Ayurveda – One of the Worlds Oldest Holistic Healing Systems
by Beth Biggee, MD
“Foolish the doctor, who despises the knowledge gained by the ancients.”
Ayurveda is an ancient whole-health system from India that provides tools for individuals to live a long healthy life and fend off disease of the mind and body. Ayu means “life span” and Veda means “knowledge” in Sanskrit. This 5000-year-old wisdom connects us to earth, plants, elements, energies, and each other. I have been privileged to study this beautiful system through Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Program taught by Dr. Vasant Lad and the Aloha Ayurveda Institute.
Ayurveda uses the five elements of Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth to identify three basic types of energies that are present in our bodies and minds. These energies are called doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha and are in a certain balance in our mind-body system from birth. Some people are predominantly one dosha, while others are a combination of two. Very rarely one is tridoshic; having all doshas or energies equally present.
Our health relies on harmony and balance with these elements which make up our dosha. When someone is out of balance with their dosha, disease of the mind and body can happen. Knowing your dosha predominance is the key to a harmonious mind-body balance. This is very personalized medicine. Harmony is achieved through knowing what foods to eat, what elements to surround oneself with, what herbs to ingest, and what yoga postures or other activities to do.
Since we are entering the change from summer to fall, let’s take the Vata predominant dosha as an example. In the Northeast, Vata dosha tends to be aggravated in the late fall. Vata dosha is a combination of air and space element (not literally but the quality we perceive about a person). When a Vata predominate person is in balance they are very creative multitaskers who love to move their energy. They think outside the box. When out of balance, they can have anxiety, indecision, exhaustion and suffer from joint muscle aches, weight loss, cold extremities such as Raynauds, constipation and insomnia.
To harmonize Vata imbalance (air ether, dry and cold) we think about adding the opposite attribute (warm earth and water) and avoiding the dry cold. For example: a Vata predominate person should stay away from cold food and drinks and cold wind to stay in balance. When out of balance they may want to eat a lot more warm, moist cooked vegetables and stews as an antidote. They may want to take hot baths or do a warm oil head massage. Warming spices would be helpful such as pepper, ginger, cardamom. Essential oils such as lavender could help.
If you are interested in Ayurveda and have an autoimmune or inflammatory condition consider an Integrative Holistic Rheumatology visit with me where I can assess your dosha and come up with a personalized Ayurvedic plan.
Special thanks to my teachers at Aloha Ayurveda Institute. Other resources; Ayurveda The Science of Self-Healing by Dr. Vasant Lad.