Happy and healthy with ayurveda, page 1/2
Ayurveda is more than just warm oil treatments
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Ayurveda is the “science of holistic living” and has been practiced for thousands of years by Indian doctors. An ayurveda doctor is trained in many areas. He is a doctor, herbal researcher, scientist, philosopher and therapist. A patient who undergoes an ayurveda treatment learns that healing not only takes place at a physical level but always has to occur on all levels.
The three life energies (doshas): vata, pitta and kapha
All creation is based on the same five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. In bones, for instance, the principal characteristics are from the elements ether and earth, in the nerves, air and in the liver, fire. The three life energies, vata, pitta and kapha, also called doshas, are created out of these five elements.
Characteristics of the vata dosha: Light, dry, flexible, restless, changeable, cold and bitter. The vata dosha represents the power of the wind. It is the most powerful dosha and is responsible for all movement and is thus active throughout the entire body. The body could not function without vata. The heart would not beat; the circulation of blood would cease; nutrients could not be transported to the cells. The vata dosha is located in the rectum and is present in the nerves, skin and bones. The vata dosha, however, also participates in the formation of all illnesses in the body since these can only be spread with its help.
Characteristics of the pitta dosha: Hot, sharp, biting, spicy, oily and sour. The pitta dosha is the power of fire. It is the central control system of our organism’s entire metabolism. The pitta dosha regulates all digestive stages and ensures that energy and warmth can be created out of the nourishment we eat. It is located in the small intestine, as well as in the blood and liver.
Characteristics of the kapha dosha: Damp, cold, heavy, stable, solid, slow and sweet. The kapha dosha is the power of water. Its function is the maintenance and supplying of the body. It seeks growth, strength and stamina with its cooling and calming influence. It protects the body from drying out and from premature aging with its moisture. The kapha dosha is primarily located in the stomach, chest, head area and the joints.
Health and illness
Every person is marked by a very personal combination of the three doshas from birth. This basic combination is the same throughout one’s life. The activity of the three doshas is continually changing, depending on what one drinks and eats, what one thinks and feels, how long one sleeps, what the weather is, and if one is under stress or is meditating. There is nothing that one can do without at least one of the three doshas reacting to this. The doshas are subject to a continuous rise and fall. Problems occur when the innate basic combination of the three doshas is changed permanently.
How to recognize an elevated vata dosha: The vata dosha is elevated by fear, fright, worries and physical stress. Playing sports, fasting, shift work, irregular habits and a lack of sleep also lead to an increase of vata. Spicy and sour foods, as well as cold, dry and frozen food cause an increased vata. An elevated vata dosha is expressed at a physical level by: feeling cold, insomnia, a lack of energy, restlessness, constipation, dizziness, aging of skin, weight loss, persistent and chronic ailments and an increase sensitivity to wind, cold, dryness and changes in the weather.
