Blog Post

What is Ayurveda?

Niti Sheth • 3 October 2018

Behind the oldest medicine system in the world...

I thought we'd begin right at the very beginning and understand a few of the key foundational concepts of Ayurveda. Ayurveda literally means 'the science (Veda) of life (Ayur)', and is a wholesome and all encompassing way of looking at health. It incorporates the physical, sensory/emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions within a person , and looks at each as an integral component of an individual's health. This is one of my favourite parts of Ayurveda - that it looks beyond the physical body and into other aspects of the individual's life. So don't be alarmed if you come in for a massage and you get asked questions about your sleeping patterns, bowel movements or what you eat - it's all inter-connected.

Ayurveda is as much about the promotion of good health , as it is about treating diseases. One of the Ayurvedic texts ( Ashtanga Hrdaya by Vagbhata) is organised so beautifully - one of my teachers once said, if you know, apply and live out the first four chapters (which are about daily routine, personal conduct and seasonal routine) then you don't need to know about any of the latter chapters (which are all about diseases and their relevant treatment protocol).

It relies on both objective and subjective methods to determine the root cause of an individual's ill health . This root cause is viewed in terms of imbalances, and so to bring a person back to good health, means to correct those existing imbalances. This is vastly different to more modern models of healthcare which predominantly address the symptoms with medication or surgery - and this often becomes a 'quick-fix' solution. On the other hand, Ayurveda determines WHY your symptoms are occurring and attempts to address this root cause using a variety of methods: diet, lifestyle, herbs, meditation and physical therapies.

One of the other distinguishing features of Ayurveda is that it looks at each person as a unique individual to determine their prakruti , or natural constitution. This constitution takes into account a person's physique, emotional and mental tendencies and is very important as it helps each individual understand their unique mind-body type and live in accordance with that. Going against this or just following blanket healthcare recommendations is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

And so, I leave you with this brief snapshot of Ayurveda - hopefully the beginning of many more nuggets of wisdom to come!

by Niti Sheth 23 July 2024
We recently went on a week-long holiday to France, and while holidays are fun, there is a tendency to let your health slide and go for a holiday too! The older I get, the more I realise that while you may be on a break from work and household duties, don't be on a break from your health - it will just take more time to get back on track, plus even though you've been on a holiday mentally, your physical body will suffer. So whether you're flying or driving, staying in a 5-star hotel or a budget Air BnB, here are some tips for you to ensure you stay healthy on your holiday: Find balance through your day's meals: we love to indulge in delicious food while we're travelling. Whether it's sampling the regions local cuisine, or enjoying the hotel's breakfast buffet - if you know that breakfast/lunch/dinner is going to be a big meal that's heavy to digest - then keep the other meals of the day light. Just have some local fruits for breakfast, or opt for a simple soup/salad for the other meal. For us, because we were generally out and about for the day, our lunches ended up being the heaviest meal which we generally got from a cafe or restaurant nearby. Then back at our Air BnB, I would make some dal and rice for dinner, or roast up some veggies in the oven. Maintain routine while on holiday: we often love to see holidays as a time to let loose - eat whatever we want, sleep whenever we want, wake up whenever we want. But the truth is that our bodies don't know we're on holiday, and so when we do things that throw off our normal routine (in terms of our eating, sleeping and waking times) our bodies get confused. We thrive on routine, and letting this go in the name of relaxing can do us more harm than good. So stick to similar eating, sleeping and waking times - no matter where you travel to. Foods to help keep you regular 💩 new places and new foods can sometimes throw your digestion off track a little and result in constipation. Remember to use these foods as medicine to help keep everything moving smoothly. Try one remedy at a time: 4-5 prunes as a snack anytime during the day 9-10 raisins soaked in water and kept overnight, to be consumed first thing in the morning. Local and seasonal fruit as a snack during the day. Especially: bananas, prunes, pears, apples, papaya, soaked figs and raisins. 1 teaspoon ghee in half cup of warm water at bedtime. 1 teaspoon triphala in half cup of warm water at bedtime. Lots of water and movement during the day. Do your food research before you travel: we visited a few small French towns that were very limited in their vegetarian options. So we travelled with provisions to cook our own meals a few times while we were away. I packed all the spices I would need for one dish in a small container, some dried lentils and rice, ghee and my trusty pressure cooker. And these few things helped us have healthy, delicious and quick meals while we relaxed in our Air BnB. Another night we bought some local veggies and roasted them with olive oil and a herb blend for a lighter dinner. If food options are limited where you're going, think of these foods that you can quickly make in your accommodation: dal + rice, kichdi, soups, roasted veggies, pasta or stir-fries.
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