Ayurveda And Yoga: The Good Great Siblings

I love the natural way of healing, which is the best approach for a balanced living. I’ve done numerous researches and have read manifold books on Ayurveda. You know, I’ve also been to India to explore the most interesting and awe-inspiring attributes of Ayurveda. I didn’t how I missed the most essential verity that Ayurveda is Yoga’s sister science. I was amazed to read this piece of information while I was surfing through the internet in search of something not as thrilling as this one. I’ve heard that the science of Ayurveda insists on practicing Yoga, meditation and other physical exercises but the feeling of looking at these sister sciences together from the same Indian family is simply great!

These siblings are born to Spirituality and Purity, the father and mother respectively. Both of them share the same truth-seeking and optimistic underpinning and aim at granting the best ways for healthy and harmonious living. Ayurveda and Yoga are been taken to many parts of the world are proven successful mainly due to the fact that they help people achieve the promised results without much side effects. These sister sciences have many attributes in common and the most significant among them are listed below:

  1. Meditation: Ayurveda as well as Yoga insist meditation as these sciences believe that a clear and calm mind can do all the magic for your determined and active living in the pink. Through meditation, you can realize your actual powers and it improves your concentration, giving a good start to your day.
  2. Primitive teachings of Veda: Yoga and Ayurveda have come from the ancient Vedas, where the former has originated from the Yajur Veda and the latter from Rig Veda and Atharva Veda.
  3. Practices for holistic healing: Both these sciences teach and preach health practices that support holistic healing. They stress on striking the balance of doshas (elemental energies or humors), dhatus (tissues) and malas (waste materials) for sustaining a hale and hearty system.
  4. A healthy mind in a healthy body: This is the watchword of Ayurveda and Yoga and that is why Ayurveda suggests worshipping God, healthy eating, use of herbs and Ayurvedic essential oils along with meditation, Yoga and other physical exercises while Yoga suggests meditation and workouts for physical fitness as well as mental strength along with a balanced diet and regular prayers.
  5. Predominant aims of life: Both share the predominant aims of life which is nothing but accomplishing one’s duties, earning wealth, fulfilling the desires and attaining liberation, popularly known as Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
  6. Psychology, physiology and anatomy: The principles of Ayurveda and Yoga are same when it comes to psychology, anatomy and physiology where both these practices nigh on 5 sheaths of human body, 72,000 subtle channels known as Nadis, ultimate energy called as Kundalini Shakthi and the 7 predominant Chakras representing the energy centers. On a psychological perspective, both of these sister sciences robustly signify that mind, emotions and spiritual concerns have a direct impact on the physical health and are the root cause of all infirmities.
  7. Cleansing techniques: Ayurveda and Yoga have an organized system for detoxification of the human body, in which the earlier science follows 5 cleansing methods known as Panchakarma and the later science specifies 6 refining means called as Shatkarma for eliminating the unwanted materials of the body in a natural way.

Hope you’d have enjoyed this amazing piece of information, if you have explored it the first time, just like me! Bring these siblings to your family as well for all the good health and wealth to dwell in your residence.

Reference Links:

  1. Shatkarma by Wikipedia
  2. Ayurveda and Yoga, Sister Sciences by Blue Lotus Ayurveda
  3. Panchakarma by The Ayurvedic Institute
  4. Ayurveda and Yoga, the sister sciences. A holistic approach to healing by YOGA Chicago

Ayurveda Treatment – The Must Know Essentials

Ayurveda merges with nature and instills a positive energy within us by promoting a healthy lifestyle for harmonious living. While giving total importance to curative as well as preventative health measures, this noble science detects numerous diseases at a very early stage where even the contemporary medical practices fail to establish their stand. Ayurveda unmistakably depicts and understands that good health is a reflection or a symbol that an individual is living in harmony with nature.

