Ayurvedic medicine (also called Ayurveda) is one of the world's oldest medical systems. It originated in India and has evolved there over thousands of years.
Ayurveda, (Sanskrit for “science of life”), form of alternative medicine based on the principle that disease is caused by an imbalance of life forces. Derived from spiritual visions received by Indian rishis (Sanskrit for “seers of truth”) 5000 years ago, Ayurveda is the oldest existing system of medical practice and is regarded by proponents as a complete way of life aimed at spiritual, mental, and social well-being as well as physical health.
The theory that forms Ayurveda is wide-ranging, involving philosophy and spirituality, as well as science and medicine. Traditionally, ayurveda stresses the importance of self-care and practitioners claim that treatments help maintain health and prevent illness, although they can also help a wide variety of health problems.
Ayurveda is based on the idea that the mind, body, and environment are part of an all-encompassing field of energy and intelligence that creates and sustains life. Followers of Ayurveda believe that perfect health is possible through connection with this field. Ayurvedic treatments therefore tend to focus not only on an individual’s physical, mental, and spiritual condition, but also on astrological influences and on social and environmental factors, such as the weather and seasons.
Ayurveda teaches that humans and our environment are made up of five elements referred to as air, fire, water, earth, and ether (or space). Each of these corresponds to one of our five senses. They combine to give rise to three main physiological tendencies, or doshas, known as kapha, pitta, and vata. These relate to the levels of energy (prana) affecting the body. Each dosha is most evident in specific organs of the body: kapha, for example, predominates in the lungs and chest.
The detection of imbalances in our doshas is one of ayurvedic medicine’s main ways of diagnosing ill health. It is claimed that, while all three doshas are found in everyone, their relative proportions vary from person to person. The doshas influence a person’s emotional and physical characteristics, as well as their lifestyle and habits. Under the ayurvedic system, the predominance of vata dosha makes a person slender, intuitive, energetic, and prone to mood disorders and constipation.
Pitta dosha promotes a medium build, reddish hair and ruddy skin, and proneness to anger, acne, heartburn, and ulcers. Those predominant in kapha dosha are more pale and relaxed, and prone to obesity and allergies. For each type of dosha, there are recommended diets, which can be general, such as eating hot foods in the cold season, or very specific; herbal medicines; cleansing treatments; exercises; and lifestyle choices.
