Abstract
This chapter will focus on Ayurveda and yoga to understand the power of the mind and body to resolve conflict. The fundamental principles of Ayurveda will be discussed in relation to the universe and body because we are a microcosm of the macrocosm. A society so rich in science, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare professionals still struggles for good health. Society continues to remain malnourished even though overfed with food causing the human mind to turn to other modalities like Ayurveda and yoga. As contemporary medicine starts with disease, Ayurveda begins with health with the focus on maintaining the health of the healthy. The fundamental principles of Ayurveda regarding the biological humors (doshas) will be discussed in relation to the five elements of ether, air, fire, water, earth. The main focus will be diet and lifestyle. This chapter will provide pearls of Ayurvedic wisdom to allow one to assimilate these practices into daily life.
TopBackground
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda literally translates to the “science or knowledge” (Veda) of life (Ayu). The origin of Ayurveda is truly ancient. It is considered one of the oldest healthcare systems in the world. Enlightened sages, equivalent to modern day scientists or doctors, communicated with their disciples, and passed the knowledge of their lifetime experiences to them. Later this science was compiled into such classics like Charaka Samhita (Charaka), Sushruta Samhita (Susruta), and Ashtanga Hridayam (Vagbhata). The Ayurvedic classics offer knowledge about every aspect ranging from thousands of medicinal plants to age old herbal formulas. Also, a vast knowledge of Ayurvedic protocols, surgery, toxicology, pharmacology, obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, and philosophy are described.
Ayurveda remained an oral tradition for a long period of time before it was codified into written science many years ago. As time passed, new concepts were adapted but the fundamental principles remained unchanged. Modern allopathic medicine, which came to light about 300 years ago, respected the classics and used a “wholistic” approach to treating disease. However, during the last 100 years, there has been a transition away from the classics and a movement towards a disease-centered, compartmentalized, and reductionistic approach to treating disease. How and when the wisdom of whole-body healing was lost is not clear. However, we must find these missing pieces of the puzzle that were apparently “lost in translation”. Ayurveda is one of those missing pieces. Being a nature-loving science, life study is not limited to humans but to all life on the planet. Modern medicine’s primary focus is on the body and a little on the mind while Ayurveda has its focus on mind, body and spirit moving one towards balanced health.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Pitta: One of the three doshas or biological humors made up of the fire and water elements that governs transformation (e.g., digestion, assimilation, nutrition, absorption, metabolism, temperature) in the body.
Holistic: Wholeness of one’s self that includes body, mind, spirit, and soul. The concept of considering the biological, psychological, philosophical, and spiritual aspect of our being.
Yoga: Translates to union or to unite. It is the union of the individual self with the divine or cosmic self. It is uniting the body and mind within the individual.
Vata: One of the three doshas or biological humors made up of the ether and air elements that governs all movement and function in the body.
Circadian Rhythm: A rhythmic approximately twenty-four hour oscillation of bodily processes like the sleep-wake cycle that is repeated each day. These rhythms can be entrained or adjusted by factors like the light/dark cycle, eating, smell, touch, and sound.
Sankhya: One of six fundamental schools of Hindu philosophy known as darshana. It explains the philosophy of twenty-four cosmic principles founded by Sage Kapila.
Pranayama: Prana means life force or energy of breath. Ayam means extension or expansion of that energy. So, pranayama means expansion of our capacity to take in vital force through rhythmic control of the breath.
Doshas: In Ayurveda, these are the three biological humors of the body that function on the psycho-physiological level in the body. This is also referred to as the constitution of one’s body. When they are functioning in harmony, they are referred to as Prakruti and when they are out of balance, they are referred to as Vikruti.
Agni: Literally translates to fire. It is one of the five elements that governs all transformative processes in the body, mind, and spirit.
Meditation: A journey inward where one disciplines the mind to be quiet and to focus on the present moment. It is the seventh limb of the eight limbs of yoga of Pantanjali.
True Self: One’s soul. The idea of the true self extends beyond the physical body and towards the soul.
Melatonin: A molecule that is synthesized in the pineal gland that serves as the primary circadian output marker from the brain responsible for entraining one’s sleep/wake cycles to the light/dark cycle. Melatonin is also synthesized in other parts of the body including the GI tract and bone that plays important roles in bone health and detoxification by scavenging free radicals and inducing anti-oxidant proteins.
Ayurveda: In Sanskrit, this word literally translates to the Science of Life or the Knowledge of Life or the Study of Life.
Kapha: One of the three doshas or biological humors made of up the water and earth elements that gives form and support to the body and also holds the cellular components of the body together.