Ayurveda

WHAT IS AYURVEDA ?

Ayurveda is the oldest holistic science of healing in the universe. With more than 5000 years of history and practice in the Indian subcontinent, it is referred to as the “Mother medicinal system”, in that all medicinal systems are born out of Ayurveda and flow out of Ayurveda. Ayurveda’s teachings are both timeless and time-tested.

Ayurveda was first mentioned in the Vedas—the oldest manuscripts in human civilization. Vedic knowledge has been preserved in India, and so Ayurveda is also called the Indian medicinal system. It is a holistic system of healing, the art of living, plant-based medicinal system, the art of being, and much more.

I would define Ayurveda as the Ocean of Knowledge. Since we know the depth and the volume of water in an Ocean is not measurable, we can then define Ayurvedic Knowledge as being as deep and profound as the Ocean. However, while the water in the ocean may taste salty, the knowledge in Ayurveda is very sweet. You will want more and more!

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit term, composed two words “Ayur” and “Veda”. Ayur means life and Veda means knowledge, science, and study. Combining these two different words together we can say Ayurveda is the study of life, knowledge of life, or science of life. Simply put, Ayurveda is everything about life. Our life begins from our date of birth and ends at death. The question of life is all about: How to have a healthy, joyful, and balanced lifestyle during our life span? Ayurvedic knowledge provides the answer.

"Ayurveda is the knowledge of a happy and unhappy life, a good and bad life, and that which contributes to those four aspects." —Charaka

Ayurveda is a way of living. It’s about being healthy from moment to moment. As you wake up in the morning, as you eat your meals, as you schedule a time for exercise and play, Ayurveda teaches you to consider what nourishes your mind, body, and spirit.

What you eat, what you watch on Netflix, how much time you spend exchanging the energy of love with others—everything you do, say, think, and feel has an impact on your body, mind, and energy system.

Each moment you make a choice. You can choose to do something that helps create balance in yourself or that may bring you out of balance.

Ayurveda gives you knowledge about yourself and your relationship to the external world so that you can make informed choices each moment, each meal, each day, and each season.

Objectives of Ayurveda

As a holistic practice, Ayurveda creates overall wellbeing and health, recognizing that body, mind, and spirit are interrelated. So, its objectives are two-fold:

Swasthasya Swathya Rakshanam – To bring you into balance protect and maintain the health of a healthy person (Prevention is better than cure)
Aturasya Vikar Prashamanam – To alleviate the discomfort and giving relief to sick people (Therapeutics)

Branches of Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a complete medical system. It treats the whole person as an integrated being: body, mind, and spirit. Ayurveda is a comprehensive medical system. It includes eight

1. Kaaya Chikitsa (Internal Medicine)
2. Baala Chikitsa (Treatment of Children/Pediatrics)
3. Graha Chikitsa (Microbiology/Psychology)
4. Shalakya Chikitsa (Treatment of disease above the clavicle/ENT)
5. Shalya Chikitsa (Surgery)
6. Agad tantra (Toxicology)
7. Jara Chikitsa (Geriatrics, Rejuvenation)
8. Vrsha Chikitsa (Aphrodisiac therapy)

The following therapies are among those, which your Ayurvedic practitioner may recommend. These therapies are all natural, have been used for thousands of years, and are used to restore your body by helping to circulate blood and lymph, support digestion, and boost immunity.

THERAPIES USED IN AYURVEDA

Panchakarma: a fivefold detoxification treatment involving massage, herbal therapy, and other procedures.
Herbal supplements: ingesting natural, whole herbs and spices in powder, liquid, or capsule form to enhance the body’s ability to detoxify, absorb nutrients, and regain equilibrium
Bodywork: massaging herbalized oil over the entire body in rhythmic strokes
Marma therapy: applying pressure to specific points on the body to help energy flow
Diet and lifestyle approach: to prevent disease as well as gaining quick relief from the disease
Mindfulness practice: becoming aware of what you are. Experiencing in each moment, which allows digestion, sleep, and other important physical and mental functions to occur naturally and easefully
Yoga, Meditation, and Pranayama: cultivating mental equilibrium; promoting energy flow throughout the body, and enhancing physical strength, stamina, and health
Healing modalities with metals, gemstones, aromas, and colors: using the energetic vibration of metals, gemstones, aroma, and colors to positively affect your energy system and overall health

PRINCIPLE OF AYURVEDA

The Five Elements

According to Ayurvedic, everything is composed of five elements: air, fire, water, earth, and ether. From thought to plants, to the human being, the five elements are the building blocks of all matter. These elements are represented in humans by three “Doshas”, or energies: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

What are Doshas?

