Ayurveda? Kapha & Co.
Since I am getting more and more questions about this topic along with my last blog post about the retreat I did, I thought why not diving a bit deeper into this mystical world of Ayurveda and bringing to light what it actually is: a natural way of living.
The idea behind Ayurveda
Ayurveda is composed of two Sanskrit words „ A y u s ” meaning „ L i f e “ and „ V e d a “ meaning
„ S i e n c e ” which in context means The Science of Life. With 5,000 years old scriptures Ayurveda is known as India`s most ancient healing system.
The goal of Ayurveda is to lead to a long healthy and happy life.
Ayurveda is also called “the mother of all healing.” According to scholars this ancient system is the foundation of all other alternative healing methods — since also Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM ) makes usage of the same elemental principles evolved from Ayurveda.
Ayurveda called ” Science of Life “.
Ayurveda also got more and more popular in the West since Deepak Chopra, a medical doctor from India started to blend traditional Ayurveda together with modern medicine. He has written plenty of books, lots of them made it to the bestseller list and definitely worth reading! He is as well the founder of the Chopra Center in Carlsbad California where I had my very first real experience in Ayurveda and Yoga.
The sense behind this practice is to unite body mind and spirit to attain optimum health. Which means creating a balance between all aspects of our life while including emotional and environmental issues and activating so the bodies own ability to heal.
Ayurveda assigns all the energy in the world and brings it down to five primal elements:
EARTH – WATER – FIRE – AIR – ETHER
So all diagnoses are based on those 3 energetic types called Doshas. These doshas are characterized by factors as temperature, moisture, weight and texture.
Discovering the Doshas
K A P H A
Elements: WATER and EARTH
Maintains: structural solidity in the body, forms connective and musculoskeletal tissues
Qualities: wet, oily, cold, heavy, slow, stable, chronic
Organ: stomach
P I T T A
Elements: FIRE and WATER
Maintains: digestive and glandular system, body heat and metabolism
Qualities: wet, oily, hot, light, intense, acute
Organs: small intestine
V A T A
Element: ETHER and AIR
Maintains: movement in the body, respiration and joint mobility
Qualities: dry, cold, light and irregular
Organs: large intestine
From the Ayurvedic point of view, a disease is defined as an imbalance of all three doshas.
Finding your Prakriti (true nature)
Each and everyone carries all three parts of the doshas within, its the balance of each single dosha which makes every body type so individual. A person’s born constitution depends therefore mainly on the doshas of the parents and the situation they were in at the time of procreation. Knowing that every action affect has an impact on the balance of the doshas and that they are constantly changing (ebbing and flowing) but the born predominant dosha most likely overpowers the other two at the end.
The Six Tastes of Ayurveda
A proper diet according to your Type is the foundation of Health. Ayurveda recognizes that and is convinced that everyone is unique and therefore needs an individual diet.
To achieve balance the diet for treating each dosha will have the opposite characteristics of the dosha that is dominating and causing your problems.
For example: If your constitution is active with a good digestion but tend to have oily skin which leads to acne you might be a Pitta Typ. Which means reducing the heat in your body by avoiding foods which are hot, spicy or too sweet. Instead consuming a variety of food which having a cooling and mild effect on your body.
Kitchen Herb Alphabet
Anis the spice which reminds us most about Christmas. Used as a pain reliever and source for all B-complex vitamins.
Cardamom is the one that gives your Chai Tea real note. It calms down, benefits hyperacidity, reduces nausea and cleanse the mouth and is therefore part in every indian mouth freshener.
Cayenne Pepper winds up the digestion and helps to speed up recovery from muscle pain.
Cinnamon stimulates the brain function and fat burning process while regulating the blood sugar.
Cloves. Oil made from cloves provide powerful anesthetic properties which help to relieve pain associated with muscle strains and swellings as well toothache.
Cumin. This herb aids digestion and removes toxins stored in the body. Cumin seeds also help if you are suffering from diarrhea.
Fennel contains anti-inflammatory active ingredients and are often used to fight gastritis. Rich in vitamin C, potassium, manganese, iron and fiber.
Ginger one of the best ways to get ginger into your diet is by making tea out of the root. Ginger is known as an anti-inflammatory and immune booster.
Holy Basil also called Tulsi has many antioxidant properties. It protects from colds and respiratory issues.
Turmeric also called Curcuma is related to ginger but less spicy. A very orange and powerful weapon you definitely want to stock your kitchen with. The power ingredient which makes turmeric so effective is called curcumin and is the most anti-inflammatory substance ever found in food and is even stronger than cortisone. Turmeric is a potent antioxidant, a blood detoxifier and a cholesterol balancer and even kills parasites. It effectively treats arthritis, ulcers and toothaches. It stimulates the appetite and helps to boost the immune system. Turmeric can also be applied externally against all kinds of itching or process of wound healing and is so THE thing to go if you are suffering from any kind of skin disease like Acne.
Taste directly affects our nervous system through the the energy, called Prana, Chi or life force. Ayurveda tries to always make usage of all six tastes like sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter and astringent.
Ayurvedic Products
Here are some companies I know which sell a good quality of Ayurvedic remedies. I personally use the products of Himalaya since they are affordable for daily use and easy to get here in Malaysia. Next to there main store in Gurney Plaza Mall they offer there products in nearly every bigger Pharmacy.
For my friends in Austria the Maharishi products are available on Vitalabo and even on Amazon.
Banyan Botanicals is a brand from the US and my personal favorite since the products are fully certified as organic. But therefore also more expensive.
It`s difficult to summarize a topic which spreads so widely on all certain areas of our life! But I tried to break it down as basic as possible.
L O V E & H E A L I N G
L i s a
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