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How to define Ayurveda?

I am all new to Ayurveda, but heard about it from some Hare-Krishna people in my city. How is Ayurveda defined? :smile:

I did a research paper on ayurveda. Lots and lots of information out there....Very interesting. Go ahead google it. :smile:

Peace

Guess I should. :smile: Thanx for posting!

I have always imagined that, in order to be able to study Ayurveda, some vedic education would be necessary. Maybe I am wrong, but still the best approach would be to find a qualified teacher. All this online knowledge can sometimes be misleading.

Caityaka.. Ayurveda is a complex system of healing that can't be be easily defined, and there are many different approaches within it.

There are some good introductory books on the subject which explain the basic principles of this "science of life".

From a good book you could do a self-evaluation to see what your dosha pattern is... which is your essential kapha, **** and vata energies... and how to bring yourself into balance through diet, exercise, meditation, herbal medicines and so on.

blessings
Xan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xan

I am new to this subject as well. Could you suggest any books in particular?

dragon... I haven't read this book myself, but a friend who is an ayurvedic and allopathic doctor in India suggests it:

"Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing" by Vasant Lad.

Xan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xan

dragon... I haven't read this book myself, but a friend who is an ayurvedic and allopathic doctor in India suggests it:

"Ayurveda: The Science of Self Healing" by Vasant Lad.

Xan

Thank you. I will look into it.

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian technique of healing disease by use of medicinal herbs and plants..

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarinmall

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian technique of healing disease by use of medicinal herbs and plants..

They also believe in a harmony of body, mind, and soul, so it's more than just healing with use of herbs and plants, it's an energy - prana, much like the qi of TCM. They also believe in the tridosha, or what modern western medicine may call DNA.

Tridosha's:

-ether and air form to combine 'vata'
-fire and water form to combine 'pitta'
-earth and water form to combine 'kapha'

All three dosha's combine to make 'tridosha' which exists in every cell and determines things about you. The particular dosha that dominates determines your tridosha.

Not only do they dosha's determine mind-body types, but they are also "metabolic principles" that control basic bodily functions. Vata controls movement, pitta controls metabolism, and kapha controls structure. It is possible to be a combination of types, including nearly equal aspects of all three.

As you can see, Ayurveda is a very complex system, likely as complex as TCM - Traditional Chinese Medicine. They also believe in Chakra's, just like the Chinese Meridians that are used in acupuncture.

Because it's such a large life-style belief system, not only a healing/medicine system, it's very difficult to narrow it down to a simple definition. Basically, I'd call it a way of life.

Explaining Ayurveda

In Sanskrit, Ayu stands for life and veda stands for knowledge, so Ayurveda means Knowing and understanding life. Life according to Ayurveda is a combination of mind, body, soul & senses.

This is the reason why Ayurvedic treatments focus on restoring balance in our mind, body, senses & soul. It is different from modern medicine because modern medicine focuses on curing symptoms of a decease. Ayurveda on the other hand focuses on treating the root cause of any decease due to which a symptom arises.

It's holistic medicine practice isn't it?