About Ayurveda:

What is Ayurveda? AYURVEDA - Is from India, and is more than 5,000 years old. "Ayur" means life and "Ved" means knowledge. This holistic science is the knowledge of complete balance of the Body, Mind and spirit, including the emotions and psychology, on all levels. It includes in its consideration, longevity, rejuvenation and self-realization therapies through herbs, diet, exercise, yoga, massage, aromas, tantras, mantras, and meditation. According to Ayurvedic tradition health is the balance of elements air, earth, fire, and water-and illness is as excess or deficiency of any particular element. Ayurveda treats illness at its source, rather than at the level of symptoms, and helps an in individual to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.... Hinduism is based on ancient texts called the Vedas. The Vedas are texts of hymns and collections of experiences of the sages and other wise men of yore. The four main branches of the Vedas are: the Rig Veda, consisting mainly of hymns; the Yajur Veda, consisting of procedures for various sacrifices; the Sama Veda, with Rig Vedic hymns set to tune, and the Atharva Veda, dealing with the healing arts. Ayurveda is an offshoot or an accessory of the Atharva Veda, which deals with the curative aspect, or the white magic section of the Veda. Ayurveda, essentially being the science of life, considers the treatment of diseases as an important branch, since health has to be restored and maintained. However, Atharva Veda makes references to other Vedas about treatment. Ayurveda has incorporated the use of natural substances such as herbs, roots, leaves, and stems, thus bringing forth this science of medicine. These combinations of herbs and other ingredients were used not only for curative purposes but also for the prevention of diseases as well as the maintenance of optimum health. Apart from the Atharva Veda, the Rig Veda is also said to contain many verses and mantras (similar to hymns), which denote the importance of the maintenance of health and hygiene in a human being. According to Indian mythology, Ayurveda was first perceived, not composed. Some historical sources say that Daksha Prajapati taught this science to the Ashwinikumars, who were considered to be celestial physicians. Other texts vary in their views. According to Sushruta Samhita, Lord Dhanwantari learned the art from Lord Indra, who is believed to be the king of the Gods. Whereas the Charaka Samhita believes that Bharadwaj and Atreya learned it from Indra. The Brahma Vaivarta Purana says that Bhaskara composed the Ayurveda on the advice of Daksha Prajapati. Man is believed to go through four stages of life. The first is the study period, followed by work and raising a family. The third is retirement from the family, with more concentration on social work, and fourth and finally, renunciation. Vedanta an era that started after the Vedic era, preached these four stages of a man’s life. Thus many began to adopt renunciation as a way of life. Therefore the new Ayurvedic tradition that developed put stress on passing medical knowledge down from renunciative gurus to renunciative disciples. This knowledge was not for commercial purposes like it was used earlier, but was meant for their own use and free treatment of anyone who might come to them. In the post-Vedic period, Ayurvedic medical practitioners developed eight specialized brancher: Internal Medicine General Surgery Treatment of diseases of the Head and Neck Pediatrics Toxicology Science of Aphrodisiacs Science of Rejuvenation Psychiatry (including the treatment of diseases caused by evil spirits) Charaka and Sushruta were the earliest medical practitioners. The medical manuals that these two great men produced are still followed as texts by those who are training in the field of Ayurvedic medicine. In those days, the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita were written to guide and even train doctors to treat the people from the king to captions of industry. Charaka was more of physician and excelled in internal medicine, while Sushruta was a surgeon and believed that surgery was the best form of treatment as it produced immediate results. Ayurveda is much more than a medical system. It is really a state of mind. It is universal art of healing, which has survived even some of the strongest social revolutions and cultural changes. The most available Ayurvedic classics (writings) are Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita written during the 7th century B.C. During the medieval period rasa sastra (chemistry) became an important part of Ayurveda. During foreign invasions and internal fights, many original Ayurvedic works were destroyed. Orientalists, especially in Europe, evinced interest in Ayurveda and had made a special study. The studied the Tridosha theory of Indian medicine correlating it with the moral theory of Arabs and Greeks. Tridosha theory explains physiology of the human body and