What is Ayurveda?

‘What is Ayurveda?’ When people ask me this question, I can’t help but smile. It’s an inevitable question, but one that still makes me stumble sometimes, even after having studied Ayurveda for a year. How can you explain something so obvious yet so profound? It’s like trying to explain life in just a few words. But in this article, I will do my best to clarify what Ayurveda is and how it can change your life.

Ayurveda is a holistic system of well-being developed in India more than 5,000 years ago. The literal translation of ‘ayur’ is 'life' and ‘veda’ is 'knowledge’. Ayurveda is the knowledge of life or the knowledge of how to maintain health in daily life and therefore support longevity. Its goal is to achieve health by working towards balance and harmony by helping people get in sync with nature and flourish in an ever-changing environment.

-Dr. Vasant Lad

Ayurveda is not just a way of thinking or a strict approach - it’s a way of living. There’s no such thing as ‘Ayurvedic food’ or ‘Ayurvedic medicine’. The underlying spirit of Ayurveda is that you can use the whole Universe to reach a certain result.

A rule of thumb is to maintain good digestion. Achieving and maintaining a lively digestive fire (called Agni in Ayurveda) is the key to good health. Knowing how the digestive system functions and how to keep it bright and happy, helped me tremendously in feeling good and healthy and is what drew me to Ayurveda in the first place.

But Ayurveda isn’t about only doing this or not doing that, there’s no right or wrong. There’s no strict rules or judgements. It’s a fluid dance and it’s up to you to take the lead. How? Well, for starters, by understanding the uniqueness of you as an individual.

-Sebastian Pole (co-founder of Pukka) in an interview with Jasmine Hemsley

Ayurveda is extremely personal Ayurveda bases its health advice on your personal mind-body type, called a “Dosha”. So for those who are new to Ayurveda the most intriguing question often is: ‘Which Dosha am I? What type am I? What does this say about my health?’ Yes, we are all human beings with two ears and two lovely butt cheeks, but the Ayurvedic system is based on the philosophy that every individual has their own unique constitution. That’s where the more familiar term ‘Doshas’ (energies) come in—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Your Dosha is your own unique blueprint or DNA code outlining the innate tendencies that have been built into your system.

The Doshas represent the five nature elements (Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth) and their actions. Vata (air + ether) is movement, Pitta (fire + air) is transformation and Kapha (earth + water) is building block material. These elements are expressed in the form of a person's body type, mental activity, emotional tendencies, and physiological functions. Balance within these three fundamental doshas leads to optimal health and well-being; an imbalance will cause complaints or diseases.

For example, someone with a lot of fire (Pitta) suffers more often from acid reflux and skin problems while someone with too much earth (Kapha) is more prone to weight gain and heaviness in the mind. By recognizing and knowing how to influence this complex interaction of inner-energies, your health can be balanced and restored. That’s why, in Ayurveda, therapy is tailored to an individual’s physiology. Individualized medicine is one of the core principles.

-Dr. Vijith Sasidha

Where’s your head at If we look at the Vedas - the Indian scriptures on spirituality and life - they describe what modern medicine is just beginning to grasp: that the mind has a very powerful influence on our overall health and well-being. According to Ayurveda, perfect health is a delicate balance between body, mind, soul, and the senses. They cannot be separated. You can brush your teeth with Triphala and be a star at oil pulling, but what about cleaning out the dusty corners of your mind? As our teacher Victoria Hyndman would say, ‘What’s going on in the living room of the mind?’ That’s why, the core concepts of Ayurveda emphasize the view of the mind, consciousness, and spiritual practices like yoga, meditation, and mantra.

Okay, but it seems impossible to integrate Ayurveda into a Western lifestyle… In the beginning, it can feel like A LOT. Trust me, I’ve been there too. But it’s all about integrating a few principles slowly, one step at the time. Once you understand the basic principles, it’s all about making it your own. As our teacher, Kirsten Drooger explains: ‘Ayurveda is a living thing. It cannot be very rigid. Find a way how it fits into your life.’

One of the best ways to do so is looking at your Dinacharya, a suggested routine of morning and nighttime practices. One of my favourite practices is waking up by 5:30 every morning so I start the day energized and uplifted (yes, I know how strange this can sound). Tongue scraping and Abhyanga (applying warm oil to the body) have also become hugely helpful practices for me. I also recommend making lunch the biggest meal of the day, spicing up your dinner plate, and taking it easy (as a Pitta Dosha, I have the tendency to push myself a lot, but Ayurveda reminds me not to force myself to go to an Ashtanga yoga class when I’m already stressed or overworked).

-Jasmine Hemsley

And that’s the core message. Ayurveda is not a secret health code that needs to be cracked. It’s already inside of you, with every breath and every move. It’s the language of life, of your own body. An itch is telling you something. Pain is telling you something. Fatigue is telling you something. Redness in the skin is telling you something. Those popping joints you hear in your yoga practice are telling you something. Let's start listening to our bodies and communicating with them. In return, you will feel freedom and empowerment in your own health and wellbeing.

This blog was written by a student in our Ayurveda Practitioner Studies degree programme. If you are interested in becoming an Ayurveda Practitioner or want to deepen your professional knowledge, skills, and experience in the field of Ayurveda - see our website here.