blood vessels, urinary tract), others more subtle (the channels that feed each tissue, the channels of the mind). The tradition classically counts around fifteen major systems, each with its root, its pathway and its opening.

The principle of health is crystal clear: as long as the channels stay open and the flows move in the right direction, the body nourishes and cleanses itself properly. Illness sets in when a srotas becomes blocked, overflows or diverts — most often because of ama, the sticky residues of incomplete digestion, which clog the circulations the way limescale clogs plumbing.

A concrete example: a lingering cold is read as a congestion of the respiratory channels by Kapha and ama; the Ayurvedic response combines light food, spices that "loosen", and clearing practices such as saline nasal rinsing (neti). Likewise, heavy legs or congested skin point to other srotas in need of clearing. This is why so many Ayurvedic practices — hot teas, spices, massage, movement — aim first of all to get things flowing. To understand clogging and how to clean it, read our guide to Ayurvedic detox: clearing ama without extremes and take care of the source of it all: agni, the digestive fire.