What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is an ancient, over 5000 years old Indian system of health and well-being. The word Ayurveda literally means the knowledge of life, the science of life or the art of longevity. One may say that Ayurveda is a medical system, but I am leaning more towards the description by Robert Svoboda. According to his definition, Ayurveda is “a way of life, a way of learning how to cooperate with Nature and live in harmony with Her”. In other words, Ayurveda teaches us how to connect with nature and use its wisdom to live a healthy, balanced and long life.
Ayurveda is built on unchangeable natural laws, which means that ayurvedic recommendations don’t change based on current trends. However, guidelines offered by Ayurveda differ depending on the time of the day, seasons, phases in life and personal constitution. For example, one piece of advice is relevant in winter but no longer valid in summer. In the same way, whatever is good for you, could be poison to someone else. That’s the beauty of Ayurveda: no size fits all.
Ayurveda believes that we are the reflection of our environment and that health can be achieved only by bringing balance between mind, body and spirit. It’s also worth mentioning that in Ayurveda, health is understood in much broader terms than just the absence of disease. First and foremost, health means juiciness, radiance, peace of mind and zest for life. Lack of thereof means accumulation of toxins and therefore beginning of an illness. To avoid disease, we should willingly restrict our freedom every day. If we keep indulging in pleasures without limits or keep running without rest, nature will eventually force us to slow down for days, months or years by bringing out a disease.
According to Ayurveda, the major source of health is digestion. In Sanskrit, digestion is called agni, which means fire. This fire gives us life energy and governs all the transformative activities in our body, including metabolism, absorption of nutrients, elimination, and digestion of emotions and experiences. Ayurveda brings attention not only to the physical body but also to our mental state.
Ayurvedic recommendations may include dietary changes, herbal remedies, massages, yoga, meditation, prayer, ways to reduce stress, grounding, sound therapy and different types of movement. There’s a pretty high chance that you’re already practising Ayurveda in your life without even knowing it. Perhaps you start your day with a glass of warm lemon water, dry brush your body before the shower or eat chicken broth when you’re sick. It’s all Ayurveda.
You must know, however, that ayurvedic treatments take their sweet time. It’s not a pill that you can swallow and immediately feel better. Improving your health with Ayurveda may take weeks, months or even years. It’s not a quick fix, but slowness, particularly in today’s rushed world, can be a medicine on its own.
I want to emphasise that Ayurveda doesn’t stand in opposition to western medicine. While Ayurveda focuses more on the prevention of the disease, western medicine treats acute conditions and trauma. At the same time, modern science confirms more and more of the ayurvedic knowledge. I constantly stumble upon some scientific information that endorses what I already knew thanks to Ayurveda. I find it beautiful how those two worlds intertwine with each other.
I truly believe that Ayurveda, despite its old age, has not lost its relevance and that now we need it more than ever. Ayurveda offers a rich variety of ways to reconnect with ourselves and nature, which seems to be especially important in a world filled with despair, raising depression rates and new civilisation diseases. Once you open your mind and heart to this ancient wisdom, you are up for a real treat.
