Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest healing systems, beginning in India over 5,000 years ago. Its principal belief is that all things are connected, whether living or not. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word that literally translates as “the science of life” or “the wisdom of life” or “the knowledge of longevity”. According to Ayurveda, in order to be healthy your mind, body, and spirit have to be aligned and balanced with the universe. Being healthy is not just the exclusion of disease in the body.
Ayurveda has a few basic principles:
- Reaching your unique state of balance in your whole being (body, mind, spirit) is fundamental to your well-being.
- There are 3 doshas (that describe who we are): vata, pitta, and kapha – I’ll get into these more in future posts.
- If you are imbalanced, get rid of what’s causing the problem. If you are still experiencing imbalances, counteract with opposite (ei. spicy foods cause indigestion so eat something less spicy).
- Always support your digestive system, it is here that the good nutrients is absorbed and the bad waste is expelled.
- The universe is made of the 5 basic elements air, water, fire, earth, and space.
When you hear about Ayurveda, mostly it’s about learning about your body’s unique composition of the principle energies (doshas) and keeping them balanced. Vata (space & air) is the energy of movement, pitta (fire & water) is the energy of digestion or metabolism, and kapha (earth & water) the energy of lubrication and structure.
BME Healthy Choices 