Ayurveda Intro

Ayurveda 'the life science' is a traditional medicinal system from India and Ayurveda practiced all over the world as a form of alternative medicine and holistic medicinal system. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit language word, the word ‘Ayurveda’ consists of two words āyur = 'life', and veda ='science'. Hence the complete meaning of ‘Ayurveda’ is ‘life science’. Ayurveda is a part of ancient ‘Vedas’, and was discovered 6,000 years ago. The main source of Ayurveda is the divine book of ‘Atharvaveda’ which was written in 1000 BC. Ayurveda was practiced by Indian spiritual ‘Rishis’ (priest) in ancient time, who laid the Vedic civilization in India. The art of Ayurveda slowly spread to Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea and Sri Lanka, carried by the Buddhist monks traveling to those lands in the 6th century BC. Evolving throughout its history, Ayurveda remains an influential system of medicine in South Asia. Ayurveda originated in India influence the ancient Chinese medicinal system and medical system in Greece, Homeopathy, now familiar in west have their roots in Ayurveda. Thus, Ayurveda is also known as the “Mother of Healing”.

Ayurveda is considered to be a form of complementary and alternative medicine within the western countries, where several of its methods, such as the uses of herbs, massage, and Yoga as exercise, are applied. Ayurveda provide guidelines on ideal daily and seasonal routine life style, diet, behavior and the proper use of all body senses, according to Ayurveda health is the balanced and dynamic integration between our environment, body, mind, and spirit.

According to Ayurveda good health at physical and mental level indicates harmony in three bodily dosha, which is refers to the balances of 5 elements in human body. Balance does not mean doshas need to be equal, unless you were born with equal doshas; it means that you need to maintain your original status of Doshic Prakriti through out life to maintain good health. Factors such as the dietary choices you make, the lifestyle you lead, the climate where you live, levels of environmental pollution, the work profile you do and the nature of your relationships with people surround you, can influence doshas in your prakriti to increase or decrease from its original level in your constitution, creating vikriti or imbalance. If this imbalance is not corrected, you eventually lose your good health. That's why restoring balance is the central theme of the Ayurvedic approach to health. The aim of Ayurveda is explained in the following sentences.

"Swasthasya Swasthya Rakshanam,
Atursya Vikar Prashamanam"

This explains the depth of methodology by which Ayurveda science deals with the human life. The first aim of Ayurveda is to protect and maintain the health of the human being through out the entire life span. The second aim of this science is to cure the diseases which are developed in human body.