Ayurveda Nature’s Oldest Wisdom Explained

Have you heard of Ayurveda the yoga sister science? You may have heard about Ayurveda at your local yoga class, health food store or on a box of tea but you may be wondering what exactly is Ayurveda!? In this article I will answer that very question and share some tips to help easily integrate your Ayurvedic life. Ayurveda (Ah!-your-veda) literally means the science of life^. It is an ancient holistic health care system that encompasses diet, lifestyle and herbs as healing tools to bring balance to our bodies. It truly honors the individual meaning that a regiment for you would be totally different for me. Ayurveda originated in India as is said to be 300-5000 years old^^. In fact the classical text are written in the ancient language of sandskrit. It has survived thousands of years and is now gaining popularity in the western world as a supplemental practice to modern medicine.

Why Choose Ayurveda? As I mentioned, Ayurveda embraces you as an individaul believing that each person was born with a unique combination of energies and qualities. Because of this no two treatments are alike. Ayurveda helps to fosters self awareness meaning you make your own decision day to day based on how you are feeling or what season it may be. Ayurveda is considered a preventative medicine. Each person has a set of lifestyle , herbal and dietary recommendations based on their bodies set point and imbalances . These remedies are used to address the root cause of an illness rather than treating the symptoms. Finally Ayurveda empowers us as individuals to embrace our intuitive nature & live in harmony with our environment. So if you understand the basic patterns and qualities, living a life of balance will become like second nature to you! Basic Rules & Philosophies It is believed that all things in the universe are made up energies and qualities including the 5 Elements. Because Ayurveda is a science based in nature the elements play a key role in both understanding and applying recommendations. Here they are the elements and their sanskrit names listed by quality from the most dense to the lightest:

• Prthvi– Earth
• Jal-Water
• Agni-Fire
• Vayu– Air
• Akasha-Eather/Space

These five elements create the three Doshas which determine a persons characteristics, personality traits and lifestyle preferences need to avoid dis-ease. The Doshas also have characteristics and traits themselves which we explore in another article titled A Guide to the Doshas- understanding and identifying your unique type.

• Vatta (wind & eather)
• Pitta (fire & water)
• Kapha (earth & water)

Ayurveda looks at the world in terms of qualities . An excess or deficiency in any of these qualities can cause a disruption to our set point. These 20 qualities are listed in pairs of opposite so it’s very easy to know what to do when one is out of balance. Ayurveda states that “Like creates Like” so when one quality is too high balance it with its opposite: Now back to your Dosha, Each person has a set point called their Prakruti which is the combination of elements that they were born with this never changes. It is believed that when any of your Doshas or elements are imbalanced we stray away from our set point leaving an opening for physical, mental and emotional dis-ease. This new combination is know as your Vakruti and changes constantly due to your lifestyle, diet, the climate and season, and other factors.

Living A Balanced Life All you need to know to get started is your imbalance (Vakruti) because Ayurveda teaches us to start by addressing the imbalance, using a strategy to balance dosic imbalances so that our true nature can arise Knowing this helps us embrace our strengths and the things that sooth us and allows us to fully embace life’s pleasures and triuphs. To learn a little more about your dosha and what foods might help support your Doshas check out the Quiz Here. Or continue reading in the next article. So how Doses Ayurveda help to support us in aligning with our body and creating optimal sustainable health? We apply daily rituals into our lives called Dinacharya which means to live a life in balance though routine. It is recommend to create a routine that supports you by doing things around the same time of day.This means getting up and going to bed at around the same time, eating meals, and exercising. We also encourage you to have a regular bedtime routine so your body can use that time to fully rest and repair it’s self. It is ideal to be in bed before 10 pm for all three Doshas. Now for some basic lifestyle tips that are tri-doshic because they are good for all dosha. Your Daily rituals might include:

• Morning meditation, reflection, meditation, Prayer, or intention setting
• Tongue scraping
• Abyanga (oil+self massage)
• Dry Brushing
• kavala ( oil pulling from the mouth)
• Yoga, seated practice, asana, journaling
• Exercise such as walking around the same time of day
• Minimize processed foods
• Drink a digestive tea & plenty of room temp water before but not during meals
• Minimize exposure to electronics 1 hour before bed

Hopefully this article has inspired your creative genius as you start to explore a blissfully balanced life.

“You know you are unique so treat yourself that way!” -Our Yoga Studio Bowman Montana