Ayurveda

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is a well-established alternative medicine system from India that is thousands of years old. It derived out of the advanced Vedic culture circa 10 000 years ago. Ayurveda is Sanskrit, whereby “Ayur” means life and “Veda” means science or knowledge. Ayurveda provides guidance for how to live a balanced daily life.

The health care system in India is based on the Ayurvedic teachings. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers it an efficient and affordable way to support people’s general health, as it invites the patient to participate in their own healing process and teaches them to produce their own medicinal remedies, thereby reducing dependency on medical authorities.

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By learning more about Ayurveda, you can gain a holistic understanding of your body and thereby better understand your daily needs to create a sustainable lifestyle.

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How does Ayurveda work?

In simple terms, Ayurveda is based on the assumption that one thing creates more of the same thing. For example, if we are experiencing symptoms of stress then these will continue to increase until we create the opposite quality of calmness. Ayurveda increases our awareness of the factors that contribute to physical and psychological illness, while informing us of how to promote wellbeing through various lifestyle routines, such as diet, sleep, meditation, yoga, exercise, prayer, learning, different treatments and ayurvedic medicine.

The different parts of Ayurveda

Ayurveda can be translated into “daily knowledge” as it offers simple advice on how to live our life in ways that increase our well-being and energy. It is a complex system which can be too extensive to grasp, however, there are two basic concepts worth exploring that will get you a long way.

1. The three qualities of Vata, Pitta and Kapha that make up the different psycho-physical constitutions.
2. The three existential qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas that can support our existential development.

Ayurveda believes that everything has an impact on our health. The question is how it can impact us as individuals. For example, some people respond to food differently, some find it easier to stay active than others. Some prefer hot meals while others prefer raw food, and so on. According to Ayurveda, these differences are attributed to our individual compositions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and the different existential qualities of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. You can read more about these concepts here.

Discover yourself

Developing self-awareness is the first step towards shaping a healthy lifestyle. As you learn about the type of psyco-physical constitution that applies to you, you can discover your strengths and talents, as well as any stress symptoms and other illness symptoms you might have. This can help you gain a better holistic understanding of yourself and your needs. Read more on how to explore yourself through Ayurveda as well as how to create healthy routines here.

Ayurveda in modern science

Ayurveda is considered a highly relevant knowledge. Recent research demonstrates that it is the small daily routines, our thoughts, and how we function socially, that can shape either our well-being or ill-being. Ayurveda offers a broad base of knowledge in this area, and more research is now being done on the various treatments (known as Pancha Karma) and medicines used in Ayurvedic practices.

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