What
is Ayurved
What
is unique about Ayurveda
Origin of Ayurveda
Physiology
Doshas
Dhatus Malas
Samprapti,
the Disease Process(Pathology)
Pharmacology
What is Ayrveda? Ayurveda literally
means "science of life and longevity."
and is considered to be the traditional
system of medicine of India.
Ayurveda is a science in the sense
that it is a complete system. It is
a qualitative, holistic science of
health and longevity, a philosophy
and system of healing the whole person,
body and mind.
The origin of this system goes back
to a far past, in which philosophy
and medicine were not separated. Therefore,
philosophical views have strongly
influenced the Ayurvedic way of thinking.
What is unique about Ayurveda?
There are several aspects to Ayurveda that are quite unique: Ayurveda offers reference points
for managing treatment decisions specific
to each case. Ayurvedic theory is
profoundly useful in analysing
individual patient constitution and
understanding variations in disease
manifestation.
The Ayurvedic framework can be used
to structure working models of the
unique state of each patient, and
to project a vision or goal for a
whole state of health, again unique
to each case.
Ayurveda offers specific recommendations
to each individual on lifestyle, diet,
exercise and yoga, herbal therapy,
and even spiritual practices to restore
and maintain balance in body and mind.
Ayurveda sees a strong connection
between the mind and the body, a huge
amount of information is available
regarding this relationship.
This understanding that we are all
unique individuals enables Ayurveda
to address not only specific health
concerns but also offers explanation
as to why one person responds differently
than another.
Origin
of Ayurveda
Historians have not pin-pointed the
exact time Ayurveda came into being.
Most agree that Ayurvedic classical
texts were written in India between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago, though some suggest an even longer history.
Legend
The
origins of this system of course are
lost in time. In legend it is said
to have been taught by the creator,
Brahma, to the Prajapati
Daksha.
(One of the lords of the animals)
who taught it in turn to the divine
twins called the Ashwinikumars.
Ashwinikumars are the heavenly healers. They taught Indra,
the chief of the shining ones. The
personages mentioned were deities
of early Vedic times. When mankind
started suffering from various diseases
the wise men like Bharadvaja
learnt from Indra
the knowledge of medicine. Gradually
the huge amount of knowledge accumulated
was divided systematically into different
branches.
Physiology
All matter is thought to he composed
of five basic elements ( panchamahabhutas
) which exhibit the properties
of earth (prithvi),
water (jala),
fire (tejas),
wind (vayu)
and space (akasha).
These elements do not exist in isolated
forms, but always in a combination,
in which one or more elements dominate.
According to Ayurveda, the human body
is composed of derivatives of the
five basic elements, in the form of
doshas, tissues (dhatus)
and waste products (malas).
Doshas
Doshas : The most fundamental and characteristic principle of Ayurveda is called
"tridosha"
or the Three Humours.Doshas
are the physiological factors of the
body. They are to be seen as all pervasive,
subtle entities, and are categorized
into vata,
pitta and
kapha. Vata regulates movement and is represented by the nervous
system. Pitta
is the principle of biotransformation
and is the cause of all metabolic
processes in the body. Kapha is the principle of cohesion and functions through
the body fluids. Together, these three
doshas determine
the physiologic constitution of an
individual.
Dhatus : the tissues are classified into seven categories: plasma,
blood cells, muscular tissue, adipose
tissue, bony tissue, bone marrow and
the reproductive tissue.
Malas: three main waste products are urine, faeces and sweat.
For
the metabolic processes in the body,
there are three main groups of biological
factors, probably exhibiting enzymatic
functions (agnis).
Jatharagni
is responsible for the digestion
and the absorption of nutritious substances
During this process, digestion takes
place in three stages: first the digestion
of sweet (madhura)
and salty (lavana) nutrients, then the digestion of sour (amla) nutrients, and finally the digestion of sharp (tikta), bitter (katu) and astringent
(kasaya)
nutrients. The respective products
of these three stages are sweet, sour
and sharp.
Panchabhutagni : containing five types of biological factors, is responsible
for the processing of the five basic
elements into a composition useful
to the body.
Dhatvagnis: The third group contains seven types, each for the
assimilation of the seven tissues
This assimilation takes place successively.
