Ayurveda and Today

Our diet and lifestyle has changed due to globalization and modernization in the past few decades. We all have moved majorly from being a farmer to techies; from open fields to enclosed offices / factories; hard physical labour to hard core mental work; we are hardly physically active like the hunter-gatherers / farmers and restricted our muscles and joints to our office desk and chair; we replaced our diet from local grown fresh food to imported / unseasonal food, food with is stored, freeze and pumped with preservatives / food from the industries, etc; from being social animal to isolated souls. Currently, we are not as physically active as our ancestors; pumping our body with unknown chemicals; constantly exposing our eyes to the computer and mobile screens and radiations; isolating ourselves from our family, friends and neighbours; from a social life to mechanical life. These rapid changes in life are the primary cause of various lifestyle diseases like Diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiac disorders; psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings and genetic disorders like cancer.

So now how do we help ourselves out of this mess?

• We need to change our diet according to our lifestyle.
• Eat more fibre rich diet, preferably home / locally grown fruits and vegetables, meat, etc. 
• Avoid using chemicals on the skin, food, etc. Try to live more natural. Stick to a routine in life, with regular physical exercise like jogging, swimming or some sort of sports.
• Try and make efforts and socialise with people around. Try and be nice to people around you. Have a more satvik lifestyle and diet.
• Attend all the health related concerns immediately including minor gastrointestinal disorders.
• Undergo regular detox therapy to remove all the unwanted toxins accumulated in the body. We accumulate toxins (eg. free radicals, etc) as by-products as part of metabolism, which can be eliminated by detoxification. 
• Have principles in life and stick to it. Be good do good.

Ayurvedic Texts dating back to 3000 yr ago describes about principles of life, physiology of the body in terms of three doshas (vata, pitta, kapha), describes etiopathology of almost all the diseases and their treatment and certain surgical procedures. Ancient India had trained ancient scholarly surgeons like Sushruta. He is praised till date for his Rhinoplasty a grafting technique. Ayurveda believes certain food and lifestyle are responsible for a disease. Thus, Treatment is not just herbal concoctions and therapies or surgery but also emphasis is given to diet and lifestyle.

About Ayurveda

Ayurveda is the oldest system of life science known to mankind with the main focus being Healthcare. Ayurvedic principles evolved in Indian subcontinent about 5000 yr ago. It is not only a system of medicine but also lifestyle. Ayurveda views each person as unique with individual needs. We may all be human but we have slightly different physiologies and emotional tendencies. Ayurveda teaches that for this reason, each person's path toward optimal health is also unique. Yoga is one of the branches of Ayurveda, which is therapeutic as well as lifestyle. Ayurveda and Yoga are based on the same principles and philosophies followed in the ancient Hindu Kingdoms. Ayurveda / Yogic principals are based on the belief that following the right way of living leads to healthy ageing and prevents various diseases.

Ayurveda is based on proto science and ancient Hindu philosophy. It’s a compilation of observation of day-to-day activities of life (be it man, animal or plant) blended with Hindu philosophy by various Ancient Indian Scholars. It is the longest longitudinal human study available to mankind. Some basic concepts of Ayurveda can be found in scripts from Rig Veda (c.a. 5000 BC) and more so in Atherva Veda (c.a 3000 BC). Ayurveda mentions about how a primordial life evolved on earth?; what is the aims of human life?; How to attain those goals? How to live a healthy life in order to attain those goals? As in prevention of disease and treatment of diseases and live enough to attain those goals. Its nothing but mathematics of life, how much good or bad ones does in his lifetime, everything counts towards attaining salvation. Thus, emphasis is given on sadvritta (healthy behaviour). Bringing in balance between the mind, body and spirit.

Ayurveda believes in the theory of 5 elements or 3 Doshas (biological energies). i.e., Any life on earth is a combination of the essence of 5 elements viz. fire, water, earth, air and cosmic energy. The combination of air and cosmic energy forms Vata Dosha, the combination of fire and water forms Pitta Dosha, the combination of earth and water forms Kapha Dosha. Thus, a man or a unicellular organism is made up of these three Doshas. 

Ideally all the three Doshas are supposed to be in balance in all the living being. But in reality dynamics of these changed based on the time, season, location, mood of the parent, etc. during conception and one may be having one of the Doshas predominant than the other. Thus, a person could have one of two Dosha predominating the other naturally, which is natural to him like his fingerprint / genes, which is called Dosha Prakruti (Normal body constitution / phenotype) of a person. The entire population is divided into seven groups / Dosha Prakruti and a specific diet and lifestyle is prescribed accordingly. A person inherently having all the three Doshas in equilibrium is considered to be healthier than the others. He can get away with eat any food and activity and yet may live a healthy long life. Thus, people with one of the Dosha type being predominant than other others need to be careful in their life and need to avoid certain food and activities to live healthy. 

Apart from one's natural Dosha type a person can accumulate either excess of Vata, Pitta or Kapha Dosha, which may lead to discomfort or later on disease called as Vikriti. The balance / equilibrium between these three Doshas have to be maintained to stay healthy. Detox Therapy helps in removing these excessively accumulated Doshas / toxins. These abnormal Doshas are nothing but free radicals, certain metabolites, etc. which accumulate in our body due to our day-to-day activities.  

The primary Principle of Ayurveda is “Rejuvenate, Preserve the Health of the Healthy and Alleviate the Diseases of the Sick”. Apart form addressing treatment to various diseases it also addresses prevention of disease and rejuvenation. Therefore, Importance is given to Rejuvenation from as early as birth. Ayurvedic version of Rejuvenation is not just about skin ageing but about having strong bones and joints, nervous system and specifically the GI system (or a healthy body and mind) so one can lead a quality life like a 20 yr old at old age. Ayurvedic treatments are having better rate of success and lesser side effects as its based on the individualistic approach and are mainly herb based medicines and therapies.