The Doshas are energies that pervade the body and mind, each with diﬀerent functions. Ayurveda assesses your state of being and the state of natural world in terms of three basic principles or Doshas.

Vata is made up of air and space.
Vata qualities are cool, dry, light, and mobile
Its primary location is the colon. Vata is located in, and as the space in the open cavities of, the body—such as the spaces in between bones and joints, particularly in the lower back, pelvic area, and hips.
Vata is responsible for all physical and mental movements. It is responsible for breathing, circulation of tissues, thinking, movements, elimination of wastes, etc
Pitta is made up of fire and water.
Pitta qualities are hot, sharp, acidic, intense, oily
Its primary location is the small intestine. Pitta is also located in the liver, spleen, eyes, skin, blood, heart, brain, etc.
Pitta is the transformative force responsible for all biochemical reactions in the body. It produces digestion, metabolism, courage, clarity, glow, complexion, lusture, intellect, and vision.
Kapha is made up of water and earth.
Kapha’s qualities are stable, oily, heavy, dense, smooth, and cool.
Its primary location is lungs. It is also located in the upper part of the body- head, nose, throat, chest, fatty tissues, ligaments, tendons, etc.
Kapha is responsible for stability, structure, growth, protection, endurance, calmness and cohesion, memory, learning capacity, and promotes the qualities of love and calmness.

PRAKRITI (YOUR BODY TYPE)

Prakriti means “nature” in the Sanskrit language.

From birth to death each possesses an individual biological blueprint or genetic makeup called Prakriti in Ayurveda.

Prakriti is fundamental to Ayurvedic diagnosis and treatment and is the first step to live Ayurveda. Your Prakriti determines your susceptibility to different diseases, the course, and patterns that these diseases follow, plus any complications that may arise and the prognosis and treatment of the disease.

Before any Ayurvedic treatment, herbs, diet, and lifestyle is prescribed, patients, first of all, undertake consultation with an Ayurvedic Doctor to ascertain their body type, Prakriti, and current imbalances.

Every individual in this universe is composed of three dynamic forces Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The difference between individuals is the degree to which these three Doshas interact with one another within each body type.

There are 7 types of constitution.

Vata
Pitta
Kapha
Vata-Pitta
Pitta-Kapha
Kapha-Vata
Vata-Pitta-Kapha

Typically, Vata, Pitta and Kapha alone are less common. Most people are what are called “dual Doshic,” with two doshas sharing a higher percentage proportionally and the seventh with all the doshas in balance which occurs very rarely.

Prakriti cannot be changed. There is no treatment applied to Prakriti. Prakriti is only for understanding the routine or procedures to avoid disease which is referred to as Vikriti or imbalance in Sanskrit.

Vikriti (Imbalance)

Vikriti is the imbalance of Doshas coming from our diet, lifestyle, stress levels, seasons, and other environmental factors and activities. It is our current state of imbalance—an imbalance in our natural elemental quality.

Ayurveda states that if the Doshas of the body are not in equilibrium, then a person may suffer from any form of the disease

In simple words, if a doctor is treating a particular disease of a person, then he is treating the Vikriti of the person.

