Can Ayurveda Help You ?
Short answer, it definitely can if the treatment is customised to your body.
You would be shocked to know that you are already benefiting from a lot of the wisdom of Ayurveda. Adding black pepper to turmeric to release the benefits was first found in these ancient texts.
So what is it and what does it mean for you. ?
In Sanskrit the word Ayur means life and Veda means knowledge. Put together it is the body of knowledge to increase longevity of life. It is a sub-Veda of Atharva Veda, the fourth and last Veda. This holistic form of medicine originated in India.
The Vedas are a library of encyclopaedias' each one focussing on a specific aspect of living successfully. What exists today is only 1 % of what used to be studied and preserved during Vedic times which was around 3300 BCE. The classic texts focus on living a long and healthy life and only a small portion focussed on the curing of diseases. It it is now known to be the oldest system of medicine in the world.
Unfortunately in this modern world we equate everything ancient to be out of date and want the new shiny object that can give us instant relief.
They strongly believed that prevention is better than cure.
By maintaining daily habits, food combinations and do’s and don'ts relating to diet, environment , influence of thoughts etc you could live a long and healthy life.
The art of mindfulness has also been borrowed from Ayurveda. In searching for some quiet in this hectic busy world , people have found Ayurveda and greatly benefitted from it. Modern medicine has it’s place in the world but who wants to be on lifelong cocktail of drugs and their harsh side-effects. The only ones who benefit seem to be the mega pharmaceutical companies. This form of healing can actually complement Western medicine.
Critics say there are no initial records of studies and experiments, however the whole process of diagnosis shows a highly scientific approach. The pulse diagnosis ( Nadi Vigyan) will help the practitioner to determine your energy type.
There are three vital energies or Doshas. -Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
They believe the imbalance is what causes some degree of illness to develop in the body. They also ask you about your diet and digestion as well as sleep and lifestyle to build a holistic picture of your constitution in order to build the customised treatment plan.
Nutrition is the cornerstone of their healing plan and they will guide you on what you should eat and what spices you should add and which one’s you should eliminate.
If you go and stay at a healing centre the treatment could involve massages, yoga, meditation, flowing oil therapy, Panchakarma etc. These stays could be expensive depending on which part of the world you live in.
However by meeting with a practitioner and making dietary changes you could keep the costs down and still have the intended health benefit.
Making a commitment to the diet changes is tough but it depends upon how much you want your condition to be healed. Try and speak to someone who has undergone this treatment and ask them what their experience was like.
Even though I knew all about this ancient system I was a little sceptical of how it could help me. The diet restrictions seemed to be too hard. What will the food taste like if we eliminate all the things we like ?
What I learnt was;
- Our palate undergoes a refreshing cleanse and we begin to taste each flavour more deeply.
- Our fears that our nutrition will be imbalanced is more in our mind.
- We are not used to our physicians being dieticians so that will create a bit of conflict in our minds.
- It is a more in-depth consultation and you are being healed at an emotional level as well.
- You will have to pay for the fees out of your own pocket as most health insurers will not cover this type of treatment.
- You can take baby steps with this approach and if you feel it doesn’t suit you can stop.
- You should actively communicate with your consultant if you feel any discomfort.
- You can’t DIY Ayurveda by doing a quiz in a magazine and make some dietary changes and expect great results.
Even Hippocrates, known to be the father of modern medicine stated the following;
Let your food
be your medicine,
and your medicine
be your food.
— Hippocrates
This article is not intended to be medical advice but merely an introduction to what Ayurveda is all about.
