What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word with 2 roots

Ayur / Ayush = life Vid / Veda = science

Ayurveda originated as part of Vedic science and is a combination of science and philosophy. Vedic science includes yoga, meditation, astrology, and Ayurveda. It is helpful for healing body, mind and spirit. Provides a comprehensive understanding of the entire universe of matter, spirit and consciousness. According to the Vedic scriptures, Ayurveda practices existed as early as 5,000 BC. Ayurveda reflects the healing wisdom of the ancient Saraswati culture, which was one of the great cradles of world civilization. Together with Indian culture, Ayurveda spread eastward to Indonesia, Indochina and as far as the Greeks, who developed a similar form of natural medicine. Ayurveda became the basis of the healing traditions of Tibet, Sri Lanka and Burma and also influenced Chinese medicine.

Does Ayurveda help?

  1. Brings sick people back into balance.
  2. Balancing or keeping healthy people in balance.

Ayurveda is becoming more and more popular in the western world due to the power and effects of herbal medicine, the type of diet, body work, massages, cleansing, psychology and spirituality. Ayurveda is part of a movement towards holistic medicine. It has a lot in common with the Chinese and European tradition and thus connects the traditions. Ayurveda therapy restores a feeling of wellbeing and rejuvenation through thorough cleansing of the entire body - that is the task of Pancha-Karma. This classic method of detoxification causes complaints and illnesses to improve and leads to a balance of unbalanced doshas (the 3 bioenergies) of Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

The doshas

What does dosha mean?

 

Dosha means life energy. Each person has an individual composition of the three Dosha energies Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The constitution and personality of the person emerges from the relationship of the three to one another, which every person is aware of at birth. They shape the physical appearance, forms of behavior and susceptibility to diseases. If the original Dosha structure is in its harmonious equilibrium and normal state, then the person is healthy, resilient and happy. However, if the 3 energies are disturbed or in imbalance, i.e. if a Dosha predominates or if a Dosha is not taken into account, this is the cause of all kinds of physical and psychological complaints to be serious illnesses like diabetes, rheumatism or cancer. In Ayurveda, all of these complaints are viewed as different expressions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

According to Ayurveda, there are four different causes that lead to the disease.

  • Unbalanced doshas
  • Unbalanced diet, unbalanced lifestyle habits with the consequence of imbalances in blood, muscles, joints, fat and hormone balance
  • Unbalanced elimination through the digestive tract or the genitourinary system
  • Excessive stress, including poor working conditions, resulting in a disharmonious mind and excessive, insufficient or inappropriate use of the senses and the resulting actions.