What can ayurveda do for you?

Ayurveda, from India, may be the world's oldest intact system of healing. It dates from between 3,000 and 2,000 BC. The practice of Ayurveda is simply making healthy choices in daily life. These choices can be as simple as choosing fresh fruit over a donut, choosing a health magazine over a horror novel, or choosing to sleep instead of watching a late-night movie.

Balance, or homeostasis, is the basis of health. According to Ayurveda, there are two main causes of imbalance:
1) external factors (for example, change of season, pollution, infection);
2) internal causes (mainly the accumulation of toxic material inside us).

It is interesting that the older systems of medicine (e.g., Traditional Chinese Medicine), consider the root of all illness to be some kind of blockage ... "a tooth pocket filled with plaque, mucus-choked sinuses, accumulated fat, a stone blocking the gallbladder, a clogged artery." Vaidyas, or Ayurvedic physicians, usually offer advice on changing a patient’s diet, getting a better quality of sleep, or advising meditation and yoga. The Vaidya will give herbal medications (made from the whole plant) only if necessary.

Ayurveda is considered to be the "science of health," the knowledge of how to protect and maintain health before illness sets in. Essential Ayurveda is an easy-to-read primer on this ancient medical practice, emphasizing diet, yoga, and meditation. There is a wise simplicity in maintaining the harmony of the mind, body, and spirit. This basic, prevention-oriented philosophy of health is well worth exploring. For those who are ill, the principles of a healthy diet, exercise, and relaxation can help bring the body back into balance, or homeostasis.

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