|
WellSpring
Practice Guides
Ayurveda
Locate an Ayurveda Practitioner
Ayurveda
is most certainly the most ancient of all medical systems. It has its origins
in India, and is still the most important form of medicine in the Indian subcontinent;
its philosophies are also gaining ground in the West.
Despite its antiquity,
there are relatively few practitioners, particularly in the UK, due in
part to the very length training and the huge complexity of its philosophy
and teaching. Classical Ayurvedic training is conducted in Sanskrit.
Most Ayurvedic practitioners
tend to be orthodox doctors as well.The word 'Ayurveda' comes from
Sanskrit and means 'the science of life', the whole aim of Ayurveda
is prevention. The ancient texts say that the human lifespan should
be around 100 years, and that all those years should be lived in
total health, both physical and mental, therefore the Ayurvedic practitioner
is looking to balance the body and mind, find health problems before
they occur or arrest them before they do any real harm. It is a complete
philosophical and spiritual system, which has over thousands of years
become subtle, sophisticated and highly complex. However, the basic
tenets are reasonably easy to understand and have changed little
over the centuries.
The five elements - ether, air, fire, water and earth are the foundations
on which the Ayurvedic interpretation of all matter and life
is based, they are not to be interpreted literally however,
each represents qualities and different types of force and
energy, as well as some form of physical manifestation. The
elements do not act in isolation - three different combinations of the
elements, called tridosha, are what form the basis for diagnosis,
treatment, cure and health maintenance in Ayurvedic medicine.
Each individual's constitution is determined by the state
of their parents' doshas at the time of conception, and upon
birth a person has the levels of the three doshas that is
right for them. Life and all its forces can cause the doshas
to become unbalanced which can lead to ill health.Each of
the three doshas has a role to play in the body:
VATHA is the
driving force, it relates mainly to the nervous system and
the body's energy center.
PITTA is fire, it relates to the metabolism,
digestion, enzymes, acid and bile.
KAPHA is related to Water in the mucous membranes,
phlegm, moisture, fat and lymphatics.
What to expect
There is no typical Ayurvedic session - even the methods of diagnosis may vary
from practitioner to practitioner. The basic diagnosis is known as the three-point
diagnosis and involves detailed observation of your appearance, examination by
touch, and a detailed questionnaire about your life and health. After diagnosis
comes treatment, and the range of treatments is vast, however, you will be given
guidelines for healthy living and instructed in the diet, which will soothe and
correct imbalances in your body type. You may be prescribed a course of purification
to eliminate toxins from the body and to energize the body's elimination mechanisms.
Herbal preparations may be prescribed. A host of other healing techniques including
massage, exercise, breathing and meditation may be used.
|
