If you’ve never heard of Ayurveda before - no big deal… you’re only about 5,000 years late! Ayurveda is an ancient system of healing that started in India, known as the ‘science of life’, which is all about promoting balance and harmony within the mind, body and spirit, creating holistic wellbeing.
I know it may seem confusing, or perhaps quite ‘wishy washy’, but let me break it down for you:
1. It’s all about balance: Ayurveda explains that everything in life—your diet, emotions, and habits—need to be balanced. Think about it, when you’ve been eating badly, running around, feeling stressed out, your body responds by getting run down and ill. Ayurveda is just about tuning into your body, and adjusting accordingly. Your body is always telling you what it needs. Listen and adjust your routine accordingly—whether it's more sleep, better food, or some self-care.
2. Think wellness, not illness: In today’s modern world, we often define being ‘healthy’ as just the absence of disease. Ayurveda looks far beyond that, to address the real causes of any imbalances happening - and correcting them without medicine or surgery. A good way to think about it is a car - you wouldn’t wait for it to completely break down to take it for an MOT - you keep it oiled, keep air in the tyres, and the engines running. Your body is the same. You need to keep it well through diet, lifestyle, and natural remedies to maintain balance and prevent disease.
3. It’s all linked! Have you ever been to a doctor about one symptom, and then taken 6 months to figure out it was caused by something else all together? In modern medicine, we have specialists for every single part of our body, but this often means we ignore the signs from the whole body. Ayurveda believes in listening to your body as a whole, and to not compartmentalize your symptoms. It looks at individuals holistically to understand the best way to treat and address a problem you may have.
4. You are truly unique: Here’s where it gets clever - we all know we aren’t the same as the person sitting next to us - some people like hot weather, some prefer cold - some people like spicy food, some people like mild - some can fall asleep instantly, the others count sheep to 101! Ayurveda understands this, and explains through ‘Doshas’ - which are the natural energy forces of your body - influencing everything from your digestion to your mood. There are three Doshas; Vata, Pitta and Kapha, and understanding your unique Dosha type helps you to make lifestyle choices that support your natural state and create balance.
5. Food and drink are your medicine: In Ayurveda, ingredients aren’t created in a lab, but on the earth. We know how clever Mother Nature is, creating remedies through natural plants and herbs around us, if you know where to look. What you eat and drink can heal you - whether it’s as simple as Mint tea after too much dessert - or through more powerful herbs - like Ashwagandha, Gotu Kola or Gingko Biloba - which are all widely recognised and used now for their incredible properties as they can help you to relax, energise or even focus.
There’s a reason its been around for thousands of years, it truly is a clever system, and really just a way of life. Incorporating even small Ayurvedic practices in your life can be immensely helpful to balance and calm you - which we all need in this day and age.
We hope this short blog has taught you even a little bit - and if you want to learn more there are countless online resources, and you can even check out more of our blogs and join our Dosha family!
