What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is the world’s oldest healing system, which was originated in India more than 5000 years ago, and is still in practice today.

Ayurveda is a proven system of prevention and healing. It aims to achieve health by balancing and harmonizing the body with its nature and not by fighting disease.
In Ayurvedic medicine, prevention of disease is emphasized over cure – this can be attained with the maintenance of physical, emotional, mental, environmental, and spiritual balance.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, to be healthy you must be in harmony with yourself – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Disease is the physical manifestation of one’s fearful thoughts and negative and emotions.
Ayurveda focuses on prevention, whereas the focus of conventional medicine is on symptoms.
An Ayurvedic practitioner will ask a patient about their childhood, eating patterns, daily routines, and even their dreams. They look for the root cause of the problem to treat it and prevent it from reoccurring, instead of just medicating.

According to Ayurveda, the secret to health lies in the digestive system, which in Sanskrit is known as ‘Agni’ (fire). Our digestion is the source of our internal fire, it is where our energy resides and emerges from. This digestive
fire is responsible for all transformations in the body, including metabolism, nutrient absorption, and elimination. Besides that, 80% of our immune system is located in the digestive tract, hence why Ayurveda puts such great emphasis on the importance of maintaining healthy digestion. Not only we digest food, but we also digest emotions and sensory experiences. Therefore, a compromised digestive system often results in declination of one’s health, both physically and mentally.

In Ayurveda, we are connected to nature and the intelligence of the universal five elements- ether or space, air, fire, water, and earth, which give rise to the three energies known as a ‘Dosha’.

These energetic forces are known as Vata (ether + air), Pitta (fire + water), and Kapha (water + earth).

Ayurveda was passed down orally across generations by memorization of chants, known as ‘shlokas’ until it was initially recorded in the Vedas; the ancient Indian books of wisdom. The Vedas are considered the oldest written knowledge in human history and are believed to be composed between 1000 – 1700 BCE. The Vedas address everything from ways to heal the body to how to become one with the universe.

Originally, Ayurveda was practiced by Indian holy men known as ‘Rishis’. These men were attuned and connected to both the spiritual, as well as physical realms, and aware of nature, and humans as part of it. Ayurveda was a product of intuitiveness and knowledge brought together into practice. The Rishis were scientists versed in the fields of physiology, human anatomy, psychology, surgery, herbal medicine, and the effects of minerals and metals on the body. They also understood the value of physical exercise, meditation, and cleansing.

The knowledge of Ayurveda spread to other civilizations and had profound effects on medicine in China, Tibet, Greece, Rome, Egypt, and others. The practice of Ayurvedic medicine was banned in India during the British rule, between the years 1835 – 1947. This lasted for almost 100 years. Fortunately, it was revived with India’s independence, and that’s when Ayurveda became a recognized medical system.

In Ayurveda, The 20 Qualities are used to describe everything within and around us, in our physical and mental world. Everything you can hear, taste, smell, and touch is experienced via the 20 qualities. There are 10 pairs of polar opposite qualities (e.g. wet vs dry and hard vs soft). Ayurveda is the science of qualities, everything has certain qualities from the seasons and weather, to our food and experiences.