About Ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that originated in India thousands of years ago. The word Ayurveda is made from two Sanskrit roots “Ayu” which mean life and “Veda” which means knowledge. Therefore, the term Ayurveda means the knowledge or science of life.

How does Ayurveda work?

According to Ayurvedic fundamental’s people are a combination of the three “Dosha’s” or “Vata”, “Pitta” and “Kapha”. Each dosha has a specific quality and it is a combination of these three qualities of vata pitta and kapha which combine to make the unique qualities of every person on the planet. Just like the genetic code or DNA. The unique qualities of vata pitta and kapha are a combination of two of the five elements, Space, air, fire, water and earth.

Vata is a combination of elements Space and Air. From these elements we get the qualities of lightness, movement, wind and space. These qualities manifest in an individual as talkativeness, as sound uses the medium of air to travel in. Lightness of the body as the quality of space and air is lightness. Dryness, as the qualities of air and wind tend to dry things like the skin.

Movement, the quality of air has the power to move things like a kite or a windmill but this movement manifests itself in the body as the movement of nervous energy, an impulse from the brain to the hand or leg or a nervous tremor or even the movement of food through the digestive system.

These are the qualities of vata. So if we can imagine a person who is purely of a vata constitution then we can imagine a person who would be talkative, a person who has a thin bony body who has dry skin and dry hair, and maybe suffers from joint pain or stomach cramps.

Fundamentals of Ayurveda.

The Sanskrit term Ayurveda is a combination of two words Ayu-life and Veda-knowledge or science. The literal translation of Ayurveda is “knowledge of life” or “right living”. Its principles are universally applicable. Those who wish to live happy, healthy and inspired lives can benefit from the wisdom Ayurveda holds. Ayurvedic knowledge is grounded in the Vedic scriptures, which date back to 3000 BC. According to the Vedas, life is seen as an evolution of the creative principle, Prakriti, and the formless and attribute-less, non-being, Purusha. While Prakriti is the Sakthi or Divine Mother, Purusha is the Father principle, which is unchanging. Prakriti creates all forms in the universe. In their primary states all the forms contain the three gunas, or principles called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas in perfect balance. When the three gunas start to interact, the balance is disturbed. In an attempt to restore this balance, activity begins. This action creates currents of energy or space and Akash is generated. From Akash comes Air, then Fire, then water and finally Earth. Simultaneously, during this, fields are created, the mental (conscious) field created by sattva; the power field created by Rajas; and the material field created by Tamas. The five elements belong to the material field and are the building blocks of the body. The Philosophical Background of Ayurveda and the Concept of Creation. Sciences in ancient India were based on various philosophical systems known as darshanas. These classical philosophical systems are divided into astika and nastika darsanas. The darsanas, which accept the authority of the Vedas, are called astika and those not based on acceptance of the authority of the Vedas are called nastika. These different philosophical systems describe truth from different points of view. Reality is not a fixed measurable entity but a variable that depends on the level of intensity of our experience. Truth has as many aspects as there are dimensions of experience. Each dimension corresponds to a particular level of reality.

The Tridosa Concept.

According to Ayurveda, the human body is composed of three fundamental elements or categories called dosa, dhatus and malas. We shall deal with the subtle elements called dosa’s first. The dosa’s (lit. Faults) are composed of al five mahabhutas (elements), but one or the other of the mahabhutas is predominant.

Dosa – Vata – Mahabhuta – Akasa+Vayu – (Element) – (Ether+Air)

Dosa – Pitta – Mahabhuta – Tejas+Jala – (Element) – (Fire+Water)

Dosa – Kapha – Mahabhuta – Prithvi+Jala – (Element) – (Earth+Water)

These three elements; vata-pitta-kapha- govern all the biological, psychological and physiopathological functions of the body, mind and consciousness. They act as basic constituents and protective barriers for the body in its normal physiological condition; when out of balance they contribute to the disease processes. The tridosha are responsible for the arising of natural urges and for individual preferences in foods: their flavours, temperatures and so on. They govern the creation, maintenance and destruction of bodily tissue, and the elimination of waste products from the body. The tridosha are also responsible for psychological phenomena, including such emotions as fear, anger and greed: and for the highest order of human emotions such as understanding, compassion and love. Thus, the tridosha are the foundation of psychosomatic existence of man. The basic constitution of each individual is determined at conception. At the time of fertilisation, the single male unit, the spermatozoon, unites with the single female element, the ovum. At the moment of this union, the permutations and combinations of bodily air, fire and water that manifests in the parents bodies determine the constitution of the individual.