Meaning

Many people associate Ayurveda with wellness treatments like the well-known Shirodhara (oil pouring on the forehead), which many hotels use to advertise their spa areas. In reality, however, Ayurveda is the traditional system of medicine with arguably the most extensive body of experience worldwide, having been continuously practiced for over 2,000 years and thus possessing an extremely comprehensive knowledge of treatment. Neither Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which experienced a politically motivated revival in the 20th century, nor European medicine – with the exception of the writings of Hildegard von Bingen – can look back on such a long tradition.

Ayurveda means "science of life" (ayus = "life" and veda = "knowledge") and has its roots in the sacred Indian scriptures, the Vedas, which, just like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), integrate physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of healing. Thus, Ayurveda can be considered a perfect example of a holistic healing system.

This is about v.a. about five areas:

• Healthy, type-appropriate nutrition
• Movement through yoga for physical well-being
• Drainage procedures, v.a. via the intestines (“Vasti”) and nose (“Nasri”), but also external detoxification methods, e.g., through sweat lodges (“Svedana”) and oil massages
• Herbal medicine
• Conscious breathing and meditation for recharging energy and finding peace.

Nutrition plays a particularly important role in Ayurveda – both in prevention and in the treatment of illnesses. Spices and herbs are used specifically as remedies. In Ayurveda, spices are comparable to herbal teas in Western naturopathy. We have compiled the most important spices and herbs for you in this category.

The regular forces

As in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), everything in Ayurveda is based on the five elements: fire, water, earth, air, and ether (wood and metal represent air and ether in TCM), from which everything is composed. These five elements are associated with the three so-called "doshas"—the regulating forces of Vata (ether, air), Pitta (fire, water), and Kapha (earth, water).

Vata

Vata is the principle of movement in the human body and is closely linked to the nervous system. Its main location is below the navel in the region of the large intestine. Everything that moves within us is governed by Vata: breathing, digestion, metabolism, and thoughts.

Characteristics: cold, dry, rough, fast, hard, and cracked. When Vata is dominant, the skin is dry, hands and feet are often cold, metabolism and speech are fast, and the hair is fine.

On a mental level, Vata dominance is characterized by impulsiveness, a thirst for knowledge, enthusiasm, and the proverbial juggling of several balls at once. The Vata type starts many things enthusiastically but often doesn't finish them or quickly loses sight of the goal. They find cool and windy weather unpleasant.

• Positive: Lightness, cheerfulness and joy of life, alertness, clarity, creativity
• Negative: Restlessness, pain, irritability, sadness, depression

Helpful for excess Vata: routines, warm meals (ideally sweet, sour and salty), little raw food, massages and baths

Pita

Pitta is responsible for digestion, metabolism, intellect, hormone balance, and the body's heat production. It resides in the stomach, duodenum, and small intestine.

Characteristics: hot, spicy, liquid, moist, sour, bitter, and sudden onset.If Pitta is too high, one is constantly hungry and very impatient, irritable, and easily angered if something to eat isn't immediately available. Common Pitta problems include skin blemishes, stomach aches, heartburn, diarrhea, and inflammation.

On a mental level, Pitta dominance v.aThey are characterized by ambition and perfectionism; they are very critical of themselves and others. Pitta types never lose sight of their goals. Pitta bestows a strong charisma, intelligence, and a great will.
Leaders are therefore often pitta types. Too much of this leads to aggression and the compulsion to always and everywhere want to be the best.

• Positive: lots of energy, charisma, radiance, sparkling eyes, focused energy, enthusiastic.
• Negative side effects: sensation of heat, inflammation, aggression, envy, jealousy

Helpful for excess Pitta: regular relaxation periods (no competitive sports, rather gentle walks), meditation, yoga, sufficient sleep, all cooling foods and spices such as melon, potatoes, fennel, cardamom, mint, and coriander. Spicy and acidic foods such as meat, white flour products, alcohol, coffee, and sugar should be avoided.

Kapha

Kapha represents strength, structure, stability, and potency, and is something like the framework of the body. It is located in the upper part of the stomach and in the chest. Besides the body's structure, it is d.h. v.a...responsible for the skeletal system, our immune system, and fluid balance. An excess manifests itself in... u.a. in cases of overweight, inactivity, diabetes, or high blood lipid levels.

Characteristics: sweet, heavy, persistent, soft, cold, oily, fatty, sluggish. If Kapha is too dominant, one easily becomes inflexible. Cravings, especially for sweet and fatty foods, driven by desire and boredom, easily lead to an accumulation of body fat.

On a mental level, Kapha represents courage and emotional stability. Kapha types are somewhat deliberate, but very persistent and strong. They act thoughtfully, consider decisions very thoroughly, and prefer a calm, consistent lifestyle. They dislike spontaneous decisions and hectic activity. Kapha types often desire solitude and relaxation, and prefer to deal with conflicts by "waiting it out."

• Positive: calm, stable personality, patience, compassion, tenderness, steadfastness
• Negative traits: lack of motivation, lethargy, ignorance, inertia. He is mentally stuck and inflexible.

Helpful for excess Kapha: plenty of physical activity (including strenuous activities), active holidays, spicy and bitter foods to stimulate metabolism and digestive power, such as chicory, spinach, chard, artichokes, seasoned with cumin, pepper, chili, horseradish, turmeric, ginger and mustard seeds.

According to Ayurvedic principles, if Vata, Pitta and Kapha are in balance, a person is healthy - then the organism is self-renewing and self-correcting.

In Ayurveda, "health" means more than just the absence of disease. The Ayurvedic term for a healthy state is "svastha," which means "abiding in oneself."
If the balance of the doshas is disturbed, illnesses arise. They always begin when our natural state of health ("Prakriti") is confronted with a pathogenic factor such as (emotional) stress, unhealthy diet, environmental toxins, etc.

Ayurveda in modern times

Conventional medicine is based on a so-called molecular biological model of the body and analyzes enzymes, hormones, genes, pathogens, etc.and attempts to modify or eliminate individual biological substances at the micro level. Ayurveda, on the other hand, thinks in terms of qualities: "Movement," the main characteristic of Vata, promotes, for example, an environment that produces stress symptoms, tension, constipation, and difficulty concentrating. "Sour" (Pitta) leads to inflammation in the long term, and "sweet" (Kapha) leads to weight gain and an increased risk of diabetes.

Unlike our Western understanding, Ayurveda does not recognize "healthy" or "unhealthy" foods, but rather foods that are "suitable" or "unsuitable" for a particular dosha constitution. For example, we would classify an orange as a generally healthy food due to its high vitamin C content; however, Ayurveda would consider an orange extremely unsuitable and therefore "unhealthy" for a Pitta type.

Ayurveda has been recognized by the WHO as a medical science and is officially recognized in India and many neighboring South Asian countries, where it is considered equivalent to modern conventional medicine. The latter, however, is not the primary focus. v.a. used in acute problems such as bone fractures, whereas v.aChronic diseases are primarily treated with Ayurvedic medicine.

On the website http://dharaonline.org The website established by the Indian government provides a good overview of articles focusing on "Ayurveda" that have been published in scientific journals worldwide. Thanks to a good keyword search, you can quickly find everything relevant to your specific question.

Legal consumer information

German and European law aims to protect consumers from potentially misleading claims about product effects. The statements made here refer to original Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) texts. This millennia-old, traditional knowledge is based on experiences passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended that the products described here have any effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are dietary supplements; they are not medications and have no medicinal effect. If you are ill and require medical attention, please consult your doctor or pharmacist.