This universe and everything in it, including ourselves, is made up of the five elements-ether, air, fire, water, and earth. These five elements combine to make three energies (called doshas) that control the bodily functions which in turn can control your core being.
- Vata represents the subtle energy of movement.
- Pitta is the energy of digestion and metabolism.
- Kapha is the energy that forms the body’s structure.
Ayurvedic practices are all-healing remedies and help to alleviate all diseases by aligning these doshas. They say health is order and disease is disorder, when one understands the nature of disorder it becomes easier to establish order and that’s exactly what Ayurveda does.
Ayurveda brings health and keeps the doshas in balance. Overall, it aims at holistically maintaining and improving general health no matter what age you are.
Let’s take the opportunity on this National Ayurveda Day by learning to live in awareness, insight, inspiration, and creativity in all that we do, accessing our highest potential in life.
Why practice Ayurveda?
Ayurveda ‘The Mother of All Healing’
Ayurvedic medicine is one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems which was documented more than 5,000 years ago in India.
It’s based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. But treatments may be geared toward specific health problems. Ayurveda claims to treat a range of disorders including effective treatments for pain, stress management, weight loss, migraines, lower back pain, arthritis, osteoarthritis, and many more.
Ayurveda considers ‘Food a powerful medicine’
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when the diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”
In Ayurveda, food is considered a powerful medicine. In fact for each Dosha imbalance, a different food combination can lead you to balance. Opposite dosha and food shall have an imbalanced reaction, the same dosha and food recommendation shall have a positive reaction.
When you are restoring the body into balance, warm, and easy to digest meals are the key. Cooked foods are important, so the body can digest this food easily, in comparison to cold, dry, and raw foods, which are difficult for a weakened system to digest and obtain nutrients from.
In the end remember, You are what you eat!
This is the magic of eating, nothing is prohibited, and you just have to make the right combinations and the right use of spices to be always in the balance!
Ayurveda for ‘Stress Management’
Modern lifestyles have caused an increase in stress, especially during this Covid pandemic.
The kind of jobs people do is an important cause of stress but is not always the cause of the problem. Sources of stress may come from family, friends, or social life too.
A person’s reactions are down to their internal constitution and anything that affects the mind will also affect the body, Ayurveda looks at the external influences and how they affect a particular body type and guarantees reduction in stress and anxiety.
Ayurveda to ‘Cleanse the body’
Ayurveda recommends a program of internal cleansing at every change of seasons to clear the channels of the body of toxins that may have built up over the previous season and also drawing out excess Vata, Pitta, and Kapha from the tissues into the digestive tract in order to eliminate them. This, in turn, unblocks the channels and restores balance. This cleanse is known as Panchakarma, which literally means five actions or procedures. It is a method of cleansing the body of all unwanted waste after lubricating the body. This treatment is highly beneficial as it includes preventive and curative actions for various diseases.
Ayurveda to ‘Improve the quality of life’
An Ayurvedic lifestyle produces numerous benefits that are wonderful for enriching your life.
- Ayurvedic treatments improve digestion and increase appetite and immunity.
- Ayurveda helps reclaim health with balanced dietary guidelines, effective sleep patterns, home remedies, daily and seasonal routines, yoga, and exercise patterns.
- Ayurveda works in perfect harmony with alternative medicine so it is practical for everyday use.
Conclusion: Heal comes from Health
It’s no coincidence that four of the six letters in Health are Heal.
Ayurveda thrives on prevention and its approach is simple – identify the root cause of any sign or symptom, rather than putting a Band-Aid on it. So, let’s make Ayurveda an integral part of our daily lives for good health and our wellbeing.
ASHTANGA believes, getting regular body treatments such as abhyanga, udwarthanam, and shirodhara, should be a part of your monthly prevention along with a focus on food as medicine. We are offering Ayurvedic packages & consultations, so experience healing the ancient way.