Blog Post
What is Ayurveda Basic principles of Ayurveda
Ayurveda is the world's oldest system of medicine. The written tradition of Ayurveda roots back around 5,000 years and has its origins in the Vedic culture of India.
According to Ayurveda (Ancient Indian medical science), the entire world and all living & non-living things are made up of five elements, called as Panchmahabhuta and they are:
- Aakash (Space)
- Vayu (Air)
- Agni(Fire)
- Jal( Water)
- Prithvi (Solidified State Of The Matter)
Human body is also made up of above mentioned five elements (Mahabhuta), forming three major groups of very important matters in the body namely
- Dosha (Vat, Pitta, Kafa) - These are the functional units of the body, responsible for forming our constitution and for carrying out all the functions of the body required for the survival.
- Dhatu (Rasa, Rakta, Mansa, Meda, Asthi, Majja, Shukra) - These are the seven structural units of the body which form all the tissues and systems of the body, like Circulatory system, Musculoskeletal system, Nervous system, Genito-urinary system etc. Above mentioned functional units (Dosha) work through these Dhatus.
- Mala (Feces, Urine & sweat) - These are the excretory tissues, which carry all toxins created in day to day digestion and metabolism in the body and throw them out of the body.
Concept of Agni: Whatever we eat, are converted into bodily form and provide us energy, strength and shape to the body. This process of conversion is done by a factor called Agni or fire, which is the most important unit of each and every cell of the body. It is said that, person is healthy as long as this Agni is strong, if this Agni becomes weak then person will be weak and will be susceptible to various illness and furthermore, if this Agni dies then that cell also dies. So when Agni of all the cells in the body dies, that person will also succumb to death. We receive this Agni from our mother’s genes only. This cellular unit, Agni, documented through various Shloka (verses) in Ayurveda, is very much similar & Close to one of the cellular units described by Modern Biology and that is Mitochondria. So according to my thought process, any Ayurveda treatment given to improve Agni, will have effect on Mitochondria too. Secondly, as with the help of modern technology we can assess the strength of Mitochondria in the laboratory through mitochondrial markers, these markers can be used to assess the strength of Agni too.
Ayurveda theory of Health
Ayurvedeeya Concept of Disease
Three Pillars of Ayurveda Treatment
- Shodhan (Panchakarma) = Total Body Purification
- Shaman (Deepan, Pachan) = Internal detoxification
- Bruhan (Rasayan) = Rejuvenation
All of these are used as per the stage of the disease and depending upon the age, gender & vital strength of the patient. A list of indication and contradiction for Panchakarma are provided and every treating Vaidya (Physician) has to strictly examine the patient as per these lists before commencing the Panchakarma treatment upon patient. Massage & fomentations are not Panchakarma; in fact they are done to prepare the patient body for the better outcome of main procedure of Panchakarma like Vaman(Induced Vomitting) or Virechan (Induced purgation) or Basti (medicated oil or decoction enema) or Nasya (nasal instillation of the medicines) or Raktamokshan (controlled Bloodletting under the supervision).