provides the foundation of Ayurvedic medicine on which prevention and healing of all diseases are firmly based – for the benefit of mankind. The Tridoshas of the Ayurvedic system have very little in common with the theory of humors in the West. Tridoshas Ayurveda is based on the three doshas (dosha is an error, a fault which is against the cosmic rhythm leading to disharmony), which are invisible forces of nature. They are manifested in living beings as different characteristics. The three doshas are vata, pitta and kapha. Vata comes from air and ether; pitta (bile) comes from fire and water, and kapha (phlegm or mucus) from earth and water. These three doshas do not belong on the physical plane though they help to keep the balance of the body. Balance is attained by the continuous flow of these three doshas out of the body. They are manifested physically and excreted. Excess kapha or phlegm is removed from the body through urine. Sweating helps to remove excess pitta (bile) from the system, and excess vata (air) is removed through faces. Continuous and balanced elimination of these three doshas helps to maintain healthy levels of vata, pitta, and kapha within the body. And imbalance in any one of the three leads to disease. All three doshas are interrelated and it is important to know that without them, out daily lives would be difficult. Vata is kinetic energy (all motion of body and mind), hence it is capable of conducting both motor and sensory functions of the body. The knowledge of vata is situated in the head, therefore concluding that the seat of vata is the central nervous system (especially below the hip), which is rich in fluids and has nerve impulses. Vata travels through nerve fibers and is maintained by the nerve fibers themselves. The general functions of vata include motor functions, synthesis of motor and sensory functions, biochemical functions, division and differentiation of cells and functions related to emotions. Vata is predominant in old age. Pitta is responsible for transformation and mutation in the body. Pitta means to burn, to generate and enable a person to follow a proper routine. The function of pitta is performed by substances like various digestive enzymes, vitamins, and hormones which generate heat and help in the digestion of food. Pitta promotes digestion, power of vision, production of normal body heat, and maintenance of the normal complexion of the body. Hence the seat of Pitta is in the stomach. Pitta is also responsible for some of mental functions such as intelligence, memory. It gives courage, cheerfulness, and lucidity of the mind. This dosha is predominant in a person’s youth. Kapha is formed by the predominance of water and earth; it produces the stabilizing influence in the human being. The general functions of kapha are viscidity, binding of joints, and stability. It promotes bulk, contributes to sexual potency and the capacity to reproduce and strength and resistance to diseases and decay. Kapha is seated in the chest, head (including the nose and neck), joints and upper part of the stomach. This dosha is predominant in a person’s childhood. How a human being feels inside physically depends on the working of the doshas. At the emotional level also, the doshas tend to influence the personality of the person. So it is to your advantage to change your constitution to the appropriate one, depending on your strengths and weaknesses, so that you can definitely and truly lead a happy and contented life. This would mean both health and wealth wise. Ayurveda teaches that diseases normally spread during a change in the season. These changes affect what takes place inside the system; each person needs the capacity to adapt to them. If a person undergoes regular purification cycles, at the junction of two seasons, then the chances of contracting diseases are reduced. Purification cycles mean changing food habits, again pertaining to the dosha. Vata is cold, clear, light, subtle, and mobile. Pitta is slightly oily, intense, sour, light, hot, and mobile. Kapha is cold, heavy, oily, stable, soft and smooth. Going by these properties, appropriate foods can be taken so as to maintain the balance. Pitta and vata are lighter when compared to kapha, which is heavy. Kapha and vata are cold while pitta is hot. Pitta and kapha are oily and moist while vata is dry. Spicy food increases pitta, dry food increases vata and anything heavy increases kapha. For example, puffed rice has vata properties, mustard oil has pitta properties, and yogurt has kapha properties. The onset of diseases does not depend upon food habits alone. It can involve various activities that people indulge in during the course of a day in their lives. Every human being must take precautions to control the predominant dosha in his/her system to maintain balance all round the year. Generally speaking one needs to control vata during rainy season early winter, kapha during late winter and spring, and pitta