Meaning

Many people think of wellness treatments such as the well-known forehead pouring that many hotels use to advertise their spa areas when they think of Ayurveda. In fact, Ayurveda is the traditional medicine with probably the most empirical knowledge in the world, as it has been used continuously for over 2,000 years and thus has extremely comprehensive treatment knowledge. Neither TCM, which was only revived under political control in the 20th century, nor European medicine - with the exception of the writings of Hildegard von Bingen - can look back on such a tradition.

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

This mainly involves five areas:

• Healthy, type-appropriate nutrition
• Movement through yoga for physical well-being
• Elimination procedures, especially via the intestines (“Vasti”) and nose (“Nasri”), but also external eliminations, e.g. through sweat chambers (“Svedana”) and oil massages
• herbal medicine
• Conscious breathing and meditation to recharge your batteries and find peace

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

The control forces

Just like in TCM, everything in Ayurveda is based on the five elements fire, water, earth, air and ether (in TCM, air and ether are represented by wood and metal), from which everything is composed. The three so-called "doshas" are assigned to these five elements - these are the regulatory forces 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 seat is below the belly button in the area of ​​the large intestine. Everything that moves within us is determined by Vata: breathing, digestion, metabolism and thoughts.

Characteristics: cold, dry, rough, fast, hard and cracked. If Vata dominates, then 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, thirst for knowledge, enthusiasm and the proverbial ability to juggle several balls at once. The Vata type starts many things enthusiastically, but often does not finish them or quickly loses sight of the goal. He finds cold and windy weather unpleasant.

• Positive: lightness, cheerfulness and joy of life, alertness, clarity, creativity
• Negative: restlessness, pain, thin-skinnedness, sadness, depression

Helpful for too much 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 heat production in the body. It is located in the stomach, duodenum and small intestine.

Characteristics: hot, spicy, liquid, moist, sour, bitter and sudden. If Pitta is too high, you are constantly hungry and very impatient, angry and irritable if something to eat is not immediately available. Impure skin, stomach pain, heartburn, diarrhea and inflammation are common Pitta problems.

On the intellectual level, Pitta dominance is mainly evident in ambition and perfectionism; they are very critical of themselves and others. Pitta types never lose sight of their goal. Pitta gives them a strong charisma, intelligence and great will.
That's why leaders are often PITA types. Too much leads to aggression and the pressure to always be the best, everywhere.

• Positive: lots of energy, charisma, charisma, glowing eyes, goal-oriented energy, enthusiastic.
• Negative: feeling of heat, inflammation, aggression, envy, jealousy

Helpful for too much Pitta: regular relaxation phases (no competitive sports, rather quiet 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 stands for strength, structure, stability, potency and is something like the framework of the body. It is located in the upper part of the stomach and in the chest. In addition to the body structure, i.e. the bone structure, it is responsible for our immune system and fluid balance. Too much manifests itself in obesity, lethargy, diabetes or high blood fat levels, among other things.

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, due to desire and boredom easily lead to excess fat in the tissue.

On a mental level, Kapha stands for courage and emotional stability. Kapha types are somewhat slow-moving, but very persistent and strong. They act in a well-considered manner, think through decisions very carefully and prefer a calm, steady lifestyle. They don't like spontaneous decisions and hecticness. Kapha types often want to be alone, laze around and prefer to deal with conflicts by "waiting them out".

• Positive: calm, consistent personality, patience, compassion, tenderness, steadfastness
• Negative: lack of drive, lethargy, ignorance, inertia. He is mentally stuck and immobile

Helpful for too much Kapha: lots of physical activity (including strenuous exercise), 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.

If Vata, Pitta and Kapha are in harmony, the person is healthy according to Ayurvedic belief - then the organism is self-renewing and self-correcting.

Ayurveda understands “health” to mean more than just the absence of illness. The Ayurvedic term for a healthy state is “svastha”, which means “dwelling in the self”.
However, if the balance of the doshas is disturbed, illnesses arise. They always begin when our natural state of health (“Prakriti”) is confronted with a disease-causing factor such as (emotional) stress, unhealthy diet, environmental toxins, etc.

Ayurveda in Modern Times

Conventional medicine is based on a so-calledmolecular biological body model and analyses enzymes, hormones, genes, pathogens, etc. and tries to modify or eliminate individual biological substances at the micro level. Ayurveda, on the other hand, thinks in terms of properties: "movement", the main characteristic of Vata, for example, promotes an environment that produces symptoms of stress, tension, constipation and concentration problems. "Sour" (Pitta) leads to inflammation in the long term and "sweet" (Kapha) leads to obesity and the risk of diabetes.

In contrast to our Western understanding, there are no "healthy" or "unhealthy" foods in Ayurveda, but only those that are "suitable" or "unsuitable" for the respective dosha constitution. For example, we would classify an orange as a generally healthy food due to its high vitamin C content; for a Pitta type, however, Ayurveda would classify the orange as completely unsuitable and therefore "unhealthy".

Ayurveda has been recognized by the WHO as a medical science and is officially recognized in India and many neighboring South Asian countries and is considered equal to modern conventional medicine. The latter is used primarily for acute problems such as bone fractures, whereas chronic diseases are primarily treated with Ayurveda.

On the website http://dharaonline.org , which was established by the Indian government, you will find a good overview of articles with a focus on "Ayurveda" that have been published in scientific publications 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 allegedly misleading claims of effectiveness. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This knowledge, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is based on experience passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended to claim that the products described here have an effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are food supplements; they are not medications and have no medical effect. If you are ill and need medical care, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.