WHAT AYURVEDA REALLY IS
Ayurveda is the science of LIFE! Ayurveda literally translates to “knowledge of life.” If that’s too broad, then consider it the science of longevity. Everything in Ayurveda rolls up to living as long as is necessary to live long enough to do your purpose — the thing you are supposed to do — the reason you took a birth.
So to ensure we live long enough to do our soul purpose (it’s different for everyone and don’t stress about it, we will talk about that in a future post), Ayurveda embodies a whole-istic approach where mind, body and spirit work in harmony to achieve optimal health. Think of them as a circle, when one is affected, the other two are also affected.
AYURVEDA WOULD RATHER PREVENT THE PROBLEM
Ayurveda’s main focus is disease (or sickness, illness) prevention. Ayurveda can cure disease but it much prefers to prevent it.
Before we end up with a sickness or a disease, we are given clues that the body is not functioning as it should. We might notice subtle physical, mental or emotional changes — Ayurveda pays attention to those! Those signals might as well be arms waving around saying, “Hey hey! We’re experiencing a slight problem in this area!” If we don’t pay attention, we get sicker.
Disease doesn’t come out of nowhere, it takes time to build. We can still get sick when practicing Ayurveda but a) we will get sick much less often b) the sickness won’t last as long and c) you will know enough to uncover the root cause so it doesn’t happen again.
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
We each have different thresholds for stress, hunger, sleep, exercise and so on. None of us look exactly the same so why would we behave the same or need the same things?
Ayurveda plucks us out as individuals and provides a customized approach to health by recognizing we all have different needs. If you think this is refreshing so far, we’re just gettin’ started! Countless people have written to me saying how discovering Ayurveda has brought them to tears (when our heart chakra opens, we can’t help but weep) because finally there is a system that sees and honors their individuality.
AYURVEDA IN REAL LIFE
For example, waking before the sun helps jumpstart our energy and vitality because vata dosha (the energy of movement) is dominant at that time of day. It gives us motion and a little “wind in our sails” first thing in the morning, which helps keep us going all day long.
Another example is eating for who you are, based on your dosha(s) and the season. We are not all the same, and the strength of our digestive fire varies from person to person. Understanding which foods best suit YOU, are easily digestible, and have enough staying power is really important in Ayurveda.
Once you understand what works for you, you get it forever! From there, it’s simply adjusting your foods and the timing of eating. Just by doing that, you can help prevent all kinds of imbalances.
For our purposes, we will stick with the most easy to digest and easy to apply foundations of Ayurveda so that you start using it right away. The faster I can give you wings, the better!
If you seek something different, expect something different.
AYURVEDA IN A NUTSHELL
Truth: Ayurveda invites conscious participation of the patient to make life changes to prevent disease in the first place.
Philosophy:
Mind = awareness
Body = action
Spirit = I am ready to evolve
And this is where Ayurveda gets really fun: figuring out what you need. Your natural tendencies, your strengths, where you tend to get thrown off, and what brings you back into balance.
Start here → Dosha Snapshots: A Simple Introduction to Ayurveda. A free guide to kickstart your Ayurvedic journey
