AYURVEDA TODAY: LIVING BETTER LONGER

LIVE BETTER LONGER WITH AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is a way of life for so many human beings. It is an Indian medical science that originated over five thousand years ago. In addition to being a complete medical system, it also contains guidelines and information about maintaining health over the long term. The goal is to enable you to feel healthy, happy and balanced at all levels.

According to Ayurveda, the basic building blocks in the universe, which are present in all material things including human beings, consist of five elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and space. Each individual is born with a fixed ratio of these five elements, which determine the physical constitution of a person. Some people are tall and skinny, and do not seem to gain weight even if they eat large quantities of food. They contain more air and space in their original constitution. Others have a bulky and large body, and seem to gain weight even if they drink water! They have a larger quantity of earth and water from birth in their bodies. Health at a physical level, requires you to maintain an equilibrium of the original five-element ratio you were born with, known as your 'prakruti', nature. Any disturbance in this original ratio of the five elements, indicates disorder or dis-ease, and is termed ‘vikruti’.

Ayurvedic treatment, or ‘chikitsa’, seeks to retain, or help bring back a person to their original state (prakruti). This is attained by applying the fundamental Ayurvedic principle, namely: Like increases, Opposites decrease. For example, if someone is suffering from a cold, cough or mucous in the lungs, this indicates an increase in the water and earth element. To treat this condition, they are advised not to consume foods which are ‘like’ orhave properties similar to earth and water, for example yoghurt, cheese, sweets, cream, meat or heavy food, and instead, to consume ‘opposite’ food types, such as ginger tea, hot vegetable soup, and spices such as pepper, cloves and cinnamon.

All substances (herbs, minerals, spices, grains, vegetables, fruit etc.) are five elemental in their constitution, and hence can be used for balancing the physical five elements in human beings. But it doesn’t stop there. Everything that exists in nature can be used as medicine. Many substances in the universe are not ingestible by the human system, or contain poisonous ingredients. Ayurveda describes methods by which to cleanse, purify and process such substances in order to convert them into beneficial substances to be used as remedies.

There will be several substances in and around your home, in the kitchen and garden, which can be used as natural remedies to treat your and your family’s disorders. Since these remedies can be produced in a kitchen and exist in your home, they are called ‘home remedies’ or ‘kitchen remedies’. An elementary knowledge of home remedies can solve a lot of simple health problems. Common ingredients such as ginger, licorice, honey, gargling with warm water, drinking warm water, favouring certain dietary guidelines, fruit or juice, sometimes prove to be more beneficial than the best available shop-bought medicines.

According to the 5,000-year-old philosophy of Ayurveda, health is a reflection of our internal balance. Healing interventions include both dietary and lifestyle recommendations, internal and external applications using diet, herbs and nourishing special treatments. The study is vast, and you can find out more about these in many of our short and longer Ayurvedic courses, face to face classes or online. As you discover more about Ayurveda, you will find yourself falling in love with this knowledge that makes you feel empowered and contented. Thinking out of the box to build your health, supported by consistent effort, commitment, and willpower, will allow you to make a real difference not only to your life but also to the lives of others..