Ayurveda (An Overview)

Ayurveda is thousands of years old science, which is not only about treating a disease but also teaches us a way to live a life which will help us in preventing many health issues as well. Many ayurvedic vaids and saints such as Maharishi Charak, Maharishi Vagbhata, Maharishi Patanjali have documented this science in their respective books. I have read many of these ancient books and earned some precious knowledge of Ayurveda. For this article, it would be better to focus on understanding the ways how Ayurveda aims to treat diseases naturally and without any side effects. Ayurveda explains the concept of Tridosha – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata is responsible for governing our bones, nervous system and the adaptability of our mind and physical body. Pitta is responsible for the metabolism and digestion of our body as it mainly represents the fire element of our body. Lastly, Kapha is responsible for lubrication and stability of our physical body mainly. The way of treating diseases through ayurveda mainly revolves around these three doshas of our body. If the three of them stay balanced, the body would be fit, healthy and active. On the other hand, even if one of these doshas get imbalanced, it can become a cause of many diseases. Let’s understand this by focusing on some examples. If Vata dosha imbalance, it can result in extreme dryness, disturbed digestion and result in diseases such as constipation, weakness, arthritis etc. For example, the “scientific” reason behind a person having Arthritis is explained as the degeneration of cartilages in our body. Ayurveda explains the same but in a more detailed way. Since Vata dosha increases dryness in our body, it results in dryness of cartilages because they are made from fats and fluid and if these fluids decrease in our body, the result in vata dosha and dryness causing cartilages to degenerate. However, unlike Allopathy, Ayurveda can treat “Arthritis” by simply balancing the Vata Dosha which is the root cause of this problem. Just like this, each disease of the body can be treated by balancing the increased dosha in the body which is causing the problem. The balancing of doshas is subjective depending on each of the doshas as all of them represent different characteristics and responsibilities. The number one thing is to follow the correct diet based on the increased dosha in your body. You should avoid eating things that increase the dosha and eat foods which balance the dosha. For example, if Pitta dosha is increased in the body, it mainly means that fire (heat) element is increased in the body. Therefore, one must stop eating spicy foods which increase the heat in the body and instead, increase the intake of foods which balance the heat and cool down the body. The next thing that can be done to fasten the process of treatment is take herbs according to the disease and dosha you have. These herbs are different for everybody and must be taken after consulting with a Certified and Good Ayurvedic Doctor.

Contributor- AyurGyani Randeep Singh