Ayurveda Medicine

Ayurveda Medicine – What is it ?

Over 3000 years ago the great sages and seers of ancient India discovered “Veda” the knowledge of how our world works. Contained within Veda were the secrets of sickness and health. These they organized into a system called Ayurveda, a Sanskrit word meaning: “the science of life”. Ayurveda is a combination of science and philosophy, which details the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components of necessary for holistic health. The sophistication of this system is apparent in the famous, ancient Ayurvedic text, the Charaka Samhita. This classic of internal medicine, written 2000 years before the invention of microscope, describes the body as being composed of cells. It lists 20 different microscopic organisms that can cause disease and discribes how disease spreads.

Another of the texts, Susrutha Samhita, offers guidance on surgery, surgical equipment, suturing (stitching) and the importance of hygiene during and after an operation. Detailed medical information is teamed with common sense advice on how to live a healthy and meaningful life. In Vedic philosophy our lives become meaningful when we strive to fulfill our potential, but that cannot be achieved without basic good health. Most modern Ayurvedic practitioners work with traditional beliefs and practices, although some practitioners in the West have adapted these to make them more acceptable to Western thinking.

What is Ayurvedic Medicine?

Ayurvedic medicine is the traditional system of medicine practiced in India and Sri Lanka. Like traditional Chinese medicine or Western medical practices. Ayurveda is a complete and complex system of healthcare. As such, its many components – detoxification, diet, exercise, herbs, and techniques to improve mental and emotional health – work together to contribute to a way of life rather than an occassional treatment.

The fundamental belief in Ayurveda is that everything within the universe, including ourselves, is composed of energy or “prana”. We may look like solid structures of bone, muscles and tissues, but this appearance belies the fact that we are simply bundles of vibrating energy. COnsequently, we are forever changing in ways that are either positive or negative. To ensure that most of the changes are positive, we must live in a way that encourages energy balance. Energy controls every cell, thought, emotion and action, so every aspect of our lives affects the quality of energy and our health. Ayurvedic practitioners recognize that there is no one prescription for health that caters to everyone. The balance of energies that contribute to good health in your body may lead to sickness in someone else. In Ayurvedic medicine every person must be treated individually. The practitioner’s skill lies in identifying each person’s constitution, diagosing the causes of imbalance and treating them accordingly.

How does it work?

Your individual constitution and how it relates to your energies is the key to understanding Ayurvedic medicine. A good constitution is your best defense against illness. If you are functioning well, disease cannot take hold, but when your constitution is weakened you can get ill. Ayurveda aims to prevent disease by working with your body rather than trying to change it.

Each of us has a unique constitution, determined by the balance of three vital energies in the body, known as the three doshas or “tri-doshas”. The three doshas are known by their Sanskrit names of Vatha, Pitha and Kapha. Everyone’s constitution is governed by these doshas in varying degrees, but each of us is also controlled by one or possibly two dominant doshas, so that you are classed as either a Vatha type, Pitha type or Kapha type. or a vatha/pitha, pitha/kapha and so on.

Your dosha not only determine your constitution, and the illness to which you might succumb, but it also determines your temperament, the color of your hair, your tendency to put on weight, and which type of foods you should eat. In short your dosha affects every aspect of your everyday life.

You keep healthy when all three doshas work in balance. Each one has its role to play in the body. For exampe, Vatha is the driving force; it related mainly to the nervous system and the body’s energy. Pitha is fire; it relates to the metabolism, digestion, enzymes, acid and bile. Kapha is linked to water in the mucous membranes, phlegm, moisture, fat and lymphatics. The balance of the three doshas depends on many factors, principally good diet and exercise, maintaining good digestion, healthy elimination of body wastes and balanced emotional and spiritual health.

Your constitution is determined by your parent’s doshas at the time of your conception and each individual is born in the the “prakruthi” state, which means that you are born with levels of the three doshas that are right for you. But, as we go through life, diet, environment, stress, trauma and injury cause the doshas to become imbalanced, a state known as the “Vikrtuhi” state. When this imbalance becomes excessively high or low it can lead to ill health. Ayurvedic practitioners prescribe treatment to restore each individual to their “prakruthi” state.

Your constitution is not something that you can change, nor should you want to. The object is to learn to understand it and live in a way that emphasizes its positive aspects and reduces its negative effects. This is not always easy as we tend to be attracted to foods or activities that lead to imbalance.

For example, Kapha people who can be quite large and rounded often overindulge in Kapha foods which include sugar, hard cheeses, dairy produce and fried foods. Consequently, their Kapha dosha becomes imbalanced, they put on weight easily and can suffer diseases related to a fatty diet. Working on the principle that “like increases like”. Kapha people should attempt to maintain balanced Kapha levels by eating more Vatha and pittha foods such as hot and spicy dishes.

In Ayurveda, all ill health is related to disturbances in the three doshas. THe doshic imbalances affect other body factors, culminating in imbalances that cause disease. These other factors include the five elements (panchabhuta), the ten pairs of qualities (gunas), agni, the three malas, and the seven tissues (saptha dhathu).

