Ayurveda: An Ancient Indian Tradition

Ayurveda is an ancient form of medicine with its history originated in India in 1500 B.C. Translated as "the complete knowledge for long life", it is considered to be a complementary medicine (CAM), which means ayurveda is used in addition to traditional medicine and not as a replacement for it. It is believed to enhance the relationship between doctor and patient, allowing for a more intensive level of care.

Ayurveda health centers around the five elements -- earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space) -- which are believed to make up the entire universe, including the human body. Like with most Eastern medicine practices, ayurveda followers believe that illness and disease are caused by an imbalance, in this case a person's inner elemental balance.

It also focuses heavily on the patient's responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle and do whatever they can to maintain the balance between their elemental energies (called doshas). These energies are made up of different elements, and each person carries a different energy combination. The main doshas are vata (air + space = wind), kappa (water + earth = phlegm), and pitta (fire + water = bile).

When doshas become imbalanced, there are eight disciplines of ayurveda that are used to correct it. While it relies heavily on herbal treatments the same way other Eastern medicines do, ayurveda treatments also implements more modern practices, and in many cases was one of the first medical practices to do so. These disciplines are:

Ayurveda treatments often involve complex herbal remedies, but also often include yoga, massage, ayurveda diets, meditation, and exercises. In many ways, ayurveda is a lot like modern medicine, and many of the practices used today have been derived from this centuries old system.