Ayurveda – The Science of Life

Ayurveda (Devanāgarī: आयुर्वेद, the ‘science of life’) is a system of traditional medicine native to the Indian Subcontinent and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda consists of the words āyus, meaning ‘life’, and veda, meaning ‘related to knowledge’ or ‘science’. Evolving throughout its history, Ayurveda remains an influential system of medicine in South Asia. The earliest literature of Ayurveda appeared during the Vedic period in India.  Ayurvedic practitioners identified a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for curing various ailments and diseases.

In the Ayurvedic system, the prevention of all types of disease has a prominent place in treatment, including restructuring a patient’s lifestyle to align with the course of nature and the four seasons to guarantee complete wellness.

Ayurveda is considered to be a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within the western world, where several of its methods, such as the use of herbs, massage, and Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine, are applied on their own as a form of CAM treatment.

(Ayurveda gained recognition in the Western world as medical scholars, notably Frank John Ninivaggi MD of Yale University School of Medicine, researched and outlined its various postulates in one major textbook suitable to Western academic science. In the United States of America, the NIH NCCAM expends some of its $123 million budget on Ayurvedic medicine research. In addition, the National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, established by Dr. Scott Gerson, is an example of a Ayurveda research institute. Gerson has published part of his work on the antifungal activities of certain Ayurvedic plants in academic journals. The postulates and history of Ayurveda have also been outlined by foreign scholars such as Dominik Wujastyk in the United Kingdom. Questionable practices in research involving financial gains have resulted in the questioning of some of the research and cases such as the Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health have involved litigations.)

Ayurveda is grounded in a metaphysics of the ‘five great Elements’ (Devanāgarī: [महा] पञ्चभूत; earth, water,fire, air and ether)—all of which compose the Universe, including the human body.  Ayurveda stresses a balance of three Humors or Energies: vata (wind/air), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm). According to Ayurveda, these three regulatory principles— Doshas (Devanāgarī: त्रिदोष)—are important for health, because when they are in balanced state, the body is healthy, and when imbalanced, the body has diseases. Ayurveda hold that humans possess a unique combination of Doshas.  Surgery and surgical instruments are employed. It is believed that building a healthy metabolic system, attaining gooddigestion, and proper excretion leads to vitality. Ayurveda also focuses on exercise, yoga, meditation, and massage. Thus, body, mind, and spirit/consciousness need to be addressed both individually and in unison for health to ensue.

Hygiene — also a component of religious virtue to many Indians — is a strong belief. Hygienic living involves regular bathing, cleansing of teeth, skin care, and eye washing. Occasional anointing of the body with oil is also prescribed.

Ayurveda stresses the use of vegetable drugs. Fats are used both for consumption and for external use. Hundreds of vegetable drugs are employed, including cardamom and cinnamon. Some animal products may also be used, for example milk, bones, and gallstones. Minerals, including sulfur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate and gold are also consumed as prescribed. This practice of adding minerals to herbal medicine is known as Rasa Shastra.

The proper function of channels (srotas) that transport fluids from one point to another within the body is seen as vital, and the lack of healthy srotas may lead to disease and insanity. Sushruta identifies that blockages of these channels may lead to rheumatism, epilepsy, paralysis, and convulsions as fluids and channels are diverted from their ideal locations. Sweating is used as a means to open up the channels and dilute the Doshas causing the blockages and harming a patient.  A number of ways to take steam bathing and other steam related cures are recommended so that toxins are released.

Source: Ayurveda, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ayurveda&oldid=335654054 (last visited Jan. 3, 2010).

Additional Reading: Holistic Online: Ayurveda