From the absorbed nutritious substance,
plasma (rasa)
is produced first; from plasma, blood
(rakta)
is formed, then muscular tissue (mamsa),
adipose tissue (meda),
bony tissue (asthi), bone marrow (majjan)
and the reproductive cells (shukra).
Samprapti, the Disease Process(Pathology)
Under normal conditions, the doshas,
dhatus and malas correspond
to certain standards regarding their
quantity, quality and function. However,
this situation is not static, and
due to several endogenous and erogenous
factors, the doshas
may become unbalanced, resulting in
disease. Every disease is related
to an imbalance of the doshas.
Other coherent factors can be: the
disturbance of the biological factors
(agnis), the formation and accumulation of undigested
nutrients (ama),
obstruction of the body channels (shrotorodha),
and a disturbed assimilation in the
tissues.
Ayurveda gives us a model to look
at each individual as a unique makeup
of the three doshas
(Prakruti)
and thereby design treatment protocols
that specifically address a persons
health challenges. When any of the
doshas ( Vata, Pitta or Kapha ) become imbalance,
Ayurveda will suggest specific lifestyle
and nutritional guidelines to assist
the individual in reducing or increasing
the doshas
that has become imbalance. If toxins
in the body are abundant, then a cleansing
process known as Pancha
Karma is recommended to eliminate
these unwanted toxins.
Few
Examples:
Obesity:
mainly due to absence of physical activity.
Other causes may be sleeping during
the day, intake of Kapha
- increasing foods, finally results
in the accumulation of fat. These
block the channels of nutrition. This
blocking causes an increase in hunger
because the body does not get nutrition.
Rheumatism: Eating foods which are incompatible, lack of physical exercise in general,
doing exercise particularly after
eating fatty foods , incorrect use
of purgatives, causes improper digestion.
The half digested food called Ama associates itself with Vata
and moves about. It fills the seats
of kapha,
and blocks the transport channels
of the body. This blocking of channels
produces weakness of the heart, which
is the seat of the disease. This results
in loss of strength, feeling of heaviness,
stiffness of the body , and small
and big joints alike.
Indigestion/dyspepsia:
Taking
excess of water, taking small/large
quantities of food at odd times, suppression
of the natural functions of the body,
loss of sleep at night and sleeping
during the daytime, causes gastric
fire (Jatharagni)
responsible for the digestion and
the absorption of nutritious substances
weak.
Skin
problems: Are often due to imbalances in Pitta
dosha & rakta dhatu. This is caused by excessive exposure to sunlight,
taking foods which are pungent, hot
and alkaline.
Pharmacology
The materia
medica of
the Ayurveda, composed of the five
basic elements, has been categorized
according to the derivatives of these
elements. They include: taste (rasa),
potency (virya), taste of the digestion product (vipaka), properties (guna),
specific properties (prabhava)
and action (karman).
Taste (rasa)
is six fold: sweet (madhura),
sour (amla),
salty (lavana),
sharp (tikta),
bitter (katu)
and astringent (kasaya).
Each taste is composed of two of the
five elements. The condition of the
food substances after digestion is
also expressed in terms of taste (vipaka),
however it can only be sweet, sour
or sharp.
The properties (guna),
are grouped in 10 pairs, each one
complementary to the other: heavy
and light, cold and hot, fat and dry,
slow and sharp, stable and labile,
soft and hard, clear and slimy, smooth
and raw, fine and massive and viscous
and liquid.
The potency (virya)
of a drug is defined as its capability
to express its property. Sometimes,
potency is grouped in the same way
as the property, but for practical
reasons, it is usually expressed in
terms of hot (ushna)
and cold (shita).
The specific property (prabhava) distinguishes two drugs that have the same
taste, taste after digestion and potency.
This might be due to the composition
of the drug or the location in the
body where the drug acts.
Finally the action (karman) of a drug on the body is expressed in terms
of the three doshas.
A drug can increase or decrease the
vata dosha,
the pitta dosha and the kapha dosha.
The drugs used in Ayurveda are made
by several processes from vegetable
and mineral raw materials. Mostly
plant alkaloids are the active ingredients.
Obviously barring some chemical changes
it is mostly natural deviates.
We hope that you will continue to
explore Ayurveda to enhance your health
and to gain further insights into
this miracle we call life.
