What is Ayurveda ?
After my Burnout when I told people that I decided to quit my well paid and secure Corporate Job and leave 15 years of career behind me, all to become an Ayurveda Therapist, you should have seen the baffled look on their face. They could not understand why I would make such a big change in my life and downgrade on my financial and economical security. But the bigger reason was, that they had no idea what Ayurveda was and even less so, how rich it was.
So what is Ayurveda? Have you also wondered? Then let me explain….
Ayurveda: The Science of Life
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian science of life. (Ayur means life, and Veda means knowledge or science.) It’s an ancient system of healing that has been practiced for thousands of years, helping people achieve balance in mind, body, and spirit.
As Ayurveda Therapist, we don’t just focus on the physical health of the body – we also consider the mental and emotional state. That’s because Ayurveda believes that the body cannot be healthy if the mind is sick.
Several triggers can cause both physical and mental illness. While chronic diseases are certainly part of it, the environment in which we live plays a huge role in our well-being, and this includes not only the social and work environment but the literal physical space around us.
The Influence of Our Environment on our Health
Let’s break this down: living in a city versus the countryside, living in an apartment versus a house, or spending most of the time indoors versus outdoors – all of these things impact our health. The space we live in has a profound effect on our physical and mental health. The air we breathe, the food we eat, and the relationships we maintain all influence our well-being.
To understand the connection between the mind, body, and soul, Ayurveda can be seen as a tree, with five main branches:
Nutrition – Healing through food
Physical – Healing through movement and exercise (Yoga)
Herbal Medicine – Healing through the power of nature (Dravyaguna)
Psychological – Healing through psychotherapy and art therapy
Touch & Senses – Healing through massage
The key to Ayurveda’s magic lies in understanding which branch (or branches) are needed for each individual. Much like in classical medicine, but perhaps even more so in Ayurveda, every individual receives a treatment plan tailored to their needs, based on a detailed Ayurvedic assessment. This assessment cannot be bypassed. Without it, there are potential risks of side effects. Online Ayurvedic assessments, for example, may lack the depth needed to truly understand a person’s holistic needs, as they don’t include follow-up consultations with an actual Ayurveda therapist or doctor.
The Microcosm and Macrocosm: Where are we in all of this?
One of the core concepts of Ayurveda is the idea that you are a microcosm of the universe. This means that everything that exists in the universe (the macrocosm) is also reflected within you (the microcosm). The body is not just a collection of cells, organs, and systems – it is a reflection of the vast universe around us. In Ayurveda, we are taught that everything is connected, from the smallest atom to the largest planet.
At the point of our conception, the five elements – space, air, fire, water, and earth – combine in a specific way to create our individual constitution. This configuration of elements, known as Prakruti in Ayurveda, is what gives us our unique qualities. The body is a “mini-universe,” a reflection of the macrocosm, with everything in the universe intertwined. Just as the universe operates in harmony, we must find balance within ourselves.
(Food for Thought: The challenge in our world right now perhaps is that even the universe is out of balance, through the environmental disturbance humans and their way of living have brought to it.)
What do you do to establish and maintain the connection between Mind, Body $ Soul ?
“Imagine Ayurveda as a three-legged stool – Soul, Body, and Mind. If you take away one leg, the stool becomes useless.”
Ayurveda teaches that we are not only made up of physical elements but have a deeper, spiritual essence. In Ayurveda, this essence is referred to as Purusha – the universal creative principle. Think of Purusha as the force behind everything. It is the eternal, unchanging part of you, and it is connected to the universe.
Purusha is not connected to the body or mind. These are temporary constructs that evolve and change throughout our lives. But the soul, or Atman, remains pure and constant. The mind and body are influenced by the five elements and are subject to change, but the soul is eternal. It is your pure essence, untouched by the fluctuations of the physical world.
We can think of the soul like a spark of consciousness that is part of the universal energy, which connects all beings. The mind and body are simply vehicles for the soul, and the goal of Ayurveda is to keep the mind and body in harmony so that the soul can shine through.
The Doshas and Their Role in Your Health
In Ayurveda, everyone is born with their own unique constitution called the Dosha. The Dosha is formed at the moment of conception when the five elements combine in a specific way to create your unique balance of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. These are the three primary energies that govern your physical and mental functions:
Vata (Space + Air): Vata governs all movement in the body, including the flow of food, thoughts, and waste. It’s characterized by qualities such as dryness, lightness, and mobility.
Pitta (Fire + Water): Pitta governs transformation, particularly digestion and metabolism. It’s associated with qualities like heat, sharpness, and clarity.
Kapha (Earth + Water): Kapha governs stability, lubrication, and nourishment. It’s associated with qualities like cold, heaviness, and groundedness.
Even though we all have these three Doshas within us, each of us has a unique combination. Some people may have more Vata, others may have more Pitta, and some may have more Kapha. The balance of these energies is what influences our personality, health, and behavior.
Ayurveda and Modern Science: A Surprising Connection
You may be surprised to know that Ayurveda is not as disconnected from modern science as you might think. The Doshas in Ayurveda correspond to fundamental physiological processes that are recognized in modern biology. For example, Vata, which governs movement, aligns with the nervous system and the movement of fluids in the body. Pitta, which governs digestion and transformation, correlates with metabolic processes and enzymatic activities. Kapha, which provides structure and lubrication, aligns with our musculoskeletal system and energy storage.
The Doshas can also be likened to modern-day concepts like DNA. Just as your DNA is a blueprint for your physical traits, the Doshas provide a blueprint for your unique constitution. And while modern science has only recently begun to explore epigenetics and how our environment impacts our gene expression, Ayurveda has always understood that our environment, food, and lifestyle choices deeply influence our health.
Vikriti: Imbalance and Disease
In modern medicine, we often look at illness as a result of a pathogen or injury. In Ayurveda, however, the cause of disease is often an imbalance in the Doshas. This imbalance, called Vikriti, occurs when our lifestyle, enironment, or diet causes one or more of the Doshas to go out of balance. When this happens, we experience physical and mental symptoms.
The key to health in Ayurveda is to return to a balanced state of Prakruti, or your natural constitution. This can be done through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes that restore harmony to the Doshas. The aim is to bring you back into alignment with your true self, your original state of balance, so that your mind, body, and soul can function together in harmony.
This is Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an ancient Indian healing system that emphasizes balance in mind, body, and spirit through personalized treatments based on individual constitutions (Doshas). It integrates nutrition, physical activity, herbal medicine, and mental well-being, recognizing the profound influence of environment on health. The goal is to restore harmony and achieve wellness by aligning with one's true nature.
I can help you to find your way into Ayurveda. If you want to begin your Ayurvedic healing journey, I invite you to reach out to me for a personalized Ayurvedic Dosha assessment. Let’s start bringing balance into your life, one step at a time.
