Eastern Medicine Meets the West - Holistic Healing and Natural Cures

Learn how Eastern Medicine meets West

Ayurveda is described as the “science of life”. Derived from the Sanskrit words ayur, meaning life and veda, meaning knowledge or science, it is the oldest holistic system of eastern medicine.

East meets West in this natural system of medicine which has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. Ayurveda provides an integrated approach to preventing and treating illness through lifestyle interventions and natural therapies. Ayurvedic theory states, that all disease begins with an imbalance, or stress in the individual's consciousness.

Ayurvedic therapies are beneficial to the maintenance of good health and prevention of disease; and promote a sense of well being through holistic therapy. The resulting effect is physical strength, better health, mental clarity, inner peace and calmness.

There are several aspects of this system of medicine which distinguish it from other approaches to health care:
•Ayurvedic Eastern Medicine is a complete system of healing that focuses on restoring and strengthening basic life energies, rather than focusing on individual symptoms.
• Symptoms and diseases are seen as part of an overall pattern, unique to each individual, which is a reflection of the three fundamental and universal energies that regulate all natural processes: Vata (space and air), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (water and earth). These three "doshas" - known together as the Tridosha - must be balanced in the correct way for each individual in order to maintain health and treat disease, regardless of whether the problem is physical, mental or spiritual.

• The ayurvedic eastern medicine approach to health is inclusive, extending to your daily diet, your routine, and your environment. Your needs for achieving that active state of wellness, which ayurveda calls balance, change over time. Age, environmental factors, stress levels, poor lifestyle choices and dietary excesses or deprivation can all cause imbalances in your physiology. Ayurveda offers a wide range of therapies and tools to restore balance, from dietary recommendations and ayurvedic rasayanas--herbs, fruits and spices that help maintain good health--to internal cleansing and rejuvenation treatments.
• Finally, the ancient Ayurvedic physicians realized the need for preserving the alliance of the mind and body and offer mankind tools for remembering and nurturing the subtler aspects of our humanity.

Ayurveda seeks to heal the fragmentation and disorder of the mind-body complex and restore wholeness and harmony to all people. Ayurveda is based on the principle that all matter is thought to be composed of five great elements – earth, water, fire, wind and space, another way East meets West. According to Ayurvedic theories, there are seven primary constituents to the human body. They are, blood, bone, flesh, fat, marrow, chyle and semen. The fundamental premise of Ayurveda is that well being and happiness, both physical and mental, are based on three actions. These are, building a healthy metabolic system, good digestion and proper excretion, which leads to vitality.

Ayurveda is a holistic healing practice, a science dealing not only with treatment of some diseases but is a complete way of life. Ayurveda recognizes that the root cause of physical imbalances can be traced to imbalances of the mind and emotions. Ayurvedic eastern medicines are plant and herb based including oils and Natural spices easily assimilated by the human body. The fundamental philosophy of Ayurveda is to treat the cause rather than the symptom. Allopathic medicine based on a model that is mechanical, inorganic and inert uses inorganic substance such as drugs and formulated medicine, mechanical treatment and invasive surgery. Its principle is suppression of symptoms and treats the disease and not the person.

East meets West as Chinese medicine is akin to Ayurveda inasmuch as it believes that human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment. Balance between the various elements of the body is essential to good health. The treatment entails the use of herbal medicine, acupuncture, dietary therapy and massage. Ayurvedic medicine is used in several forms of therapy and for many different types of ailments. The basic formulation of the vast majority of these medicines is centuries old and have been passed down, sometimes orally but mostly written. Some detractors are skeptical of their efficacy because they lack any scientific base or formal testing. This is incorrect and the fact of the matter is that Ayurvedic medicine has proved itself and stood the test of time for over five thousand years.

The usage of Ayurvedic medicine is well documented. An important factor is that its efficacy depends on several variables of the patient, the precise time the medicine is to be taken and the exact dosage. Furthermore, certain restrictions both dietary and otherwise will apply which should be adhered to. Originally, these medications were formulated at a time before the extensive use of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals. Plants from which the extracts were removed were cultivated in a pollution-free organic environment. Ayurvedic medicines should hence be purchased from reputed manufacturers who ensure that the basic ingredients have no traces of harmful residual elements from the soil.

In conclusion, Ayurvedic medicines have proved their efficacy and have no harmful side effects. The condition is they should be taken strictly on instructions of a qualified practitioner and purchased exclusively from reputed manufacturers.

Ayurveda shares a worldwide tradition of natural herbal medicine with other cultures. If you’d like to understand more about some of them, see this excellent site: Choosing Natural Health, for comparisons and related healthstyles.

Continue on to learn more about how Eastern Medicine meets West with Ayurvedic Rasayanas

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