Ancient Holistic Health
About Ayurveda
In Ayurveda, the guidelines to maintain and improve health are aligned with the laws of nature. When we align our diet and lifestyle with the seasons and understand the fundamental governing principles and guidelines for healthy living, and gradually integrate them daily into our life, signs and symptoms of discomfort fade while health and inner joy flourishes.
Ayurveda is an ancient healing system going back at least 5,000 years. Ayurveda, along with Yoga can help us maintain a balanced, healthy life, and improve the quality of our health and prevent disease. Ayu means life and ved means science. By definition, Ayurveda is the science or knowledge of life. Ayurvedic practices and treatments work from the inside out, bringing body and mind into harmony so we can enjoy life with energy and enthusiasm.
Ayurveda understands the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing of each individual as being unique. In Ayurveda, all the functions of the body and mind are governed by the three doshas- vata, pitta and kapha. Each person has all three doshas to varying degrees.
Vata dosha governs movement, flow and timing of everything in the body. Pitta dosha governs transformation and metabolism and kapha dosha governs the structure, stability and fluids of the body. Each dosha has 5 subdoshas, resulting in 15 subdoshas, with each subdosha working together to govern an area of the body. The actions of the doshas are influenced by the five fundamental elements of nature - space, air, fire, water, earth.
My Ayurveda and Yoga offerings pay close attention on the season, diet, spices & herbs, teas, and lifestyle to ensure a balanced and harmonious interaction between your three doshas. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on prana and identification of blockages in the physical and energy channels of the body where food and prana travel.
Kichari - a one pot staple dish in Ayurveda of split lentils or split mung beans cooked with basmati rice and ghee. Kichari is both nourishing and cleansing while providing a complete meal containing protein, carbohydrates and fat.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How does knowing my Dosha help me with my health?
The Ayurvedic doshas: vata, pitta, kapha are a gateway to deeply valuing one’s health. We all have vata, pitta, kapha qualities, with varying degrees of each. By knowing the doshas and their energetic qualities you can acquire a deeper insight on the cause and effect principle of food, environment and behaviour on your health. For example, when you go to bed late, or skip a meal, your vata and pitta energy goes high. With these repeated behaviours, high pitta can manifest symptoms like feeling overly emotional, quick to react or anger; high pitta can also lead to acid stomach or skin problems. High vata can disturb circulation and can lead to increased anxiety, dizziness, headaches or blood pressure issues. By curbing imbalances, we protect our body from developing more serious health problems later on. Disease does not happen overnight. Ayurveda recognizes various stages of disease starting with accumulation, which lead to imbalances. Imbalances left unattended can further develop and manifest as chronic conditions or disease.
How does something as old as Ayurveda help me today?
Though the principles of Ayurveda go back thousands of years, they are still relevant today. The knowledge of Ayurveda is timeless, understood by ancient rishis who were in deep meditation, abiding by the laws of nature and eternal truths. They developed principles on how to live and sustain a healthy life, by living in harmony with nature. For example, these “ancient doctors” we can call them understood that most diseases can be traced back to poor digestion. They also knew that raw, uncooked grains, legumes, vegetables, when eaten raw is difficult to digest therefore need to be cooked. With modern science we know these substances are phytates, lectins, and oxalates which can create digestive and other potential health problems. Even though these ancient sages could not understand this on a microscopic level, they understood these facts nonetheless and were aligned with health-promoting ways of living.
What is the significance of yoga, beyond the postures?
There is more to Yoga than postures. Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to yoke, or unite. Yoga can mean different things to people, yet it is very practical. There is known to be six paths to Yoga: Hatha, Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Gyana and Tantra - all leading to self realization.
Yoga existed long, long ago at a time when knowledge was orally passed down, before the time of Patanjali. Maharishi Patanjali, known as the “father of yoga”,organized the knowledge of yoga. Yoga comes from the word yuj which means union. The study of Yoga, as written in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali outlines the methods and the practices to liberate the mind from distractions, creating a path to uniting with your loving, peaceful self— your true nature. So we can think of Yoga as a very useful manual on how to feel whole, united with our inner peace.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or EightLimbs of Yoga contains 195 aphorisms of how to purify the mind, providing details to an eight-limb path (ashtanga yoga) of self-actualization and inner peace (samadhi). There has been a growing number of research on the physical and mental health benefits of physical postures in Yoga (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and mindfulness and meditation. Maharishi Patanjali lived around the 2 BC and his sutras are commonly cited all over the world to this day.
Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga
1. Ethical morals- Yama
2. Self-discipline- Niyama
3. Postures- Asana
4. Control of the breath- Pranayama
5. Drawing in the senses- Pratyahara
6. Concentration- Dharana
7. Contemplation and meditation- Dhyana
8. Union with self- Samhadi