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What is Ayurveda? Ayurveda is not all about massage and herbal therapies. Rather, Ayurveda conceives of everything as a healing potential for the body and mind. A large part of Ayurveda is dedicated to maintaining health through personalised diet, daily and seasonal lifestyle regimens, yoga practice and the use of many products from nature including herbs, minerals and some animal products. It even acknowledges the subtle healing energy of supporting and encouraging words and positive thinking. The ancient Indian system of disease prevention and natural healing, Ayurveda is often combined with other natural healing methods, such as reflexology or the therapeutic use of scents (aromatherapy), colours (colour therapy) and gems (gem therapy). It can also be used in conjunction with modern medicine to enhance well-being. In Sanskrit, Ayu means life and Veda means knowledge, therefore Ayurveda is considered to be the Science of Life dating back to 3000BC. Natural Healing Science The Ayurvedic perspective is that life is a combination of body elements, mind and soul. Its approach deals with the individual as a whole rather than focusing attention on an afflicted part. Furthermore, its tonics, massages and therapies may be used simultaneously by healthy persons as well as patients. Ayurveda places much emphasis on health maintenance by utilising a variety of measures tailored according to one's individual elemental constitution – a combination of earth, water, fire, air and ether (space). Maintaining the harmonious balance of these elements is considered to be the key to good health. Furthermore, specialist Ayurvedic doctors would use relatively simple diagnosis methods to prescribe similar measures to induce the body to self-healing when disease is present. As necessary, they may prescribe more radical treatment methods such as Pancha Karma* therapy. *Pancha Karma therapy involves a series of treatments which include oleation and sudation followed by emesis, purgation, enema, nasal drops or even blood-letting, as necessary. Modern science is still unable to prove the methods of Pancha Karma therapy, however it continues to give positive results. This is particularly notable in some cases where modern medicine is still unable to provide adequate solutions, such as in cases of autoimmunity diseases, paralysis and mental disorders. * Pancha Karma therapy is only possible under the strict supervision of an experienced Ayurvedic doctor and therefore its description here is for educational purposes only. Food in Ayurveda Did you know that taste is the basis for restoring and maintaining health according to the ancient Ayurvedic system? Ayurveda states that whether a substance is sweet, sour, salty, pungent, astringent or bitter will affect the balance of elements inside our body when we consume it. These in turn affect our digestion, the production of body tissues and waste products of our body as well as all of its functions. We go out of balance and disease appears; maintain balance and experience good health. Sounds simple enough? Never has the expression, 'You Are What You Eat' held as much relevance as in the realm of Yoga and Ayurveda. Discover how small changes in your diet can make great changes in your state of physical and mental well-being. Prakruti and Vikriti Prakruti refers to our elemental constitution, known as dosha, which is made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Doshas are responsible for the substance and function of the body and mind on a biological, psychological and physio-pathological level. Kapha types are predominantly Earth and Water in constitution Pitta types are predominantly Fire and Water in constitution Vata types are predominantly Air and Ether in constitution Some persons have a combination of two of the above, and in rare cases, all three are equal (samadosha). The Sanskrit word dosha actually means fault or disease-causing factor, therefore if we are of a particular type we are more susceptible to physical disturbances for which that dosha is responsible. Vikriti refers to the state of an aggravated dosha (disharmony) which is considered to be the root of disease. Determine your Prakruti and gain some indication of your Vikriti and take advantage of the natural Ayurvedic way to better physical and mental health. Ayurvedic Lifestyle Did you know that for some constitutional types, those strenuous gym workouts are actually a contract with long-term disease? Many people associate fitness with health, but this is not always the rule. Ayurveda states that we need to plan our lifestyle and activity according to our individual elemental condition. This will determine what food we eat, how we do exercise and which leisure activities are more suited to us in order to maintain health and prevent disease. Ayurveda is of the opinion that there is no one set recipe that is suitable for everyone. We must always attempt to adjust our lifestyle to treat Vikriti (imbalance) first, in an attempt to return to normalisation, and then re-adjust according to our Prakruti (constitution) in order to maintain health. Learn how to live for your well-being! Yoga and Ayurveda Together, Yoga and Ayurveda form a complete discipline to create a life of balance and help us achieve greater harmony with ourselves and with all that surrounds us. The link between Yoga and Ayurveda is prana – the life force energy. In Ayurveda it is the healing power and in Yoga it is the force of life seeking greater evolutionary transformation. Yoga is an essential aspect of Ayurvedic healing (Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy) and health maintenance because it can help us achieve balance on all levels. Ayurveda assumes that a healthy body requires a healthy mind, and yoga is considered an invaluable tool for achieving inner balance as well as for balancing the doshas. From a Yoga perspective, one's mental nature may also be assessed in terms of the gunas, namely sattva (light/purity), rajas (energy/passion) or tamas (matter/ignorance). Although the dosha prakruti (elemental constitution) of a person remains constant during one's life, we do have the power to transform our guna nature. By assessing our dosha and guna, (physical, mental and spiritual nature) we can have a clearer understanding of where we are in our personal evolution towards our greatest potential. Discover what steps you can take to make the transformations you wish to see in yourself. Yoga and Ayurveda emerged side by side during the same period. They share a similar perspective about cosmic manifestation based on Sage Kapila's Samkhya philosophy, which arose from the timeless Vedas. The Vedic knowledge is said to have been revealed to the Seers of Truth (Rishis) during their intense meditation. It was first passed on from generation to generation by oral tradition, and then recorded in writing around 5,000 years ago.