What is Auryveda?
The vast and often mysterious subcontinent we know as India is the home of Auryveda, a system of health and healing which is believed to be anywhere between 2,500 and 5,000 years old. Auryveda is, in fact, the oldest existing medical protocol practiced in the world today, and is recognized by the World Health Organization as a valid medical system.
The word “Auryveda” translates to mean “the science of life and longevity.” The word comes from two Sanskrit roots: ayus means life or span; veda means knowledge or science.
Heal Thyself
Auryveda approaches wellness with the fundamental belief that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. Illness develops as a result of internal disharmony. We fail to take advantage of our healing ability, and we allow ourselves to get sick by engaging in stressful lifestyles, unreasonable dietary habits, and activities that put us out of sync with the life forces.
According to auryvedic thinking, health relies on a crucial balance of three basic forces, known as the three doshas:
Vata represents air and movement. Vata stimulates the nervous system, brain activity, and thought.
Kapha represents earth, a steady, stabilizing force.
Pitta represents fire and heat, and the burning of energy. Pitta is also the mediating dosha between the two extremes, kapha and vata.
Each of us is born with a unique ratio of the three doshas, and typically, one of the doshas will dominate, manifesting in behavior and body type/shape. No one is completely vata, pitta, or kapha, but rather has a tendency to one of them.
Vata people are small-boned and thin; frequently they are nervous people who can’t sit still, but are very bright, even intellectual. Pitta types are athletic, muscular, active, and very focused, who can work hard and be determined, but can also be hot-tempered and obsessive.
Kapha individuals are stocky and heavy-set, but they can also be athletic and strong, with an approach to life that is steady and slow.
Doshas can be used to forecast the kinds of ailments to which we may become susceptible.
Pitta dominance, for example, can trigger “fire” diseases, such as digestive ulcers and heartburn.
Vata dominance can produce insomnia, anxiety, numbness, and pain.
Kapha excesses can result in diseases of “water,” such as obesity, frequent colds or congestion, and sinus headache
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