Ayurveda
Ayurveda - Alternative Medicine
Ayurveda is a very ancient and time-tested system of holistic therapy that gives importance to one’s lifestyle and helps the individual to attain a psycho- somatic balance through the judicious use of herbal and mineral preparations. The system believes that the quality of physical and mental well-being depends upon one’s life style.
Ayurveda stands first among all sets of (alternative) health care systems, and its main basic suppositions, features and principles are outlined below:
Ayurveda's focus
Our body is bio-designed to be healthy. Any disorder or malfunction of a cell, tissue, organ or a system which affects the body’s healthy functioning is automatically monitored by the built-in body immunity system, which triggers the mechanism to resist and fight it automatically. Thus Ayurveda, as a system, aims to aid and strengthen the body’s natural immune system in general to cope with any underlying fault that causes a problem. It empowers the body in general rather than tries to attack or repress any specific symptom. As a result, Ayurvedic therapy rarely creates or causes unsavory side-effects.
Ayurveda's Harmony for Health
Ayurveda holds that perfect health results from a harmonious balance between the three subtle energies of vaata, pitta, and kapha, called Tri-doshas (roughly equivalent to the ancient Greek notions of Rheum, Choler and Phlegm). Each of these doshas has certain characteristic features and qualities which manifest their effects on the human body. An individual remains healthy as long as these three elements are in a state of stable equilibrium in his body. The inherent constitutive combination of these elements is genetically pre-determined in all individuals and is manifest in their bio-psychic make-up. When their natural equilibrium is disturbed beyond a point, the body is prone to become ‘sick’, and Ayurvedic therapy aims to restore the right balance. Ayurveda dictates two main types of treatment – Shamana Chikitsa (restoration therapy) and Shodhana Chikitsa (cleansing therapy). Both are conceptualised taking into account the person’s overall body-state as a whole, and not by just specifically addressing a particular ailment.
Ayurveda's Prescription for Healthful Habits
A person’s dietary habits are of great importance in Ayurveda. A main issue that is also taken into account is the interaction between Ritu (ecology) and Prakriti (natural order). For instance, the food regimen prescribed for a person in the arid Middle East will be very different from what is in the tropics or in the temperate zones. Unhealthy foodstuff and unhygienic routines turn bio-hazardous and wears off the health and vigour of the individual. The notion of Pathya, an important feature of diet restriction, as well as of daily routines and activities that has to be maintained during and after the required course of treatment, is vital in Ayurveda. To safeguard the body against chronic ailments all forms of bio-toxins have to be eliminated from the system. Ayurveda – through the classic PANCHAKARMA helps to eliminate these harmful substances from the body, thereby maintaining harmony among the various functional systems in the body. It is to emphasize the above mentioned Pathya that Ayurveda stresses the preventative aspects of Dinacharya [daily regimen] and Rithucharya [seasonal regimen] in order to maintain the harmony between Doshas [subtle forces] Dhatus [building blocks] and Malas [metabolic wastes].
The Scope of Ayurvedic Therapies
Ayurveda also provides excellent treatment modes for ailments such as Auto- Immune diseases, degenerative conditions like Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis as well as other joint disorders, nervous- system related conditions such as Paralytic stroke, Parkinsonism, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Diseases, metabolic disorders like Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia, Obesity and a wide range of dermal manifestations such as Psoriasis, Eczema and Dermatitis.
Ayurveda deals not only with curing but also prevention of diseases and so the preservation of overall physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Lately, Ayurveda has proved its efficacy in the treatment of Gynecological disorders as well as Infertility and Premature ageing. Thus, it is obvious that Ayurveda is not just an alternative medical system, but a most efficient and promising therapeutic science too. Also, it is the only medical system which deals with the domains of rejuvenation and revitalization. This field is Rasayana Therapy, a key to deal with Chronic Degenerative diseases.