by Belinda Witzenhausen

Created on: April 08, 2008   Last Updated: April 09, 2008

In the hustle and bustle of our modern lives more and more people are seeking ancient, tried and true practices. One of these practices is Ayurveda.

Ayurveda (Ayurvedic medicine) is a holistic system that originated in India thousands of years ago. It aims to integrate the body, mind, and spirit to help prevent and treat illness. Ayurveda in Sanskrit means "Science of Life" and is not merely a quick fix but a lifestyle. Therapies used in Ayurveda include herbal medicines, massage, and yoga. Unlike Western medicine, it treats not just the symptoms but attempts to treat the person as a whole.

In Ayurveda, it is believed that our bodies contain elements of space, air, earth, water and fire and that there are three major combinations of elements present which are called doshas. These three doshas are Pitta, Vata and Kapha. Each dosha represents a group of elements: Pitta is representative of fire/water and has the qualities of sharp, hot and intense;; Vata is representative of air/water and has the qualities of dry, light and cool; Kapha is representative of water/earth and is heavy, cold and wet. Therefore, Ayurveda assumes that when an imbalance occurs, a person's chances of developing certain types of illness is strongly related to this imbalanced state. All things in the universe, living and non-living are connected. With this connection we are all born in perfect balance but as we age, our balance of the three doshas is constantly fluctuating due to our lifestyle.

During treatment, Ayurvedic practitioners expect their patients to be conscious and active participants of their treatment, since many may require strict changes in diet, lifestyle, and habits.

There are usually many areas of focus, some of which include cleansing, reducing symptoms, treating the spirit, improving diet and prescribing massage are all important to Ayurvedic treatment.

Panchakarma, a process intended to be cleansing, focuses on both the digestive tract and the respiratory system. For the digestive tract, cleansing may be done through fasting, or a Doshic based diet. For respiratory cleansing, some patients are put through a process called Nasya where specially herb infused oils are dropped into the nose and inhaled during a treatment.

Another main goal in Ayurvedic treatment is to reduce symptoms. The practitioner will advise you to do various options, including yoga exercises, stretching, breathing exercises, meditation and getting in touch with nature. The patient may be prescribed herbs

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