during the summer & sharad ritu i.e september & october. The kind of food that you eat does play a very important role in your health and well-being.. Ayurveda is not just a system of medicine based on humoral theory of disease. Its importance springs from the fact that it reflects the law of nature inherent in life. Ayurveda has a definite edge in the rules of personal conduct for longevity because it gives detailed instructions about personal hygiene, sleep during the day, diet and so on, that impinges on a healthy life. Ayurveda is holistic and is centered on the person rather than the disease. It points out that the mind, soul, and body are like a tripod, each leg is essential. The ayurvedic emphasis on the wholeness of the person is reflected in the comprehensiveness of the diagnostic examination. The physician collates and compares the information of the different orders of being, taking into account the three types of land – arid, marshy, and ordinary; three types of temperament with 16 sub-types, three bases of physical differentiation with 20 sub-types and three ages of human being (childhood, youth, many people would add middle age, and old age). All this shows the emphasis of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is essentially a science of healing which concentrated on the techniques of a healthy, normal life. Of the three humors (vata, pitta, kapha), vata (wind) occupies the most prominent position. Food moves into the stomach and blood circulates by the power of pranavayu. The apana is the region of the anus and acts downward to expel feces, urine, semen or ova, and fetuses. The samana, located in the navel, helps in the digestion of food and transforms it into blood, semen and urine. When any of the three humors increases disproportionately in relation to the others, the healthy balance is lost and disease may result. Any loss of dynamic balance may be due to excessive (1) objects of the senses, (2) action (mind, body, speech), and (3) time (season). One cardinal rule of Ayurveda is that medicine cannot be prescribed unless the physician has taken into account the patient’s constitution, because a drug which helps one type of constitution may not help another person with a different constitution. Those who practice Ayurveda believe that illness results from the disturbance of the equilibrium that must remain among the three humors. Any loss of that balance makes a person susceptible to manifold disorders. Diagnosis According to Ayurveda, health is a state of balance among the three humours (doshas) and also body, mind, and soul should be in a natural state. So the physician emphasizes a regimen of diet with the use of appropriate drugs. The age of the patient, the climate in which he lives, his cultural and social surroundings, and his bodily constitution need to be taken into account before offering a prognosis. Touch, inspection, and interrogation are the main tools of diagnosis. In Ayurveda the diagnosis is more subjective than objective. But the comprehensiveness of the examination offsets any deficiencies because of the subjectivity of the diagnosis. Ayurvedic practitioners never deny the existence of germs, but they do not give priority to the actiology of physical disorders. If a person has a mucus constitution he would more easily fall prey to infection of the throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs than another in whom the humor is not vitiated. Experiments conducted in the United States have proved that even the introduction of cancerous cells into healthy bodies will not produce cancer in all cases. That shows that germs are not the only reason. The entire body of the patient is palpitated to find out the normal and abnormal condition, whether a particular organ or the entire system is cold or hot, moist or dry, light or heavy, sensitive or insensitive, rough or smooth, rigid or loose, depressed or elevated. The three humors when increased manifest their characteristic symptoms in proportion to the intensity of their morbidity. When decreased they cease to manifest their characteristic qualities. When normal they perform the normal functions of the body. Attention also needs to be paid to the condition of various channels because blockade of these channels gives rise to disease. Blockage of the bile ducts results in jaundice. Scanty passage of the urine can cause a rise to an abnormal proportion of uric acid in the blood. The normal function of the vata (wind) sustains the body; it is the originator of every kind of action of the body. As the wind controls the direction of clouds, vata controls the function of bile and mucus. The five vayus are listed: Prana is responsible for breathing, swallowing food, functioning of the heart, and it controls the functions of Endocrine glands, all parts of the body directly connected with it. Udana is responsible for the production of various sounds and speech, mind, memory, and intellect. Samana controls the flow