If like me you have recently started seeing the word Ayurveda everywhere, you may wonder what exactly it is.

There is Ayurveda Yoga, there are Ayurvedic beauty treatments and there are Ayurverdic diets to name just a few wellness techniques.

Lets start with what the word actually means.

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word meaning “Life Knowledge” or even “The Science of life”

Ayur= ‘Life’

Verda = ‘Science/Knowledge’

 

It derives from India and Hinduism, and there is some debate that the concept may have been around since pre-historic times.

Classical Ayurvedic texts centre around medical knowledge being passed down from God, to wise men/medicine women, and then to actual medical doctors.

It is basically a recipe for living life well through the balancing of your own individual energetic nature.

I am familiar with the astrological concepts of earth, air, fire and water, but Ayurveda is about the physical balancing of elements within our bodies.

Deepak Chopra describes the two main features of Ayurveda as being:

“The two main guiding principles of Ayurveda are 1) the mind and the body are inextricably connected, and 2) nothing has more power to heal and transform the body than the mind. Freedom from illness depends upon expanding our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body. This process isn’t as complicated as it may sound. For example, when you meditate you effortlessly enter a state of expanded awareness and inner quiet that refreshes the mind and restores balance. Since the mind and body are inseparable, the body is naturally balanced through the practice of meditation. In the state of restful awareness created through meditation, your heart rate and breath slow, your body decreases the production of “stress” hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, and you increase the production of neurotransmitters that enhance wellbeing, including serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins.”

                                                                                                          Quote : http://www.chopra.com/articles/what-is-ayurveda#sm.0001cjgog5qpefquxfy17dowytops

 

 

Over the next couple of weeks in this blog I will take a look at some of the core principles of Ayurveda in more detail.

Including understanding the three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and how we can use diet and exercise with these principles in mind, to keep us balanced.

 

 

Join me over the next few weeks to reinstate some balance in our lives!

Much love Txx