What is Ayurveda?

Originated in the pristine land of India 5000 years ago, Ayurveda is the oldest healthcare system in the world. It's a unique, completely naturalistic and holistic system of medicine for various kinds of ailments. Ayurveda addresses the root causes of the disease, and not just the disease and its symptoms, treating all aspects (physical, mental & spiritual) of an individual's health - balancing the energies that constitute our nature and body.

The earliest-recorded knowledge about Ayurveda is found in the sacred Indian Vedas such as the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda. The Vedas are considered to be oldest written book on the planet. The knowledge contained in these sacred texts are believed to be orally transmitted for hundreds of years across India, eventually being written down in 1500–1200 BCE.

The term Ayurveda originated from two Sanskrit words Ayur or Ayus meaning ‘life’ or ‘longevity’ and Veda meaning ‘science or knowledge’. The literal translation of the term Ayurveda is “the science of life or longevity", it is also widely called the 'medicine of the God'.

Basically a humoural medical system, Ayurveda considers the human body to be made up of five primary elements such as ether (space or akasha), air (vaayu), fire (agni), water (apa) and earth (prithvi). When any of these elements are imbalanced in the body, these will, in turn, influence body's tridoshas or humours - vata, pitta and kapha – causing mind-body uneasiness or diseases.

Why Ayurveda Treatment?

Ayurveda is not only an ancient healing system, but a complete way of life, and demands absolute dedication to achieve the right balance. It recommends daily routines or dinacharyas which will lead to an healthy & energetic life. It advises a range of practices such as therapies, herbal remedies, yoga, dietary control, meditation and lifestyle modifications to restore health and improve quality of life in harmony with the nature.

An Ayurveda practitioner will help the patient understand what contributed to the origin of the present condition and designs a remedial program utilizing the natural healing therapies and treatment of Ayurveda. After understanding the nature of the patient and the disease, the therapies and medication may be instituted over a period of time with emphasizes on lifestyle analysis and changes.

Functions of the 3 "Dhoshas"

Vatha

Controls thought, movement, breathing, circulation, nerve impulse transmission, urination and bowel activity.

Pitta

Maintains energy, digestion and metabolism and is linked to organs such as stomach, spleen, liver, blood and eyes.

Kapha

Maintains body frame and mass, moisture etc and is related to organs including chest, lungs, lymphatics, connective tissue and fat tissue.

Abnormalities of these "Dhoshas" leads to imbalance of homeostasis (Vikruthi) and ultimately diseases. Ayurveda aims to normalize this to maintain homeostasis and thus helps to lead a healthy life in addition to curing disease.

Ayurveda also focuses on anti-ageing and rejuvenation programmes to prevent disease and to maintain an optimum, healthy state.

The central tenet of Ayurvedic science is that each human being is unique, having a distinct individual constitution, genetic inheritance and predisposition to certain diseases.