It often views diseases as a clear signal indicating that a human’s body is ‘out of harmony’ with the phases of nature, the ideal gift of the Creator. This superior curing system treats human beings as individuals and not just as ‘Cases’ or ‘Patients’, the way in which people are addressed in modern medical system. Ayurveda treatment is a comprehensive structure that follows innumerable techniques to heal humanity. The most popular and the must know essentials of Ayurveda treatment are:

  1. Herbs or plant-based medications: As Ayurveda insists on natural cure for illness and wellness, the primary things that it focuses on is the use of herbs and other plant-based medications. According to Ayurveda ‘Nature is a Rescuer’ and herbs that are part of nature are really special in curing innumerable diseases. Ayurveda either uses these herbs directly or in the form of powder, decoction, tinctures, pills, syrups, ointments, herbal teas, and infusions. Herbs were also used as a poultice, in steam inhalation, natural baths and much more.
  2. Essential oils: Essential oils are highly concentrated oils extracted from plants. Ayurveda uses aroma as a trusted methodology for treating various kinds of illnesses. This ancient healing science suggests the use of oils either as part of the diet, suggested applications to the affected areas, in systematic massage therapy, smearing, as air freshener to kill the germs in the environment and to treat numerous illness especially related with the mind like depression, insomnia, stress, fear, anxiety etc as the aroma has the power to control the human system by the positive effects transformed through the limbic system.
  3. Animal-based products: Ayurvedic treatment also involves the use of certain animal products like bones, milk, gallstones, and animal fats for external use as well as for ingestion at times based upon the nature of the sickness.
  4. Physical and mental fitness: Ayurveda does not stop with prescribing herbs and essential oils for well-being but recommends the regular practice of physical exercises, yoga and meditation as per the corresponding Ayurvedic body types for gaining insight and the physical power to be resistant to diseases and stay hale and hearty. Thus the Ayurvedic theory states that ‘from physical exercise one obtains lightness, capacity to work, elimination of impurities from the body, firmness of the body, efficiency of digestion, and balance of metabolism’.
  5. Mineral treatments: According to Ayurveda, the principle of using minerals and metals along with herbal medicine is known as Rasa Shastra, which is similar to the celebrated Alchemy treatment used in Western Europe and Mediterranean countries.
  6. Surgical healing: The most inspiring part of the Ayurvedic treatment is the surgical healing technique, popularly known as Shalyaroga chikitsa or the surgical science. This was initially introduced to treat the warriors during the wars when they were attacked by sharp weapons, swords, arrows etc, Ayurvedic experts also recommend surgery for complicated health conditions like cataract, piles, fistula, urinary stones, accidents and more.
  7. Hygienic and balanced living: ‘Purity of mind and body will help human beings live in peace’ is what Ayurveda strongly believes. For which it recommends hygienic habits like taking bath regularly, keeping the vital parts of the body like skin and sense organs clean. For a calm and tranquil mind, this spiritual science suggests habitual prayers and meditation. Taking in a balanced diet with essential nutrients at the right time also contributes to a happy life in the pink according to Ayurveda.

All the possible and potential diseases of this present-day chaos living can be covered under one protective roof, rightly named as Ayurveda.

Thought for the day:

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

-World Health Organization

Suggested Reading:

  1. Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing by Dr. Light Miller, Dr. Bryan Miller.
  2. The Ayurveda Encyclopedia: Natural Secrets To Healing, Prevention & Longevity by Swami Sadashiva Tirtha
  3. Yoga For Your Type: An Ayurvedic Approach to Your Asana Practice by Dr. David Frawley, Sandra Summerfield Kozak

Reference Links:

  1. Ayurveda by Wikipedia
  2. Herbal Medicine by University of Maryland Medical Center
  3. Exercise by ND Ayurveda & Panchkarma Centre

Importance of Ayurveda in the West

Modern world has gifted us with enormous innovative tools and techniques that have made life easier to live. But an explicit insight on the pros and cons of this massive technological development instinctively fills our mind with a wide range of chaos! The more the world progresses technically, the more the human life steps ahead in stress, ailments and an innate mechanical progress. Thus life becomes so insensible that one is always deemed with worries and stress. What could be the apt antidote to this malady? Ayurveda stands distinct as the most holistic remedy to end this mechanical life and mark the start of a natural way of living filled with eternal bliss! This is the reason why Ayurveda is widely recognized in the west in recent times.

