Ayurveda—Healing in the 21^st Century

With a 5000 Year old Tradition

Ayurveda, like Hatha Yoga did in the 1970’s, is enjoying a surge in interest in the West. The word “Ayurveda” or Ayurvedic” is being bandied about and attached to everything from expensive spa vacations to expensive beauty products. But like Hatha Yoga in the 1970’s there is still a lot of mystery and confusion about what ayurveda really is. Ayurveda is an ancient science of well-being and healing that like Yoga, has been practiced in India for 5000 years. Ayurveda is the art of living in harmony with nature and with one’s own nature in order to experience optimal health, optimal well-being and peace of mind. But because we all find ourselves living out of harmony, and because this disharmony causes dis-ease and illness, ayurveda is the science of healing ourselves naturally so that we can more quickly return to a state of health and balance.

Ayurveda is the sister science to Yoga and has always meant to be practiced simultaneously. Asana (poses) and living by Yogic philosophical principals have always been prescribed by ayurvedic physicians as part of an overall healing regiment. Ayurveda believes that you cannot separate the healing of mind, body and spirit. This of course, is also the teachings of Yoga. But in true western fashion, much like the separation of Yoga asanas from Yoga philosophy, ayurveda was left behind when the practice of Yoga was introduced to the west. The deep philosophies of Yoga and the unconventional nature (by western standards) of ayurvedic medicine were, for many years, considered unpalatable for the average westerner. Now however, as more and more Americans become aware of the vagaries of the pharmaceutical industry and effects that our “modern” way of living is having on their health, interest in authentic Yoga and ayurvedic medicine is growing exponentially.

Ayurveda looks at each person both as and individual and as part of a harmonious whole. Each person is treated based on their ayurvedic dosha (constitutional type) and is expected to participate vigorously in their own healing. This more than likely will mean specific dietary changes to pacify or stimulate an imbalance. The treatment may include a specific asana routine, some meditation and pranayama (conscious breathing) in addition to an herbal prescription. Prescriptions of herbs are mixed for each individual based on the particular imbalances or illness.

Although ayurveda does treat illness very effectively, it more importantly seeks to support and bolster wellness. The word ayurveda comes from two Sanskrit words—ayur, which means life and veda which means knowledge. Ayurveda then, is the knowledge of life and how we sustain life in its optimal state. And unlike the historic belief of allopathic (western) medicine, ayurveda believes in the absolute unity of body, mind, spirit. In recent years the views of western health care providers has begun to slowly change, largely due to the public’s demand for access to an alternative approach to their health and wellness.

According to a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) study released in May of 2004, 70% of all adult Americans have used some form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) and 62% have tried some form of CAM in the last month. Interestingly, prayer forms a large part of what is considered alternative. When prayer is included in the statistics on mind/body medicine, 54% of Americans use the mind/body connection in their health care. It is clear that like the ancient rishis (seers and Vedic bards) who first codified ayurveda; most Americans believe that there is a connection between their spiritual lives and their ability to heal from illness.

When ayurveda is called a science of Self-healing it is referring to the higher Self—the Self that benefits when the body, mind and spirit are in their most harmonious state. Ayurvedic doctors and practitioners, if they are truly practicing ayurveda, dispense more than herbal concoctions and are indispensable in dealing with complex illness. Dr. David Frawley, one of the foremost western experts on ayurveda says that, “Ayurveda as Self-healing means that it is concerned with restoring wholeness, with our inner Self as the ultimate goal, which is spiritual healing. Ayurveda’s concern is alleviating both bodily and mental disease and promoting both physical and psychological wellness.”

Ayurvedic treatment begins by assessing a person’s metabolic constitution which is called a dosha. Each of the three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha have certain characteristics based on their relationship to the five elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether. Each person has a predominant dosha that determines their physical characteristics, mental capacities and emotional tendencies. There is no good dosha as opposed to a bad dosha and almost everyone has at least a few characteristics of the non-predominant doshas. A fully trained ayurvedic doctor can determine one’s dosha by taking a pulse reading. But doshas are most commonly determined by written self-assessment charts using a list of characteristics for each dosha. These lists include physical, mental and emotional characteristics. Almost without exception, when these charts are completed honestly, one’s dosha will become self evident.

Illness is defined by imbalances in, or aggravation of the doshas. Most often there is an increase in the predominant dosha. Judith H. Morrison points out in her book, The Book of Ayurveda: A Holistic Approach to Health and Longevity, that “Generally it is an excess of a particular food, substance, activity or emotion that will disturb a dosha and start the disease process. What is excessive will vary from individual to individual…” It is not within the scope of this article to go into detail about the various characteristics of each dosha. But it should be understood that although one’s dosha is determined at conception much like your genetic makeup in the western medical model, Ayurveda has always given us the tools to understand ourselves and modify our diets, behavior, lifestyles, etc, in order to create a life for ourselves that is harmonious and healthy. When illness does occur it is the ability to rebalance ourselves naturally, with or without the aid of an ayurvedic doctor that marks the distinctive difference between the 5000 year old science of ayurveda and contemporary western medicine.