Indications of Vata Imbalance

Dry mouth and dry skin
Constipation
Short and shallow breathing
Cold hands and feet
Inability to sit still and focus
Excess gas: burping, hiccoughs, etc.
Anxiety and fear
Whirling, crowded, and continual stream of thoughts
Disturbed sleep

Indications of Pitta Imbalance

Skin problems acne, rash, ulcers
Irritability and anger
Heartburn, loose stools, and indigestion
Increase blood pressure and circulatory problems
Hot flushes and inflammation

Indications of Kapha Imbalance

Feel lethargic
Weight gain and sluggishness
Slow digestion and low appetite
Mucus drainage
Coughs, and sinus headaches
Sense of inertia
Lack of motivation
Allergies and hay fever
Cysts and other growths

The Ayurvedic Doctor is experienced and knowledgable in all these fundamentals of Ayurveda—Doshas, Prakriti, and. Vikriti—and will ascertain your body type, imbalance, and prescribe appropriate treatment modalities.

AYURVEDIC CONSAKTATION

What is Ayurvedic Consultation?

An Ayurvedic consultation is your first step to a holistic approach to good or better health.The initial consultation with Dr. Sumit Jadav aims to provide an efficient health assessment with recommendations for beneficial treatment programs.

If you are already enjoying good health, an Ayurvedic consultation will teach you how to personalise your diet and your lifestyle, how to use herbs, and how to follow routines and treatments that enhance your personal mind-body constitution.

What to expect?

a natural healing center

On your arrival for the first consultation, you will require to fill a patient record form with your details, including the reasons of your visit and your health concerns (if any). There are two concepts of diagnosis in Ayurveda, namely, diagnosis of disease and diagnosis of person. We use the following assessment techniques in the diagnosis process:

EYES DIAGNOSIS

Your eyes give information about your doshas, as well as your liver, gall bladder, brain functions, oxygen level in your body, and the state of toxins in your system. Your eyes are checked for colour, movement, shine, shape and moisture.

NAIL DIAGNOSIS

Fingernail health often indicates an imbalance of the doshas, namely, Vata, Kapha, and Pitta. We check the shape, size, colour, marks and ridges on your fingernails to read your health.

PULSE DIAGNOSIS

Pulse examination is done by placing the index, middle, and ring fingers at the root of the thumb of the subject. Pulse diagnosis serves to assess the amplitude, temperature, movements and strength of your pulse. This gives the complete information of your dosha, heart function, endocrine system, and cell functions.

TONGUE DIAGNOSIS

The tongue reflects the condition of all the organs and their functions. It is like the mirror to internal health. Tongue assessment is done to check its shape, coating, colour, texture and thickness. This gives information about your internal organs, such as inflammation, elimination functions, and metabolism. The level and types of coating reflect the presence of Ama (toxins).

Ayurvedic Consultation Questionaire

An Ayurvedic doctor will generally ask you a number of questions to ascertain your personal needs and the prime causes of imbalance. These relate to the following:

Your personal diet, eating habits, lifestyle, and daily routines;
Relationship status, your hobbies and interests;
Your date of birth and birth sign which are looked up in Vedic astrology.
Family and travel history;
Past medical history and treatment plans;
Menstrual history, contraception, and pregnancies (if applicable).

Information and advice that you will be given include

Your Prakriti (mind-body constitution/body type);
Your Vikiriti (current status of dosha and doshic imbalance);
Tailored personalized diet, lifestyle and exercise program;
Customized detox program/Panchakarma if necessary;
Ayurveda recipes;
Proposed treatments and therapies;
Advice on the combination of herbs and formulation to enhance your current health and remedy any imbalances.

Benefits of an Ayurvedic Consultation?

Be advised if you need referral to see your GP for other examination.
Overall assessment of your health; physical, mental, physiological, social and spriritual.
Understand food as the first medicine and choose the right food, lifestyle according to your doshas.
Receive personalised detox program and therapy plan.
Deepens the importance of digestive health and status of your Agni.

Follow Up Consultation

Depending on your health concerns and their complexity, a short follow up consultation is recommened 2-4 weeks after your first visit, when tongue, pulse and other assessments are repeated.

It is important to remember that as the seasons change, our lifestyle changes, and as we age there are always things we can do to improve our overall health, immunity system and state of mind. The follow up consultation is designed to review your progress and to further advise you on your personal program and combination of herbs that you may need to achieve ultimate good health

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