About Ayurveda
Our health and wellness are in our hands.
Ayurveda gives us the tools to make the best choices for ourselves.
Ayurveda is considered one of the oldest health and wellness systems in the world that dates back over 5,000 years in India. The Vedic philosophers of the time carefully observed the world around them. Through their observations, they crafted Ayurveda to maintain mind, body and soul health, Yoga and its 8 limbs to support spiritual and physical harmony, and various practices such as Mudras, all to support and ensure balance within ourselves and in the world around us.
A tour of Ayurveda
Ayurveda was once a health and wellness system celebrated solely in India, visitors embraced its philosophy based on balancing what is out of balance to bring us back to our natural state of being our personal best. Since the 1950’s the practices of Ayurveda and Yoga have grown throughout North America, helping people find greater control over their health through natural methods.
In all the teachings of Ayurveda, 3 basic principles are the most important to keep in mind:
Our wellness is an equal balance of mind, body and soul. These three are linked and the wellness of one helps the wellness of the others.
We fluctuate between balance and imbalance. Through our daily practices, we increase and decrease our wellness which affects how we feel.
Ayurvedically, each of us is made up of a balance of three constitutions, called Doshas. The Doshas are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Of these Doshas, we each have a specific balance point that makes us feel our personal best. By making the right choices that encourage our Doshic health in mind, body and spirit, we ensure a healthy personal balance.
The study of Ayurveda allows us a more tailored, natural and collaborative approach to our wellness where we understand ourselves better and can respond to our symptoms, participate more actively with our health professionals and make the best choices for ourselves on a daily basis.
Some key parts of Ayurvedic living:
Eating & Drinking
What we intake in food and drink truly do become the building blocks of what we become tomorrow.
Making choices that enhance us is possible through understanding our individual needs.
Breathing
Without air, we cannot live. Learning Yogic breathing techniques (Pranayama) is an important part of relaxation, stress management and achieving wellness. Through regular practice, these techniques can help us calm ourselves and increase our vitality.
Moving
We all know that exercise is important for everyone. Choosing the right exercise for ourselves helps us match our Doshic needs to the desired effect with the best choice of movement.
Select Yoga postures are possible movement options, in addition to a tailored plan including other activities can be designed considering all the needs and goals.
Routine & Habits
Developing a lifestyle with routines and habits that support our full self is the best thing we can do for ourselves.
Through Ayurveda, we can design a lifestyle that suits our personal needs.
Expression & Elimination
We can’t keep everything inside. We need to express ourselves and rid ourselves of what no longer serves us. This includes everything from expressing our ideas, to de-cluttering, to regular body elimination.
Caring
Caring for ourselves is more than making the right choices for ourselves in food and drink, movement, habits and more.
We care for ourselves by putting all the pieces together and considering our mind, body and spirit on a daily basis.
Understanding Ayurveda
The practice of Ayurveda can be summarized as a health and wellness system that equally addresses the needs of the body, the mind and the soul, that all come together in harmony in one whole person, as well as one with all of nature. The intertwining of the physical and non-physical is one of the many aspects key to the practice.
Looking back 5,000 years ago, civilizations all over the world were creating and celebrating their own health and wellness practices that were born from a combination of their observation over the generations, an understanding of the nature around them, as well as dealing with illness, health and the cycle of living.
Considered to have sprung from the Himalayas in India, Vedic thinkers observed life and designed the lifestyle practice of Yoga as well as the health and wellness practice they named Ayurveda. Each was created to compliment the other and prioritize living a good life inline with one’s unique constitutional blend. The alchemy of both branches working together and affecting all aspects of an individual creates a oneness of the self.
Essentially, these Vedic thinkers felt that though we are all connected, we are all different. And understanding that difference was the key to addressing wellness. They intuited that there is no one way to address a health issue for everyone in exactly the same way, but through the understanding of the principles they observed.
Vaidyas became the local specialists in Ayurveda, through their years of study of the original Vedic texts and continuous study, observation, and self-care.
As the centuries passed, Ayurvedic and Yogic principles continue to be practiced in India and are believed to have influenced other health and wellness practices from the area, possibly stretching as far as Greece.
The Practice of Ayurveda
The application of Ayurveda has a long history of coordinating different Vedic professionals for different aspects of the process of reaching and maintaining wellness. The first stage begins at meeting with an Vaidya or Ayurvedic Wellness practitioner or consultant who evaluates the client and designs the best Ayurvedic suggested plan including tools to address the doshic imbalances of the individual. The suggested plan includes Ayuvedic treatments, food and drink changes, herbs and spices, breathing (pranayama), physical activity which could include Yoga asanas and more. The therapies are performed by specialized Ayurvedic therapists fully trained in the theories of the practice, ensuring that the targets of the suggested plan are met.
Understanding The Science of Living*
Living is not an accident. Health is not an accident. Getting the knowledge of how our body and whole self work within this world are tools to help us live an intentional life that reflects our best self.
Ayurveda addresses each aspect of ourselves to create a life and lifestyle that both fit with and answer our needs.
It’s not magic, it’s about learning and understanding ourselves, listening to changes in ourselves and our symptoms.
We are the first responders over our health and wellness. Through our observations, actions and non-actions, we affect our health.
The basic theories and customized approaches allow us to celebrate health and life.
Heating what is too cool, smoothing out what is too rough and drying what is too wet, are just some examples of how we learn to balance ourselves.
We are all different, there are no cookie-cutter people.
Welcome to Ayurveda.
* The Science of Living is the direct English translation of Ayur-Veda. Though this is the translation, we would like to clarify that we use the term ‘Science’ to describe one practice that includes multiple components that are carefully developed, integrated and balanced, as is understood from traditional discoveries that date back before modern health systems and science. The blending of Ayurveda or any other alternative wellness system should always be done in collaboration with Allopathic Medicine and the knowledge of your health team. Each member of a health team should be aware of when we are seeking additional care.