Living a Life of Balance An Introduction
to Ayurvedic Medicine
Excerpted from Dr. Aruna Bakhru's upcoming book entitled "The Guru
Principle"
Ayurveda is an ancient and holistic system of medicine, which originated
in India more than five thousand years ago. The word Ayu means life
(span) and Veda means knowledge i.e. knowledge of life or the science of
life.
One of the basic tenets of Ayurveda is that life is meant to be
lived in balance and in harmony with nature. Illness happens when we
move away from a life of balance to excesses or deficiencies of any
kind, whether it is the way we eat, sleep, work, exercise, think or
feel. Ayurveda believes that one has to live in harmony with the
seasons, the time of day, the place you live etc.
According to Ayurveda, people are divided into different body types and
if you follow the diet, purification routines, exercises, etc. specific
for your body type you can correct many of the problems you may be
suffering from.
Ayurveda places a great deal of emphasis on the mind.
According to Ayurveda many of our physical problems and imbalances are
first created in the mind. Unlike western medicine, which has divorced
the mind from the body, Ayurveda says they are seamlessly connected and
each
affects the other. The place where the mind and the body connect is the
place where matter interfaces with energy.
The three Doshas of Ayurveda: According to Ayurveda, the doshas lie at
the place where the mind connects with the body. If the mind and the
body are not coordinated, an imbalance is created in the Doshas. There
are three Doshas and they are as follows:
1. Vata corresponds to Air.
2. Pitta corresponds to fire.
3. Kapha
corresponds to water.
Each and every person has all the three doshas or principles to varying
degrees, but usually one or other is dominant. i.e. if you are a Vata
type then the Vata principle is dominant.
This is important because your
body type governs how you should live and
what you should eat to maintain a life of balance.
Vata Dosha: Corresponds to air, ether. Function is movement, breathing,
and circulation. Emotions are fear, anxiety, and pain. Seat of Vata is
in the colon, pelvis etc.
The Vata constitution is thin, tall or too
short, bony joints, thin eyelashes, sunken eyes, bent nose, variable
appetite, tends to constipation, poor sleep, creative, restless, alert,
poor willpower and tolerance. Cold hands and feet.
Pitta Dosha Corresponds to fire and water. Function is metabolism,
digestion, absorption and assimilation. Emotions are anger, hatred and
jealousy. Seat of Pitta is stomach, small intestine and blood.
Pitta
Constitution is medium build, premature graying, medium sleep, warm
hands and feet, short tempered, intelligent and ambitious.
Kapha Dosha Corresponds to water and the earth. Function is that of
cementing material of the body, connective tissue, joint lubrication,
and memory retention. Emotions are greed, attachment, envy, forgiveness,
calmness and maternal emotions.
Seat of Kapha is chest, sinuses, ears, nose, throat area, joints etc.
Kapha constitution is solid build, slow, deliberate, good strength and
endurance, prolonged sleep, obese, calm, forgiving, loving, greedy and possessive. They are slow to grasp information but once they do they
retain it i.e. good memory retention.
According to Ayurveda, the imbalance or disease may originate in the
mind in the form of some negative emotion, which affects the doshas, and
in turn the body or, it may originate in the body and then affect the
mind.
Diet and environment are the key
causes here affecting the doshas, which in turn can affect the mind. We
saw earlier that Vata is connected to fear and anxiety, Pitta to hate
and jealousy and Kapha to greed and possessiveness.
Western medical science has not recognized the importance of the
relationship between the immune system and the gut. Only now are some
people beginning to recognize and label the "leaky gut syndrome" as
being the cause of many diseases.
Ayurveda recognized this connection
five thousand years ago when it talked about disease being caused by
accumulation of toxins or "ama" as a result of impairment of the "Agni"
(the process of digestion and assimilation). If the agni does not
function
properly, then the ama accumulates in the intestines and leaks into the
circulation and subsequently accumulates in other parts of the body
clogging them, impairing their resistance and immunity and causing
disease of that organ.
Imbalanced emotions also cause disease by impairing the agni and
therefore the immune system. In the Bhagwad Gita, the Lord tells Arjuna
that He Himself has become the digestive fire or Agni in the human body,
serving to illustrate the importance of agni. I.e. it is the Lord's
energy, which is powering the digestive system and thus all the
metabolic processes and also strengthening the immune system.
Disrespect
of your digestive fire by eating the wrong foods or an imbalanced
lifestyle is disrespecting the Lord within you and inviting disease.
The Ayurvedic physician usually performs a detailed history and physical
examination. The examination includes but is not limited to pulse
diagnosis, examination of the tongue, facial diagnosis including the
lines and wrinkles of your face, your lips, eyes.
Examination of the
nails and hair, examination of the urine, faeces, sweat etc. examination
of the mind and emotions. He may also check your astrological chart as
this may predict disease proneness.
Modern medicine treats the body as
though it is a machine with various parts and each part is treated by a
different specialist. The problem with a machine is that you can repair
it with spare parts. The human body on the other hand functions as a
whole. An Ayurvedic physician tries to assist the body in its attempt to
repair itself.
Treatment in Ayurveda consists of: Panchakarma (purification or
cleansing of the body), herbs, yoga, mantras, gemstones, color therapy,
sound therapy using classical ragas, dietary manipulation to balance the
doshas, fasting, meditation etc.
Treatment is individualized to the
person and not the disease. Whereas in allopathic medicine, two patients
with arthritis will usually get the same treatment, its not so in Ayurveda.
Panchakarma is employed to eliminate toxins from the body. Massages
using oil and herbs, enemas, nasal purgation and induced vomiting are
some of the methods used.
I remember as a child being taken by my
parents for treatment to a local Ayurveda center and the doctors there
would make me drink tons of water then come up from behind and press my
upper abdomen and all the water would come out.
Although disconcerting
at first, I did feel really cleaned out afterwards. However, do not try
this at home. It can only be done under the supervision of an Ayurvedic
physician. Oil or water enemas are used depending on the imbalance
present. I would not recommend getting treatment
from someone who has taken a two month crash course in Ayurveda.
These
people can do more harm than good. The idea behind panchakarma is to
open the channels, and begin getting rid of the accumulated toxins. It
can be very effective in getting rid of the chemicals that we are
polluting our bodies (and our planet) with, in our so-called modern
society.
In Ayurveda, the underlying philosophy is a reverence for all life.
Therefore herbs are grown, cultivated and harvested with respect,
reverence and purity in mind with the result that the healing effects of
such herbs are powerful and in tune with nature. Remember the four
sheaths that cover the soul. According to Ayurveda each sheath can be
healed with different methods.
The physical body can be healed by a vata,
pitta or kapha pacifying diet, herbal treatment and yogic exercises. The
astral body by the use of herbs, pranayama, color, sound, gemstones
magnets (and homeopathy works at this level also). Mantras and
meditation reach the causal body.
About the author:
Dr.Bakhru is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. She has been listed
in the millennium edition of Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in
Medicine and Healthcare and Who's Who in the World.