Ayurveda serves as the root for Traditional European Medicine (TEM), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Unani – a natural system of healing of the Middle Eastern world. This is the strong reason why Ayurveda is rightly called as the ‘Mother of Natural Healing’. With its genesis in ancient India, the essence of Ayurveda spread to the west with the advent of many foreigners who translated the Ayurvedic encyclopedias namely Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita to Arabic, Latin, German and English.

It is a well known fact that the first major plastic surgery in the western world was performed in 1815 by Carpue who spent 20 years in India to study the Ayurvedic surgery methods. Amazing right!!! This is just a single piece of information that is known to the world and there are much more Ayurvedic secrets to be revealed and relived.

Importance of Ayurveda in the West: Western Culture is more secured with massive man-made technologies that are strong enough to weaken the resources of nature of which human resource forms a major part. Decrease in physical efforts makes life more involuntary thus increasing the mental stress. Apart from this, the modern medical system deals only with the ailments rather than their root causes, resulting in a temporary relief with more side effects that make the ailments permanent and vulnerable. Thus, people are drawn towards the most dependable holistic approach that has a unique gift of a meaningful, mentally strong life with eternal peace for every individual.

To add more life to the fact that Ayurveda has found its place in the west, down comes the sturdy list of causes that has made the western world to feel the importance of Ayurveda.

  • Self-Realization for a Divine Living: Ayurvedic healing methodology includes a wide range of techniques of which Yoga, Meditation and Rejuvenation of the body and mind with effective Ayurvedic oils have gained wide attention in the West. These forms of practice leads to self-realization thus making one to realize the true purpose of living, paving way to eternal satisfaction and ecstasy of leading a meaningful life. Ayurveda serves its sole purpose of making one to realize self and live in harmony with self and nature thus giving comprehensiveness to human existence.
  • Good for All: Unlike modern medical system, Ayurveda is good for all individuals irrespective of their status of health. With its elegant regime, Ayurveda dignifies the diseased and strengthens the stronger ones leading to health and longevity.

Apart from this, Ayurveda remains as the most natural, less expensive medical system with homemade remedies of defensive nature. Effective utilization of Ayurvedic natural herbs, spices, vegetables and natural Ayurvedic Essential oils in your day to day living will support longevity and help you in the long run.

Ayurveda can be made more efficacious if its real essence is absorbed and utilized effectively. Studies have proved that Ayurveda is effective in the treatment of acute chronic diseases like diabetes and the integration of Ayurvedic Healing system with Modern therapy can pave way for finding a solution for some of the life threatening diseases like cancer.

One final yet valid reason that makes the West fascinated towards Ayurveda is its approach towards the patients that is lifted high with a sense of personal touch and care that is often missing in the western medical system.

As a true believer and benefiter of Ayurveda, I take this opportunity to thank all those strenuous efforts of the invaluable immortals who strived a lot in  bringing the knowledge of Ayurveda to the west that has served numerous people in the past and will continue to serve in the future as well!!!

Thought for the day:

“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” –Hippocrates

Suggested Reading:

  1. Ayurveda: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional Indian Medicine for the West by Frank John, M.D. Ninivaggi
  2. Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Science by Claudia Welch
  3. Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners: Familiar Western Food Prepared with Ayurvedic Principles by Amadea Morningstar

Reference Links:

  1. Ayurveda by Wikipedia
  2. Meditation by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  3. Differences between Ayurveda and Modern Medicine (Allopathy) by LuzySalud