Ayurveda is a 6000 year old system of wellness that is seeing resurgence in the 21st century. Ayurveda brings together Indian fitness routines with a holistic approach to healthy. Ayurvedic practice encourages a balance to life with ayurveda medicines being used to restore balance to the body.

Meaning

Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words: "Ayu" which means life and "Veda" which means the knowledge of. To know about life is Ayurveda. "Ayu" is comprised of four parts mind, body, senses and the soul.

Mind, Body, and Senses

The mind and the body work together to regulate our physiology. In order for the mind to act appropriately to assist the body we must use our senses to gather information. Ayurveda works on this principle.

For example, when the mind registers that a particular food is entering the gastrointestinal tract, it directs the body to act accordingly by releasing various digestive enzymes. However, if we overindulge the taste buds with too much of a certain taste, such as sweet, we may find that the ability of the mind to perceive the sweet taste is impaired; and thereby the body becomes challenged in its ability to process sweet foods. Maintaining the clarity of our senses is an essential part in allowing the mind and body to integrate their functions and help in keeping us healthy and happy.

Ayurveda considers the person a unique individual made up of five primary elements. The elements are ether (space), air, fire, water, and earth. Just as in nature, we too have these five elements in us. When any of these elements are present in the environment, they will in turn have an influence on us.

Ether and air combine to form what is known in Ayurveda as the Vata dosha. Vata governs the principle of movement and therefore can be seen as the force which directs nerve impulses, circulation, respiration, and elimination. Fire and water are the elements that combine to form the Pitta dosha. The Pitta dosha is the process of transformation or metabolism. The transformation of foods into nutrients that our bodies can assimilate is an example of a pitta function. Pitta is also responsible for metabolism in the organ and tissue systems as well as cellular metabolism. Finally, it is pr edominantly the water and earth elements which combine to form the Kapha dosha. Kapha is what is responsible for growth, adding structure unit by unit. Another function of the Kapha dosha is to offer protection. Cerebral-spinal fluid protects the brain and spinal column and is a type of Kapha found in the body. Also, the mucousal lining of the stomach is another example of the Kapha dosha protecting the tissues. We are all made up of unique proportions of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These ratios of the doshas vary in each individual; and because of this, Ayurveda sees each person as a special mixture that accounts for our diversity.

Ayurveda and the tastes

There are 6 tastes according to Ayurveda, and all six should be present for optimum health:

Sweet - wheat, milk, dates, rice.

Sour - yogurt, tamarind, lemon.

Salty - sea salt, kelp, rock salt.

Pungent - onion, radish, chilly, Ginger Root.

Bitter - dandelion root, bitter melon, rhubarb root.

Astringent - plantain, pomegranate, apples

(Source: www.ayurveda-site.co.uk)

Concept of The Six Tastes

To westerners, a balanced diet requires the understanding of the different food groups, nutrient values of the food and an understanding of the daily requirements of the food items to get a balanced diet. If a person consistently eats an unbalanced diet, his health will suffer from the deficiency of the nutrients to be obtained from the food or from the excess of the nutrients he is taking. (For example, a diet which is high in saturated fat and red meat is known to cause hardening and blockage of the arteries ultimately resulting in heart disease.) In the absence of such sophisticated knowledge as we know on the nutrition content or requirements and due to the fact that most of the people who lived at the time Ayurveda was written may not be able to understand a complicated nutritional requirement, the creators of Ayurveda have developed a very simple dietary program. This is called the six tastes. According to this system, all the important nutrients that we need for life, such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, etc. are contained in a meal that consist of all six tastes.

The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent. The food items that belong to each of these tastes are given in the table.

Any meal that contains food items from all these six tastes will be a balanced meal. It has all the nutrients for the proper functioning of the body and will balance all the doshas. This is a very simple system and easy to practice and follow.

(Source: www.holistic-online.com)

Include spices and herbs in your daily diet

Spices and herbs are concentrated forms of Nature's healing intelligence. They are particularly revered in Ayurveda for their ability to enhance digestion and assimilation, help cleanse ama (toxins) from the body and their yogavahi property – their ability to transport the healing and nutritive value of other components of the diet to the cells, tissues and organs.

Spices, in Ayurveda, are generally eaten cooked. Sauté spices in a little olive oil or ghee (clarified butter) and pour the mixture over cooked foods, or simmer spices with foods like beans or grains as they cook. Fresh herbs such as cilantro or mint are generally added at the end of the cooking process, just before serving.

