Guest Author - Linda Heywood
Ayurveda is Sanskrit meaning knowledge of long life. Ayurvedic medicine is the original mind-body-soul health system and was first practiced during the Vedic age in India when the oldest Hindu scriptures were composed around 1700 BC.
Ayurveda offers successful ways to be more beautiful and healthy. Working with nature achieves an inner balance and vitality resulting in better skin, healthier hair and a body that weighs in at an ideal weight. We all have the power to heal ourselves, and by integrating Ayurvedic techniques into everyday life it is possible to nurture the inner self and encourage outer beauty.
The fundamentals of Ayurveda are simple. There are five elements from which all is made and three forces that govern everything. When everything is balanced within us we are able to achieve beauty and health.
The five elements:
Air gaseous form of matter.
Space is the expanse in which the air is contained.
Fire is the form of matter for digestion.
Water liquid form of matter.
Earth solid form of matter.
The three forces:
Vata dosha composed of the elements air and space.
Pitta dosha composed of fire and water.
Kapha dosha composed of earth and water.
The five elements are the basic forms in all life and everything is made from infinite combinations and proportions of the elements. The three dosha are governing principles and each has its own set of characteristics arising from the elements of which they are made.
Every person has a combination of all three dosha but usually one of these dosha is more predominate. The unique proportion of the three dosha we are born with is called prakruti or essential nature. No one dosha is better or more desirable than the others and all three are needed to function and sustain health. Prakruti is an ideal state and is always in flux due to influences in our lives. One dosha can become excessive and overwhelm the other two which leads to symptoms characteristic with the inflated dosha leading to poor health.
Ayurveda focuses on regaining the balance between all three doshas. Ayurveda works on the principle of like increases like. If the predominant dosha is overstimulated by food or irregular sleep, even hot or cold weather it will create an imbalance within the whole. The key to good health is maintaining and restoring the balance to your genetic background by correcting the imbalance in the dosha that is bespoke to your essential nature.
Why not try a self-test to determine your unique dosha characteristics in the link below.
Dosha Self Test
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