The Five Elements

The elements are ether (space), air, fire, water and earth and each one is created out of the other. All five elements exist in all things including ourselves. Ether corresponds to the spaces in the body: the mouth, nostrils, thorax, abdomen, respiratory tract and cells. Air is the element of movement, so it represents muscular movement, pulsation, the expansion and contraction of the lungs, and intestines, even cell movement. Fir controls enzyme functioning. It shows itself as intelligence, fuels the digestive system and regulates metabolism. Water is in plasma, blood, saliva, digestive juices, the mucuous membranes and cytoplasm, the liquid inside cells. Earth manifests in the solid body structures: the bones, nails, teeth, muscles, cartilage, tendons, skin and hair.

All five elements are also related to the five senses and the sense organs, where ether is sound, air is touch, fire is sight, water is taste and earth is smell. The vocal chords, hands, feet, genitals and anus are also related to the organs as are their functions of talking, holding, moving, procreating and excreting. The elements come under the government of the doshas in the following way: vatha governs air and ether; pitha governs fire and water; Kapha governs water and earth.

To treat a muscular or skin problem, for example, the practitioner would restore balance to the earth element by balancing levels of Kapha. In a healthy body, all five elements work in harmony, but an imbalance in any one element stimulates changes in the others. Imbalance of the elements can occur through changes in the 20 fundamental qualities or “guna”

Treatment

Traditionally there are two main types of treatment that are generally used in Ayurvedic medicine these are called “Shodhan” and “samana” respectively.

Shodhana –

In Ayurvedic medicine it is essential to detoxify the body before prescribing restorative treatment. Shodhan is used to eliminate disease, blockages in the digestive system, or any imbalance in the doshas. Where Shodhana is required the practitioner can use “Pancha-karma”. Not all practitioners carry out this detoxification as it is a two-day treatment that is best carried out in a residential clinic. But it is becoming more common.

Purva-Karma –

This breaks down into two types of preparatory treatment – “Snehana” and “Svedana”.

Snehana involves massaging herbal oils into the skin to help eliminate toxins. Blended oils treat specific disorders such as stress, anxiety, insomnia, arthritis, or circulation problems. Oils can also be massaged into the scalp for depression, insomnia, and memory problems. Snehana can sometimes involve lying in an oil bath, which is thought to be even more effective for you to absorb the herbal oils’ properties.

Swedana means sweating. It is sometimes used with the oil treatment, but on a separate day. Steam baths encourage the elimination of toxins through the pores and together with the oil treatments, they make the detoxification more effective.

Pancha-Karma –

This is the proper detoxification. It is traditionally a five-fold therapy, but all five aspects are used only in rare cases. You may need only two or three of the following treatments:

. Nirthua Vasti (Oil enema therapy) – This therapy is supervised in a clinic. IT can take an hour or sometimes two hours to complete an enema. The oil is passed through a tube to the rectum using gravity, so that it does not cause any damage. Oil enemas are often used to eliminate vatha or pitta oriented problems such as in the treatment of constipation, irritable bowel syndrome or fungal infections.

. Anuvasana vasti (Herbal enema) – The practitioner makes a herbal decoction and passes it through the tube. The choice of a herbal enema over an oil one depends on the problem and contraindications. Oil enemas are not suitable for young children, the very old or diabetics. Herbal enemas are not suitable for someone with a fever, heart problems or severe abdominal pain. Neither enema is suitable for people with diarrhea.

. Vireka(herbal laxative therapy) – Taking oral laxatives is something you can easily do at home. You will be givem the laxative and advised on how and when to take it. Vireka is used as a normal part of any detoxification therapy and also to treat pitta oriented disease, such as gastrointestinal problems, and certain vatha problems such as constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.

. Vamana (therapeutic Vomiting) – is a traditional treatment for respiratory and catarrhal problems such as bronchitis, sinusitis and asthma, but it is rarely used today.

. Nasya (herbal inhalation therapy) – This treatment involves inhaling vapor from medicinal herbs that have been infused in boiling water. It is used mostly to eliminate Kapha oriented problems, of ear, eyes, nose and throat disorders such as migraine, sinusitis, catarrh, and bronchitis.

Samana (Herbal Remedies) –

After detoxification the practitioner may prescribe herbal or mineral remedies to correct imbalances in the doshas. These have the necessary medicinal qualities to stimulate agni and restore balance in the doshas. They are not prescribed to eradicate disease because the disease is just a symptom of doshic imbalance.

Herbal remedies are usually prescribed in liquid form or as dried herbs, although they can also come as powder or tablets. The ingradients are pre-prepared, but the blends are prescribed individually. Each ingradient is classified by the effect it has on lowering or increasing levels of doshas. Prescriptions are usually made up of groups of herbs, to which you add eight cups of water and boil until the liquid is reduced to one cup. You may have to take the remedy two or three times a day.

During your consultation, the practitioner will also advise on lifestyle, food and exercise. There is no one healthy diet in Ayurveda, just a diet that is suitable for you. It is important to eat suit your constitution and the practitioner may prepare a special diet sheet for you.

Exercise, such as yoga, is also important for physical and emotional health and the practitioner will advise on the exercise that is best suited to your constitution. Follow-up appointments can be weekly, fortnightly, or monthly depending on your problem. Acute problems such as diarrhea or a condition such as serious asthma may need two or three treatments a week.