Ayurveda: what is it and what can it do for you?

The traditional indian medicine, which traces its origins to some five millennia ago, is experiencing a second youth. In Asia, and also in Europe and America, more and more therapists and patients are choosing ayurvedic treatments.

Its great attraction is that it contributes to prevent disease, promote longevity and heal through dietemotional work and lifestyle, as well as using medicinal plants, yogabreathing exercises, meditation, massages with mixtures of oils and even sounds or colors.

What is Ayurvedic medicine?

Being an ancient knowledge, Ayurveda is also modern because it coincides with advanced Western scientific medicine in that health is conditioned by a multitude of internal and external factors. As Dr. David Frowley, author of Ayurvedic Health (Ediciones Ayurveda), a reference work for those interested in this medicine, “Ayurveda is at the center of the medical paradigm shift towards the holistic or integral”.

However, in Spain there are still few professionals who are prepared to offer a complete authentic Ayurvedic treatment. The vast majority of therapists working in Spain have been trained abroad, such as Marisol Dy Sanchezwho studied in his native Brazil and in The Arya Vaidya Pharmacyone of the leading learning institutions in South India.

What are Ayurvedic treatments indicated for?

Marisol performs Ayurveda massages with medicinal oils and stimulation of the “marmas” or vital pointswith a certain resemblance to acupuncture points, among other techniques, to patients who come to Ayurveda through its connection with yoga or simply looking for a natural cure for their health problems.

According to Marisol, massages achieve good results with stress, anxiety, joint pain, stiffness and insomnia, but “body therapy helps a lot to refocus on one’s own axis, by broadening awareness in a general and profound way “.

It may also be helpful as an adjunctive therapy to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life for patients with fibromyalgia, migraines, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other chronic diseases.

Marisol gives as an example a patient who was receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer and who came to her office – with the approval of her oncologist – almost asking for help. She gave her an Ayurveda massage with a combination of oils prepared especially for her, in order to nourish her and help her eliminate toxins.

The patient told him that during the massage she felt as if she were “out of her body” and in the end she left grateful and happy, noticing an incredible improvement in her expression, gaze and voice.

Although Ayurveda is a complete medicine, capable of dealing with any health problem, it has the advantage of being also a preventative medicine. Anyone can put into practice some simple recommendations to stay balanced and avoid the appearance of disorders.

In fact, the emphasis on the importance of self care, in the responsibility for one’s own health, is one of its characteristics. Integrating a few simple therapies that reinforce physical and mental balance into our daily routines can increase our well-being and avoid the appearance of acute or serious diseases.

The 3 doshas and their meaning

To benefit from the wisdom of Ayurveda it is necessary Know what kind of constitution you havebecause the treatments are adapted to the characteristics of each person.

The constitution is determined by the activity of the three doshas or humorscalled vata, pitta and kaphaeach of which is the manifestation of a corresponding cosmic energy.

kapha it is identified with the body water that forms the secretions and unites the tissues; exists thanks to prema or the power of love that unites and unites everything.pitta it is the fire that gives heat and transforms substances; is associated with jyotiwhich is the light or glow that appears as a consequence of transformation and movement, and which is associated with consciousness.vata it is the air that moves and directs physiological processes or behavior; relates to pranawhich is the vital force that gives movement, animation, direction or motivation.

The three humors or forces that govern the organism correspond to the three basic cosmic energies. In turn, the three humors and the three cosmic energies are linked to the three great natural elements: air (prana), fire (jyoti) and water (prema).

Each person presents a peculiar distribution of the doshas, with one or two predominant. But to pin down that combination requires experience. An analogy could be made by saying that with only three colors –cyan, magenta and yellow– all the images in this magazine can be printed. That is why in practice there is no person who corresponds to a dosha in a pure state: it would be equivalent to a monocolor individual.

After examining the patient, the doctor may conclude, for example, that he is vatta 4, pitta 2, kapha 1. This way of diagnose constitutional tendency it is very different from the western one, where it is above all about describing the disease.

More than giving names to diseases, Ayurveda seeks to know the state of balance or imbalance between the doshaswhich makes it possible to prescribe an individualized life plan to make the most of the patient’s health potential.

In general, the treatment consists of increasing the dosha that is most diminished by means of a variety of therapeutic techniques, which affect both physical and mental aspects. In this way, the unbalancing effects of having one or two increased doshas are reduced.

What are the principles of Ayurveda?

Over the centuries, Ayurvedic experts have deduced which habits are generally conducive to well-being. That is why Ayurveda is often defined as a science of health or life rather than as a medicine.

Ayurveda considers that certain foods such as milk and ghee (clarified butter), and tonic plants such as ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), shatavari (Asparagus racemosus) and guduchi (tinospora cordifolia), stimulate the ojaswhich is invigorating energy and which could be compared in part to the function of the immune system.

the practice of meditationthe intonation of mantras and the moderate sex life they also help to have a strong ojas. For Ayurveda, the positive emotions or the awareness of the sacredness of the human being and of nature are part of a healthy life. That is why devotion and rituals are also part of it.

This practical mysticism has caused some people in the West, with more skills to attract disciples and admirers than to really heal, present themselves as ayurvedic experts when they are not capable of performing a proper body examination as a genuine Ayurvedic doctor would do. This knows how to take pulses, interpret the appearance of the tongue or palpate the abdomen, in addition to asking the appropriate questions to the patient.

The main treatments of Ayurveda

A true Ayurvedic doctor would start with recommend specific massages with combinations of oils that reduce the accumulation of doshas, ​​as well as changes in the diet, since food is the most important physical remedy in the long term. Its effect is appreciated between one and six months after starting the regimen.

Next could prescribe some medicinal plantswhich are like powerful nutritional supplements and can be taken preventively in small doses.

Ayurveda massage is the best known technique and more accessible, because every day it is easier to find professionals with Ayurvedic training in spas, but it is possible to obtain some benefits through a simple self-massage with sesame oil on the feet and head twice a week.

Therapeutic mixtures with essential oils and extracts enhance the effects and adapt to the constitution of each patient. The treatment is completed with lifestyle aspects such as restthe exercise practicehe contact with the nature and live in a pleasant and natural environment.

Also, the yoga and the meditation enrich and deepen the Ayurvedic cure.

Ayurveda tips to maintain health

Apart from the treatment of individual cases in the therapist’s office, Ayurveda provides general guidelines for promoting health. Considering today’s lifestyle, Following some tips helps prevent a dosha from becoming excessively high or low and unbalance the body. For example:

In order not to increase kaphayou have to avoid excess sugar, refined flour, ice cream and very cold water, soft drinks, meat and foods fried in oil.In order not to increase pitta, the desire to compete and the importance given to personal success must be kept under control. It is also not advisable to smoke or drink.Not to aggravate vataIn these times it is necessary not to fall into the trap of permanent connection to the mobile phone and the computer. All activities that involve speed (physical or psychic) ​​or leaving the ground (real or figurative) increase vata.

In this article It has only been possible to give a few brushstrokes of the complete picture of Ayurveda, a traditional wisdom from which much benefit can be obtained by knowing it better through books and consultations with good therapists. Thanks to traditional Indian medicine, a greater inner balance and with the environment can be achieved, which improves the physical, mental and spiritual state.