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Writer's pictureiyurvedalife

What is Ayurveda?

Updated: Sep 3, 2018

Ayurveda or the 'science longevity' is the system of nature cure. It is known to promote positive health, natural beauty and long life.


Although rooted in antiquity, Ayurveda is based on universal principles and is a living, #growing body of #knowledge - as useful today as it was in earlier centuries.


Over the past 5000 years the Ayurvedic and Chinese traditions have developed sophisticated systems of medicines.

Ayurveda the traditional form of Indian #medicine was developed by ancient sages whose astute observations led to the development of constitutional medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine too has similar origins. The ancients visualized the #universe as a constant play of energies, an #imbalance of which created discomfort and #disease in the body. It was the duty of the vaidyar/ (physician) to harmonize this imbalance of the body - mind environment


Ayurveda [ayur + veda]


Is considered to be a sub-#veda or the branch of knowledge that is concerned with the #physical #health and #happiness on #earth which therefore assumes great significance to #human life. Vedic #culture was based on the Vedas [four books of knowledge] the origin of which dates back to 40000 years. This is an indication to the age old roots of Ayurveda. Ancient physicians segmented the universe into different types of manifested #energy and attributed the very same energy to #food and #herbs.


Ayurvedic physicians classify a patients' state of health according to the imbalances of the three doshas namely #Vata, #Pitha and #Kapha. Kapha is the entire physical volume in a living #organisms, Pitha, the entire biochemical process operating in a body and Vata is that which constitutes bodily movement and #activity. A disturbance in any of these three doshas leads to a particular disease and the #treatment is administered to restore the #equilibrium.


The treatment is prescribed by a #physician based on the patients' state of health gauging by the status of the doshas - can be in stages, sometimes of longer duration. Depending upon the #nature and intensity of the #disease the treatment involves either medicines or #oil #baths and #massages or a combination of both. Another theory of Ayurveda is that certain passages or minutest channels of the human body has to be #cleansed regularly through processes like emesis (vamana) , purgation (virechana), oil- predominent enema (snehavasti) , decoction- predominant enema (niruhavasti) and #nasal #medication (nasya). Panchakarma is the Ayurvedic terminology for this five fold #purification process which involves the application of oil and #heattherapy in tandem with certain internal medication. #Panchakarma rejuvenates the #body and #mind to its potential.


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