Ayurveda...A long-life journey‘Ayurveda’ is a science of life and longevity. I.e.’ Ayu’ is age, life, longevity, and ‘Veda’ is knowledge. Perhaps the most ancient known healing system in the world ‘Ayurveda’ is believed to have existed before five thousand years in India. It primarily focuses on correct diet, a healthy lifestyle, and the use of herbs. Ayurveda plays a crucial role in a person’s life. Everything in life comprises of a balanced diet and nutrition, exercises, lifestyle and health conditions and how we approach them through treatments. The basis of health and wellness is in the delicate balance of mind, body and spirit.
For those who practice ‘Ayurveda’, it is believed that everything is connected with the universe, and when your mind, body and spirit are in harmony with the universe, it means you are in good health. Sickness comes when something disrupts this balance; amongst the things that are affected are generic, injuries, age, emotions, seasonal changes and climate. It is believed that a person is made up of five elements found in the universe, i.e. space, air, fire water and earth. These combine with the human body to form three life energy forces called ‘doshas’, which control how your body works. The three doshas are ‘Vata dosha’ for space and air, ‘Pitta dosha’ for fire and water, and, ‘Kapha dosha’ for water and earth. Disease and illness originate from an imbalance in the three energies.
Vata dosha is the most powerful of the three doshas, as it guides the basic functions of the body. It controls your mind, breathing, blood flow, heart function and the ability to dispose of waste through the intestines. The Vata dosha - wind energy, is primarily composed of space and air elements, and, it is the energy that is linked to controlling creativity and flexibility of the body functions, as well as the communication between one’s mind and the nervous system.
Pitta dosha is the energy that is responsible for the digestion, metabolism and certain hormones that are linked to appetite, where the eating of sour and spicy foods disrupts it. Pitta dosha - fire energy, principally made up of fire and water elements and is a blend of the hot, light, liquid, oily and subtle qualities neither mobile nor stable.
Kapha dosha is the life force that controls body strength and stability, muscle growth, weight and the immune system. The balance is affected by consuming too many sweet foods, eating and having liquids with excess salt and water. Kapha dosha - water energy is primarily composed of earth and water elements. This energy lends structure and solidity to all things, and provides the quality of forming a united whole - needed to maintain a particular form. It hydrates all cells and systems, lubricates the joints, moisturizes the skin, maintains immunity and protects the tissues.
The natural science of Ayurveda is known to get to the root cause of the disease that focuses in eliminating the ailment, thus enabling the herbal medicines work in treating the body system in a responsive manner. The treatment doesn’t conceal the disturbing factor that creates the disease. Instead, it restores a curative balance.
Ayurvedic specialists use several herbal remedies to heal threatening conditions, and the treatments support to slowly cure the root cause of the problem, eventually resulting in the person being able to lead a healthy life. It focuses on detoxification as a primary part of the treatment in the belief that the disease causing factors should be removed. Ayurvedic medicines are produced by utilising the essence of natural herbs, plants roots, bark or seeds, flowers, spices, fruits and vegetables. Some of these herbs, like ginger, turmeric, garlic, neem, etc are familiar to us; we do use them in our everyday lives. Herbs like coriander, cardamom, and black pepper help restore balance to your body by bringing your energy levels back to their proper states.
Ayurveda has three main focuses; healing, preventing and health care. And the benefits of a Ayurvedic lifestyle in that, it is natural, increases immunity, has no side effects, aids in healing, removes diseases from the root, improves bodily functions, helps in maintaining a healthy weight, relaxes, rejuvenates, revitalizes, and increases one’s mobility and life span. It also encourages eating non-toxic foods that are recommended and easily available. There is a concept in ayurveda, called “swaduhita”, which means "tasty and healthy." The idea is that food should be tasty, yes, but not at the expense of being healthy. Today much of the food prepared with modern methods is unfortunately “swaduahita” — tasty, but not healthy).
Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach to western medical treatment that fails to address the huge diversity among patients, Ayurveda takes into account individuality when prescribing holistic treatments. A treatment plan is specifically designed for you by the Ayurvedic practitioner. The unique and emotional structure and the primary life force and the balance between these three are taken into account when you visit an Ayurvedic centre.
Since Ayurveda emphasizes on balance in all areas of your life, the trained practitioner will take in a personal and medical history, apart from examining the body, questions on the daily diet, exercise routines, profession and working conditions, mental health etc. This enables the practitioner to help identify key symptoms and causes of imbalance and to determine suitable treatment options.
The Ayurvedic administration using herbs is a precise science that requires a deep knowledge of plants and their effect on the human body, which only has to be prescribed by a qualified practitioner. The key to ancient Ayurveda medicine teaches the action and effectiveness of each herb that is determined by its taste (Ras), active potency (Virya) and post digestive effect (Vipak).
The cleansing process of the body is called ‘panchkarma’ which is designed to reduce your symptoms and restore harmony and balance. And the goal of treatment is cleansing the body of undigested food that remains in the body and causes illness. In order to achieve the treatment for the ailment, the Ayurvedic practitioner relies on blood purification, massage, medicinal oils, herbs and laxatives.
Two vital components for treatment, recovery and disease management that are also important for healthy living, is diet and nutrition. Practitioners’ recommendations, when determining dietary practices tailored to each individual’s constitution, are based upon, what is referred to as six primary ‘tastes’:
Yes, total health is a lifelong journey… you need to work on your health every day
Mehroon Wahab
The writer is a former media representative for ‘Spa Asia’ and it was during her tenure that the Singapore based magazine published a 14-page feature on Sri Lankan Spas.
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