There are many perspectives from which we can look at health. The system known as Ayurveda ,”The Science of Life”, has been an organized system for over 3500 years around the subcontinent of India. It is a health system based on creating and maintaining balance in the body recognizing that individual life is a reflection or microcosm of the greater cosmos.
Ayurveda is based on thousands of years of people noticing how different human bodies work recognizing that we all have different constitutions and need to take care of our bodies based on our individuality. Ayurveda is “an art of daily living” in the fullest sense (Lad, 2002). It is not a quick diet or a set of prescription pills to make you feel better. Rather, it offers the individual an opportunity to understand their own unique body and create daily rituals and eat food that supports their personal health and happiness.
Rather than treating or masking the symptoms like western medicine, Ayurveda works to undermine the causes of illness, discomfort, or imbalance in the body. The concept of Ayurveda has changed my life in one way in particular: noticing relationships between my body and the food I eat, the climate I am in, the activities I participate in, and my daily rituals.
Next month I am going to talk about specific constitutions, so until then begin to notice those relationships. How do you feel after you eat a cold bowl of ice cream, a steaming plate of veggies and rice, a cold raw salad, a warm bowl of chicken soup, a damp bowl of oatmeal, etc. Do you feel differently if you decide to go for that run, go to yoga class, or hit the slopes for even an hour? What triggers anger, jealousy, or greed in you? Begin to make connections between the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and physical states that you feel aren’t serving you and what your daily pattern looked like that day or week. A great way to do this is to do simple journaling if you’ve never thought about how foods, exercise, and your daily ritual make you feel. Don’t forget to record your emotional status too.Begin to take notice. If we can relieve the cause of our suffering, we can move towards health and happiness.
Lad, Vasant. 2002. Textbook of Ayurveda.
