The Sanskrit term Ayurveda translates to “knowledge of life”. The art and science of Ayurveda work to harmonize our internal and external worlds.
Ayurveda emphasizes good health and prevention and treatment of illness through lifestyle practices and the use of herbal remedies. Ayurvedic medicine is holistic, which means viewing the body and mind as a whole. Ayurveda not only treats a person’s physical complaints changes lifestyle maintain health.
What is Ayurveda?
According, the five elements of nature (space, air, fire, water, earth) combine in the body as three components (doshas) known as Vatta, Pitta, and Kapha. These doshas relate closely to the basic elements of nature and to specific functions of the body.
- Air and space represent Vatta. Vatta controls muscle and joint movement, breathing, and heartbeat. Vatta controls anxiety, fear, pain, functions of the nervous system.
- Fire and water represent Pitta. Pitta governs the emotions of anger, hate, and jealousy.
- Earth and water represent Kapha. The physical structure and immune system are governed by Kapha. Emotional responses controlled by coping include calmness, forgiveness, love, and greed.
- Shaping your lifestyle to find harmony is the key, and ayurvedic doctors help patients to do just that. They explain how to control activities that affect our energy level. Including diet, exercise, work environment, the way we think and what we feel. They believe that humans, like their environment, exhibit specific characteristics of nature’s elements, air, space, fire, water and earth. They are able to determine which combination of these elements each person is, based on three doshas or “types”.
