Balance in life and health

Balance in Life & Health - An introduction to Ayurveda for dummies

We can rightfully boast for having invented one of the world’s oldest system of natural medicine. Ayurveda originated in India more than 5000 years ago and to date coexists with conventional western medicine. Yet how many of today’s Gen Yers are aware of the system’s fundamental principals? Below we provide an overview of this centuries old, time tested, if not clinically studied, approach to managing health and life.

Balance in Life

The word “ayurveda” means science of life. Boiled down to the basics, ayurveda takes its cues from the universe ayurvedic medicine is all about balance in one’s life. Balance in your life starts the moment you’re born. As a newborn, you possessed innate qualities that helped to frame your physical and mental patterns, the essence of who you are at the start of your life is called prakriti. At the other end of the spectrum is vikruti. Which is who you are today. Vikruti is basically your prakriti combined with all that has affected you throughout life – this includes your friends, what you choose to eat, the type of work you do, your hobbies, and on and on.In ayurvedic medicine, the closer you are to your prakriti, the better. Conversely, the more divergent you become from the essence of who you originally were, the greater the potential for discord in you life and health.

 

For example, if you’ve always thrived on warmth yet you’re living in a climate that’s cold or becomes very cold for a good part of the year, there’s discord and potential for health-related issues. Or, perhaps you’ve always felt safe and at easy in small settings, yet your work environment is an open office arrangement where desks are closely spaced in a large, bustling room of people. According to ayurvedic principles, it’s possible that discord could be contributing to your frequent headaches.

 

Balance, Imbalance and energy patterns

When there’s discord in life – meaning too much divergence from your innate self – this can lead to dosha  imbalance. The term “dosha” refers to your energy pattern.To simplify, dosha imbalance is generally thought to lead to problems with metabolism, allowing for accumulation of toxins in the body. Based on your own predisposition, those toxins or wastes tend to accumulate in certain parts of the body.

 

For instance, if you’re a dry (vata) kind of person – your skin may tend to be dry, and you may be of a slight build toxins may be more likely to accumulate in your joints. So if you’re stressed or you make bad food choices, your joints may become painful.

 

Ayurvedic practitioners consider carefully what dosha is of greatest influence in a person. Before identifying what disease may be at work, the practitioner needs to understand who the person is and if there’s great discord in the person’s life between the innate and the current self.

Ayurvedic Medicine - Practical applications

Ayurveda considers everything you encounter to have therapeutic value. Whatever you come in contact with the foods you eat, how you dress, the way you sleep, what you see and hear affects you in some fashion and shapes you. Here are some practical applications of ayurveda in everyday life:Consider the variables in your environment – Go past the obvious. Dry skin, for example, may require more than just lotion. Look at your emotions, and consider how to heal emotional dryness.

 

Take steps to counter discord in your life – For example, your spouse may have an innate affinity for the cold, like to keep the A/C on all night and eat a lot of ice cream. You, on the other hand, may have a strong need for warmth. You can bring yourself back to balance by spending time with friends who are warm, finding warmth in your relative, drinking hot tea, exercising to create warmth and dressing warmer.

 

Consider food as medicine – Bring your attention to the food you eat. In some ways, eating is a sacred action the food you choose becomes part of you. So make good choices, aiming for lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Be engaged with eating  - turn off the TV and enjoy each bite rather than eating to finish. Chew slowly, giving your body a chance to use the food as fuel. It’s important not to go to bed with a full stomach – instead, eat your largest meal at midday.

Ayurvedic Medicine Vs Western Medicine

Like western medicine, ayurvedic medicine has different branches – among them are internal medicine, surgery and pediatrics. In general, ayurvedic medicine practices such as yoga, massage or meditation appear to be safe and may be effective. But good quality scientific studies on ayurvedic practices are limited. Of particular concern are therapies that involve the use of metals sufficient scientific data is lacking to recommend their use and some have the potential to be toxic.

 

More may be known within a few years as researchers investigate certain ayurvedic supplements. For now, if you douse an ayurvedic supplement, do so only under a doctor’s close supervision.