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Ayurveda – the science of nourishing and balancing body and mind

Edited: July 31, 2018

Thousands of years before modern medicine provided ‘scientific evidence’ for the mind-body connection, the healers of the ancient world understood the importance of nourishing and balancing both the physical body and the psyche (mind) in the treatment of illness.

The Greeks, acknowledged as forefathers of modern Western medicine, observed that despite our individual differences, human beings tend to fall into distinct physical and psychic categories corresponding to the four elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

At the same time the Chinese sages recognised 5 elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water – acknowledging the endless cycle which they explained thus:

Wood feeds Fire.

Fire creates Earth (ash)

Earth bears Metal.

Metal collects Water.

Water nourishes Wood.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 years ago in India there grew the philosophy of Ayurveda (meaning the science of life). Ayurveda is based on the principle of three doshas or different physiological energies that make up every individual. Just as Greek and Chinese healers and philosophers recognised that we are all different and have different physiological needs, so did the Ayurvedic healers and teachers.

This understanding of the unique role of the elements in our individual make-up was prevalent across both Eastern and Western philosophies until recent times and the advent of modern medicine and the introduction of ‘Patent Medicines’ as a commercial, profitable enterprise.

Ayurveda is the essence of the holistic approach to health. In Ayurveda, every individual is unique and for each person there is a diet or lifestyle routine that works. Prevention is key to the Ayurvedic approach. By understanding what our body needs, we can optimise our physical and mental health. Eating well according to our physical needs, exercising or moving in the right way and learning how to reduce stress – these are the foundation of Ayurveda.

Ancient and traditional medicine relied on the observation of individuals within close communities. People were not merely statistics or consumers of commercial products. Somehow we are losing the knowledge of thousands of years of observation in the name of ‘science’.

Science is absolutely the way forward – but a thousand years of acute observation is also science.