What is ayurveda ?

Ayurveda written in Sanskrit

Internationally recognized medicine

Ayurveda has been recognized since 1982 by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a traditional health system. However, only a minority of countries recognize the practice of Ayurveda. It’s the case of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritania, South Africa, Austria, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. But what is Ayurveda ?

In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, the word ayus means life or health and veda means science or knowledge. Ayurveda can be translated as science of life or knowledge of life.

A brief history of Ayurveda

Historians are not all unanimous as to the date of birth of Ayurveda. For some, its roots date back to 5,000 BC. For others -10,000 years ago. Originally, this knowledge was transmitted orally from masters to disciplines. We had to wait until the beginning of the Christian era to find the first writings which founded Ayurveda as it is still practiced today. These first three founding texts are the Charaka Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Ashtanga Hrdayam. They will subsequently be supplemented by three other texts : Sharangdhara Samhita, Madhava Nidana and Bhava Prakasha.

Even if there are disagreements among historians regarding the exact dates of the founding texts, the fact remains that Ayurveda is one of the oldest medicines, if not the oldest.

During this period BC, Ayurveda had a considerable influence on the medicines practiced by the civilizations of the time. We find traces of Ayurveda in certain Asian countries such as Tibet, China (Chinese medicine), Indochina, Indonesia and even as far as Europe in Greek and Roman medicine.

This is why Ayurveda is considered the mother of traditional medicines and the grandmother of modern medicines by historians.

The main principles of ayurveda

Ayurveda is above all an allopathic medicine. This medicine was inspired by the functioning of nature, the external world, to derive principles applicable to man.

Thus the 5 elements (mahabhutas) which are air, water, fire, earth and ether (space) serve as the basis of Ayurveda. They make up the world around us, the seasons, the foods and also each individual. Each human being is composed of these elements in different proportions. This is what we call our dosha, our energy, which is unique to us. There are three of these doshas. Vata, the energy of movement, is composed of air and ether. Pitta, the energy of transformation, is composed of fire and water. Kapha, the dosha of consolidation, is made up of earth and water. It is essential to know your dosha, in Ayurveda, to know yourself better and adapt your lifestyle to your nature. This healthy lifestyle is necessary to maintain our good health. Otherwise, we may be led to an imbalance contributing to the appearance of the disease.

The doshas work closely with the dhatus which are the tissues of the human body. Ayurveda counts 7. These are the nourishing liquid (rasa), the blood (rakta), the muscular tissue covering our body (mamsa), the fatty tissue (medas), the bones and cartilage (asthi), bone marrow (majja) and reproductive tissue (shoukra). Their proper functioning is essential to our good health. An unbalanced dosha and bad tissue are considered to contribute to the formation of disease.

Finally, the body's channels called shrotas are 16 in number and allow the circulation of the doshas in the body. An imbalance in a dosha will materialize in one or more channels and lead to the appearance of the disease.

In Ayurveda, all these elements are linked and must be studied together in order to understand the appearance of a disease.

Philosophy and spirituality

Furthermore, Ayurveda is not only interested in the physical body of the individual, it takes into account the individual as a whole, therefore his body, his mind, his emotions and his soul. This is a quite different aspect of modern medicine. Ayurveda is therefore more than medicine since it also has a philosophical and spiritual component. It is considered fundamental to find a balance between body, mind and soul to be healthy.

Spirituality has a very important place in Ayurveda. Each individual must understand and be in tune with their dharma (their life mission) and give themselves all the necessary means to achieve it (artha) to find their driving force and pleasure in their life (kama) in order to achieve liberation (moksha).

Therapeutic tools of Ayurveda

Ayurveda uses different therapeutic tools. Among them, we find diet, plants, Ayurvedic massages, Ayurvedic treatments, yoga, breathing exercises (pranayamas), meditation, mantras.

Unlike modern medicine, the Ayurveda approach is intended to be preventative. Thus, these tools are intended to be used on a daily basis in order to prevent the onset of the disease. In case of illness, they are also used to treat existing imbalances.

And you, have you ever heard of Ayurveda ?