One very often asked question which I have promised to discuss: what does Ayurveda say about mushrooms?

It may not be what you expect. Now, I am biased. I have HATED mushrooms my entire life. All kinds of them.

In classical texts, mushrooms are said to aggravate all the doshas and are almost never included in medicines and foods.

I once heard my yoga teacher answer to this question: “They grow in the dark, on dead things.”

From the yoga viewpoint, mushrooms are Tamasic. This means they can foster heaviness and inertia in the mind. Interestingly, these days, many folks may need and crave this kind of mental slow-down. Mushrooms are heavy in the earth and water elements, slimy and building. This makes them a better food for light, airy types, stressed-out folks, and for surviving cold climates.

You can imagine in the tropics, in medieval times, how mushrooms could appear rotten, and a little too close to the bugs and such that crawl on decaying vegetation.

It is however, a circle of life situation here! Stay tuned later this week for more on how and when mushrooms might be very useful.