of the nourishment of the body. It helps digestion. It separates the essences for the nourishment of the body and sends the wasters to the large intestine. Apana holds the feces, urine, mucus and semen or ovum up to a normal period and expels them through the various orifices of the body. It is one of the most important vayus as it keeps the body healthy. Apana gives control on large intestine ,kidney, urinary bladder ,uterus,overies, testies & genital organs. Vyana flows in the whole body and carries food juice and blood throughout the body. It helps secretions of perspiration and controls the opening and closing of the eyelids and other movements of the body Pitta Pachaka pitta is responsible for digestion of food. It divides the food juice into fine and waste parts, and then helps the other four pitas to function normally. Ranjaka pitta gives color to the food juice when it goes from the stomach to the liver. Sadhaka, the finest of all, helps the normal functioning of the intellect and memory. Alochaka is responsible for the maintenance of normal vision of the eyes. Bhrajaka is in the skin and is responsible for the normal color of the skin. Kapha / Mucus Keldaka is responsible for moistening the food in the stomach, nourishes the other mucus by its special humid properties. Avalambaka is at the thorax and protects the heart from excessive heat and gives a special power to the heart. Bodhaka moistens any substance contacted with the tongue and helps to know the taste. It is the root of the tongue to the throat. It increases appetite. Tarpaka cools the organs of the senses of sight and hearing. Shleshaka is at the joints of the body and maintains them in good order, firm but also free to move. Six factors for digestion Pachaka pitta or digestive fire Samana vayu Moisture Kledaka kapha Time Proper combination of the first five Six types of taste Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent. The food is subject to the action of bodhaka and kledaka kapha in the mouth and upper part of the stomach. Sweet digestive action is followed by the action of bile when the digestive fire dries up the waste product, which goes into the large intestine. Kapha is the by-product of rasa dhatu (humor of the body), bile, urine, sweat, facial fat, secretion of the genitalia, secretions of various orifices of the body like ears, eyes, nose, mouth. Doshas (humors) are defects, the imbalance among which gives rise to diseases. Benefits and General Guidelines of Massage Massage is necessary for every creature, animal or human. A unique factor of nature is that even grass, plants and trees get massaged every time the wind blows through them. Everybody, either knowingly or unknowingly, definitely practices massage. In order to keep one’s health, awareness, and longevity, massage is very essential. With massage, the physical appearance of the body is enhanced to a very great extent. The complexion and quality of the skin undergoes a transformation. Massage helps to cure various ailments ranging from paralysis to insomnia. Daily massage strengthens the muscles and restores strength and vitality. Massage is very essential for being more youthful and for minimizing the effects of old age, as are exercises and sports. Haphazard eating, drinking and sleeping habits often cause more harm than good to this wonderful gift to God, the human body. Even if a person has misused and abused Nature’s gift for a long time, massage can help us to restore the body to its normal condition of health, vitality, youth, stamina, and awareness. Massage benefits all parts of the human body. It aids in digestion, absorption and assimilation. It stimulates the nutrition of the body by the circulation of fresh blood and causing an interchange of fluids within the tissues. It also removes inflammation and swelling and disperses congestion. In cases of orthopaedic ailments masseur / masseuse gives good results. General Benefits Massage has an overall effect on the immune system of the body and helps to maintain optimum health. If done regularly, massage helps to regulate body functions physically, mentally, and spiritually. Listed below are few of the effects that massage has on the human body. Massage Soothes and enables the nerves and pulse to function properly Increases circulation of the blood and lymph so that waste material such as perspiration, urine, and excreta are discarded properly Strengthens the lungs, intestines and other vital organs for proper functioning Improves skin Regulates the digestive system Aids body in using fat deposits Cures diseases such as paralysis and polio Strengthens muscles and blood vessels Helps athletes, gymnasts, and soldiers Benefits people who are unable to do exercise Strengthens bones by improving body efficiency and circulation Relieves some problems and ailments people encounter in old age Alleviates adhesions Reduces swelling and thickening of tissues Facilitates the assimilation of nutrients in food