Ayurveda The science of life.
Ayurveda [i-yur-VAY-da] comes from the ancient spiritual texts of India known as the Vedas, or “Books of Wisdom” which date back at least five thousand years and are regarded as the first written texts.
The term Ayurveda derives from the Sanskrit words ayus and veda. Ayus translates as “life” and Veda as “knowledge” or “science” Ayurveda thus means the “Knowledge or Science of Life.” According to Ayurveda Ayus is union of the mind, body, senses and soul. It is energy and vitality it is eternal.
Ayurveda teaches us to live in harmony with the basic laws of nature. According to Ayurveda, health is a continuous and participatory process that embraces all aspects of life: physical, mental emotional, behavioral, spiritual, familial, social, and universal. Achieving balance on all levels of being is the true measure of vibrant health.
Five Element Theory
All organic and inorganic substances are made up of five basic elements. Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth. These are the building blocks of all material existence. Everything we know has a varying ratio of the five elements. Since we as humans are a combination of the five elements we also have a distinct pattern or map for each person, and no two people will be the same. We nourish ourselves with foods from the earth, and eventually, our body returns to the earth, from where it came. Water is our life sustaining fluid, making up a large percentage of our total body mass. Fire is within us accounting for the heat and radiant energy that exists within all metabolic and chemical actions. Air flows freely throughout the body, giving movement to biological functions and feeding every cell with oxygen. Space is ever-present, patiently residing in the background, providing the other elements with an opportunity to interact.
The five Elements also explain why substances of the natural world are harmonious with the human body. We utilize plants, herbs, minerals, and water because these substances are the same in composition and character to our own underlying make-up.
All this is learning how and what empowering foods are best for your body type, to give you the day full of energy and vitality to achieve all your goals and dreams.
Unlike Western medicine, which until recently has concerned itself primarily with healing the sick, Ayurveda takes a holistic view of health. Prevention is as important as cure to an Ayurvedic practitioner. It's ironic that principles known to Ayurveda for thousands of years are now trumpeted as new discoveries by Western medicine.
Life in the Balance
The Ayurvedic approach to health is twofold: heal sickness by restoring the body's natural balance of energies (doshas), and preserve health by carefully maintaining that balance through daily and seasonal routines.
Dinacharya, the daily routine, prescribes good hygiene, proper diet, moderate exercise, efficient elimination of wastes, stress-reduction, and a positive mental attitude. The day is divided into four-hour periods, each corresponding to a doshic energy: Vata, Pitta, or Kapha. Ayurveda recommends a daily routine synchronized with this doshic cycle.
Similarly, Ritucharya prescribes a seasonal routine based on the doshic cycle of the seasons. In Ayurveda, the year is divided into six seasons. Each corresponds to a type of doshic energy; each, therefore, requires a different regimen if we are to remain in harmony with nature.
By following the recommendations of Dinacharya and Ritucharya, balance is maintained and health preserved. If, however, an unbalanced state is allowed to persist, the development of disease is virtually inevitable.
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