What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is a form of holistic medicine that focuses on preventing ill health and promoting balance in the body and mind - it is fundamentally about how to live well. In Ayurveda, health is defined as the well-being of body, mind, and spirit, and all three are integrally related.
I stumbled upon Ayurveda during my Healing Diets Nutrition studies - and felt a sort of ‘coming home’. I had been experimenting with a wholefood plant-based diet for a few years, and couldn’t put my finger on why some foods that were natural and healthy didn’t feel good for my body. Ayurveda introduced me to a different type of science that felt much more intuitive and holistic than a lot of western nutrition sources, which I often found very conflicting.
The principles of Ayurveda date back at least 5,000 years and are unchanging and universal. Ayurveda recognises that the universe is constructed of the five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth, and as a microcosm of the universe, so too is the human body. Each person is born with a unique variation of these elements and so everybody’s constitution, or dominant ‘Dosha’ is different and requires different nutrition considerations.
THE DOSHAS:
VATA: Space and Air - Vata represents movement. Qualities: dry, rough, mobile, subtle, clear, hard.
PITTA: Fire and Water - Pitta represents transformation. Qualities: liquid, sharp, hot, penetrating.
KAPHA: Earth and Water - Kapha represents structure. Qualities: sticky, heavy, dull, static, smooth, dense, large, soft.
Imbalance in our constitution can result in poor health and disease, but we can work with opposite qualities in our lifestyle and nutrition in order to maintain balance. We can often experience imbalance as we move into a new season of the year, when there is an excess of certain elements in our environment. For example, in the autumn season, Vata predominates and can unsettle the mind and body. The Ayurvedic Autumn diet focuses on warming, moist, slightly oily, and building foods that help to calm the mind, and replenish and sustain the body through the colder months.
Ayurveda also places emphasis on our daily routine, and how we digest our food, using plenty of healing herbs and spices to aid in assimilation of nutrients.
Nature is changeable, and no single diet or lifestyle works for everyone, but our food, daily routines, and how we connect to our environment are powerful tools we can use.