What is Ayurveda?

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda in Sanskrist means the “Science of Life”. It is a medical system that originated in India thousands of years ago.

I follow Ayurvedic philosophy that maintains that people are born with a specific constitution called prakruti. Throughout life, while one’s prakruti remains the same, it is constantly influenced by various internal, external, and environmental factors like changing seasons, diet and lifestyle which cause imbalances that are called vikruti. To be healthy is to restore balance back to prakruti.

We will work together to restore balance and maintain health through positive lifestyle changes, daily and seasonal regimens as well as food and herb recommendations tailored to your unique constitution and current imbalances. We aim to identify and address the root cause of your concerns while creating comfort and ease using mind and body techniques like pranayama, yoga, meditation and mindfulness. 

What is mindfulness?

According to Zen Master Thick Nhat Hanh, mindfulness is to be aware of what is going on. So, whether it is breathing, sitting, eating, talking, walking or any other activity in which you engage at any given moment, if you are aware of that activity when it is happening then this is called mindfulness of that particular activity.

Most of us seldom pay attention to what or how we are engaging in a particular activity and that contributes to our imbalances. For example, let’s take eating. If we use mindfulness of eating and eat with gratitude in a calm atmosphere while paying attention to the food we are eating then this would support our Ayurvedic practices since digestion is at the root of many imbalances.

Mindfulness is similar to the concept of “moment to moment awareness” that Dr Vasant Lad teaches.

Gratitude of Eating by Thick Nhat Hanh.

“The food we eat comes to us from nature,

from living beings and from the cosmos.

To touch it with our mindfulness 

is to show our gratitude”.