Ayurveda - An Introduction
Ayurveda (pronounced aye-your-VAY-duh) is the world’s oldest health system, stemming from ancient India more than 5,000 years ago. In fact, it’s the health system from which all others originated—Chinese, Western, and Herbology included. The Sanskrit word Ayurveda means “knowledge of life,” and to achieve complete health, you must have knowledge of all aspects of your life. This healing system transcends the physical and combines the medical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and metaphysical, which are all interconnected.
Ayurveda dives into the complex mind-body relationship and brings you back into balance—kind of like that blissful feeling you get after a yoga class when you’re lying in shavasana, or corpse pose.
The lesser-known sister science of yoga, Ayurveda is based on the belief that health can be achieved only through a delicate balance among the mind, body, and spirit. We are all a reflection of our environments and can transform our personal health only through awareness.
What Is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is a medical science deeply focused on healing and maintaining the quality and longevity of life. Ayurveda combines science with psychology, spirituality, and philosophy, seeing everyone as a microcosm of the universe, with the complexity of the cosmos.
According to Ayurveda, the cornerstone of health is achieving mind-body balance. However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds. Ayurveda offers specific guidelines, practices, recipes, and remedies to enable you to achieve this balance. On top of that, the guidelines vary for each person and even change throughout the year, across the seasons, and throughout your lifespan. It sounds complicated, but it is life-changing wisdom that is worth knowing for lifelong well-being.
The Meaning of Ayurveda
Ayurveda originates from two separate Sanskrit words: ayur, meaning “life,” and veda, meaning “knowledge.” Therefore, to achieve balance, you must have complete knowledge of your life. Ayurveda recognizes that human beings are so much more than physical bodies, rather multidimensional beings with layers of emotions and intuition. Although you may not be “spiritual” per se, the foods you eat and the way you lead your life affect you on a spiritual level every day. Ayurveda helps you recognize that interconnectivity.
The History of Ayurveda
Ayurveda was first discovered in the Indus Valley region of India more than 5,000 years ago. It was passed along orally for generations until it was initially recorded in the ancient Indian Vedas or “the books of wisdom.” The Vedas are considered the oldest written knowledge in human history and were believed to be composed between 1,700 and 1,000 b.c.e., although some say the knowledge and references they contain date back 10,000 years. The Vedas address everything from ways to heal the body to how to become one with the universe. You could say the Rishis, the spiritually enlightened prophets who wrote these texts, were centuries ahead of their time.
Ayurveda Today
Ayurveda is practiced not only in the India subcontinent but also globally. Oil pulling, dry brushing, and self-oil massage are now hitting the mainstream. Much of the wisdom we know about food combining and digestion derives from Ayurvedic knowledge. Turmeric, now being sold in capsules for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-depressant, and anti-aging benefits, has always been a staple spice in the Ayurvedic diet. Thousands of people travel to India each year to partake in Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments to detoxify and rejuvenate their health. What’s more, Ayurveda is practiced by millions of people every day who may not even know they are practicing it.
Ayurveda and Yoga
Ayurveda’s purpose is to achieve health, while yoga’s is to achieve spiritual enlightenment. In fact, most people at yoga classes are likely practicing Ayurveda, rather than yoga, because it’s the health benefits they seek rather than oneness with the divine.
Ayurveda and yoga go hand in hand because we cannot become our highest selves if we are not our healthiest selves. Our bodies are temporary vessels holding our eternal souls. They were given to us to experience this amazing gift called life. It’s up to us to treat them with profound love and care.
The Ayurvedic View of Health
The Ayurvedic view of health is to have a body without pain or illness so you are free to evolve spiritually. When you are sick, you are unable to even think about anything besides getting better. You become stuck in your physical body and obsessed with finding a way to regain health. However, when you’re healthy, you’re no longer concerned with your physical body. You surpass the physical and reach self-actualization, which is the realization or fulfillment of one’s talents and potentialities.
Self-actualization is the achievement of one’s full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world.
To achieve health, you must be physically, emotionally, spiritually, occupationally, and environmentally sound. If any of these components is missing, you won’t truly feel health. For example, if you have a strong body and a great job but weak relationships, the rest of you will suffer. Your emotional imbalance will become a spiritual imbalance that will eventually manifest into physical ailments, which will affect your occupation and those around you. All aspects of your health are interconnected, and if you aren’t balanced in all areas, your entire being suffers.