What is Ayurveda?

 

Well first off the cornerstone of Ayurvedic treatment is knowing what your dosha or body/mind type is, characterized by three doshas Which will be described more on the Dosha In Depth  page. Vata, Pitta, or Kapha. Learning your dosha is like getting a physical and psychological exam at the same time.(see What is Your Dosha? to take the test)

Second, one must realize Ayurveda is not just a phsyical healing of clearing symptoms, it is a reconstruction of a person's consciousness so that they may again become aware of the essential nature and meaning of life. In turn, one may grow in spiritual enlightenment.

 

 

This unique approch to physical health, mental clarity, and spiritual enlightenment has been traced back to the sages of ancient India, the Rishis.

The Rishis discovered this form of healing through deep meditative trance.

This information was then formed into the Vedas, the main religious text of Hinduism, which is said to be over 5,000 years old. There are the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas, which is the origin of Ayurveda.

 

The Ayurvedic approch to seeing the body, is one of a material spirit in touch with, or an exspression of, divine intellegence. The energy of life is seen as ever changing and never ceasing to change. The intellegence of the universe and of the self are the same. So in order to heal the self, one must grow in touch with the universe.

 

Even though the mind and spirit are erethral, they are also contained in the phsyical. Traditional treatments treat everyone equally. Ayurveda realizes there is more than just one body/mind type. The Doshas separate these types into three perdominant catagories of which a person may express many traits of each Dosha. In this way, the Ayurvedic treatment is slightly different for each person.