Understanding Ayurveda and Medical System

Literally the Life Science, Ayurveda is among the oldest holistic systems of the medical profession. While the conventional Western system chooses to focus on illness and disease, the Ayurveda system, as presented by the various Ayurvedic Academies, follows a very different path. It concentrates on the whole person. It draws upon the wisdom of the sages to address the causal factors in a very different way.

Ayurvedic Medicine

The philosophy behind Ayurvedic medicine is holistic in nature. It sees all living beings as being an inseparable entity of interconnected components. The whole being consists of the body, the spirit, the mind. Acting upon it are diverse external and internal forces. These include, but are not restricted to:

• Thoughts
• Feelings and emotions
• Climate
• Weather
• Seasonal changes
• Lifestyle
• Diet
• Exercise

They all influence the delicate balance or harmony of our body types. Ayurvedic medicine strives to restore the natural state of balance within the human entity. In doing so, they reduce the risk of any manifestations of this energy imbalance such as physical and mental illness.

Forms of Treatment

Courses taught at various levels at the Ayurvedic Academy in Kerala provide information on the different types of treatment. Depending upon the circumstances, the treatment may include elements of the following approaches to achieving balance. These are:

• Altering everyday habits
• Instituting the right diet or nutrition
• Employing specific herbs – these like Western medicine, varies in accordance with the health problem
• Recommending Ayurvedic massage, e.g. concentrating on the affected Marma points of the body
• Adopting a meditation practice
• Taking up yoga

In fact, the practice of Ayurveda medicine can and does encompass all of the above. It is holistic in nature and addresses the body accordingly.

To become thoroughly versed in all aspects, students at the Ayurvedic Academy study Ayurvedic principles and practices of nutrition and cooking (ahara vigyan) and learn theoretical and practical herbology. This includes identification, growing, preparation and application of herbs. Other courses provide the students with the information they need to arrive at a full understanding of Ayurveda and its relationship to medicine. As a student advances, the work becomes more intense and the practical aspect of the work is of greater importance.

Yet, no matter what level a person takes an understanding of Ayurveda that consistently emerges lies at the heart of its nature. Ayurvedic Academy in Kerala, and other places of learning of this nature, open up the self and let a light shine within. In doing so, they help them look at the broader context of the relationship between and causes that create and affect everyone’s physical, psychological and spiritual condition. By doing so, Ayurveda lead it students into a place of awareness of the interconnectivity between everything. This can produce a tranquility that can, in turn lead to greater awareness or consciousness.