What is Ayurvedic medicine?

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

How can Ayurvedic medicine improve your life?

You feel ill because you have just had too much to eat. You feel pain because your body is stiff. You are overweight because you have been eating too much and not exercising. These are all symptoms of an imbalance in your system ? your mind and body are not in sync. How can you get your system back in order, back in balance? You may need to ask: what is Ayurvedic medicine?

What is Ayurvedic Medicine?

The practice of Ayurvedic medicine comes from India and it has its roots in over 5,000 years of practice. The essential characteristic of Ayurvedic medicine is the search for balance between mind and body. The treatments are herbal and dietary.

Doshas

Patients are classified by body types and are determined by proportions of the three doshas: Vatta, Pitta and Kapha. A dosha is a principle of the body-mind.

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Vatta is the basic controlling principle. It is composed of air and space, and it is supposed to control all movement in the mind and body. So it is essential to keep it in good balance. Vata is responsible for blood flow, waste elimination, breathing and mind thoughts. If you have too much Vata you can suffer worries, insomnia, cramps and constipation. But Vata also controls the other two principles, Pitta and Kapha.

Pitta is composed of the elements of fire and water. It governs mind and body heat, metabolism and transformations. Pitta controls food digestion, how we internalize our sensory perceptions, and how we discriminate between right and wrong. Pitta must be kept in balance too. If you have too much it can lead to anger, criticism, ulcers, rashes and thinning hair.

Kapha consists of the elements earth and water. It provides the material for the body’s physical structure. It maintains body resistance and lubricates the joints; provides moisture to the skin; helps to heal wounds; gives biological strength; provides vigor and stability; gives energy to the heart and lungs and maintains immunity; for mental strength is supports memory retention.

Psychologically, Kapha is responsible for emotions of attachment. The ethical values of greed and envy are controlled. It also provides the feelings toward calmness, forgiveness and love. It too can be overdone. Too much Kapha leads to laziness, lethargy and weight gain; congestion and allergies are also a result.
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Ayurvedic Tastes and Medical Practices

There is a therapeutic value that the tastes of foods or herbs provide. They have specific physiological effects. Those tastes that transform the body after digestion are more powerful.

Sweet foods nourish, cool the body and increase weight.

Sour foods warm the body, oil and lubricate, and increase bodily weight.

Salty foods will warm the body, dissolve food, provide stimulation, soften food, oil and lubricate the body, and increase weight.

Bitter foods will cool the body, dry or reduce moisture, purify the system and decrease weight.

Pungent foods warm the body, dry or reduce moisture, stimulate and decrease weight.

Astringent foods cool, dry and reduce the stickiness between organs.

Status in India

In India, Ayurveda is now a recognized medical health system. It exists like other medical systems existing side-by-side with Western-oriented medical systems. The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) governs and recommends policies.