Interview w/ Robert Svoboda (Vata info)

January 31, 2005

Talking Shop with Robert Svoboda (

The Ayurvedic physician discusses the path that led him from Oklahoma

to Africa to India, where he became the first Westerner to earn a degree

in Ayurveda.

By Colleen Morton

Yoga Journal caught up with Ayurvedic physician Robert Svoboda at a

friend's house in Sunnyvale, California. Asked where he is living now,

he said he doesn't maintain a regular residence: "It started when I

lived in India for 10 years. It felt like a duplicated effort to

maintain a house here. Living without a fixed address became an

agreeable habit."

The following is an excerpt from that interview with Robert Svoboda

YJ: What dosha are you?

RS: Vata predominant, pitta secondary. I'm more vata in the body and

pitta in the mind.

YJ: So isn't your rather nomadic lifestyle an aggravation to vata, which

requires routine?

RS: It certainly could be, but I think there are basically two ways to

deal with vata. One is to lead a focused and abstemious lifestyle. The

other is to lead a lifestyle of spontaneity, to do what your body tells

you to do. But to control vata with spontaneity you must always listen

carefully to the body and obey its wishes; your mind may give your body

the wrong signals.

YJ: But how do you know when it's only your mind speaking?

RS: If you've cultivated your prana, you can think not only with your

head but also with your heart and your gut, your dantian or hara point.

When your head, your heart, and your hara are all aligned, you are

probably headed in a good direction. But even if you can't quite manage

that sort of alignment you can still do useful things with your system

simply by paying attention.

Alertness is what's important, and adaptability. My mentor used to say,

"Human beings are imperfect. We will always make mistakes. Always try to

make different mistakes each time."

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