Ayurveda recommends spices/herbs to stimulate the digestion before a meal, during a meal and after a meal. Eating a bit of fresh ginger and lemon about 30 minutes before a main meal helps kick-start the digestion. Eating dishes cooked with a variety of spices and herbs helps the process of digestion – absorption, assimilation and elimination. Chewing fennel seeds after a meal helps digestion and freshens the breath naturally as well.

Ayurvedic rasayanas such as Amalaki and Triphala offer additional ways to help nourish and cleanses the digestive system. Amalaki Rasayana helps enhance digestion, helps balance the production of stomach acid and nourishes the body tissues. Triphala Rasayana helps tone and cleanse the digestive tract and helps nourish the different tissues.

5 Ways To Introduce Ayurvedic Principles Into Your Daily Diet

“You are what you eat.” Right, but only 50% right, according to the ancient healing tradition of Ayurveda. The combination of what you eat and what your body does with what you eat is what actually shapes health and well-being. According to Ayurveda, you are unique, and your dietary needs are unique too, determined by your body constitution, age, the season, your environment and your needs for balance at any given time. But there are some diet and digestion principles that are universally applicable. Here we present five that you can begin any time…the quick and-simple way to incorporate the Ayurvedic way of eating into your daily diet. Once you start seeing results, you can delve more deeply into doshas—Ayurvedic body types—and tailor a diet and digestion routine that’s best for you.

1. Add some zest to your life with lemon!

Add the freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon to a large cup of really warm water and drink first thing in the morning. Fresh lemon juice in moderation is good for all doshas. Lemon is a wonderful aid to internal cleansing. Antibacterial and antiseptic, lemon retards the presence of disease-causing bacteria in the digestive tract. It is also a digestion enhancer and helps reduce bloating and flatulence. It kindles a lethargic appetite, getting the digestive juices flowing. And it aids elimination, so your digestive tract is naturally flushed clear every morning. As an antioxidant, lemon helps fight disease-causing free radicals in the body. It helps keep your skin clear and your eyes sparkling.

More ways to use fresh lemon:

Add lemon zest to your herbal tea.

Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over your lentils.

Skip the fatty prepared dressing and opt for a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dash of extra-virgin olive oil over your salad.

2. Say “No ice, please!”

According to Ayurveda, iced beverages, especially with or right after a meal, can really slow down digestion. Imagine pouring cold water over burning coals set up to cook your food. That’s effectively what you do to your digestive fires when you gulp down iced beverages with your meal. Instead, opt for digestion-enhancing drinks. Warm water infused with fragrant fennel helps enhance digestion, prevents bloating, and freshens your breath naturally. Cumin tea, or ginger-mint tea made with fresh ginger root slices and fresh mint leaves are great alternatives.

Warm herb/spice teas stimulate the digestion, help your body assimilate the nutrients from the foods you eat and help flush toxins from the system.

To make herb or spice teas, bring water to a boil, add the fresh herbs or spices, turn off the heat, and cover. Let steep for 5-7 minutes, strain and enjoy.

3. Invite all your senses to the table.

Digestion begins much before the first morsel of food goes down your throat. When food is prepared properly and presented beautifully, and your body and mind are receptive, all of your senses can aid digestion. When you eat mindfully, colours, flavours, aromas and textures blend to make the process of eating a delightful and productive experience.

Create an inviting, pleasant environment to aid in the enjoyment of a meal:

Keep the dining table free of clutter. Only your food should grace the table at mealtimes.

Diffuse appetizing aromas 30 minutes before your meal—lemon, orange and coriander are wonderful for getting those digestive juices flowing.

Eat in a silent, serene atmosphere. Keeping your mind free of clutter while you eat will help your body and mind make the best use of what you’re ingesting.

4. Take a lunch break!

How many times a week do you “grab a quick bite” for lunch, use lunch as an excuse for getting business accomplished or skip lunch altogether?

According to Ayurvedic healers, lunch should be THE most important meal of the day. It’s the time of day when your digestion is naturally at its peak, and your body best able to complete the digest-absorb-assimilate cycle.

Yet most of us eat the biggest meal of the day at night, often not long before we go to bed, and the body has to rev up and work hard to digest the food at a time when it should be trying to get into rest mode. Unless you’re among the lucky few with a workhorse for a digestive system, eating heavy at night tends to result in undigested food clogging up your insides. You’ll find it harder to fall asleep, your skin might break out, you’ll gain weight easily, and you’ll not feel as energetic as you should during the day.

So take that lunch break, and eat your most substantial meal of the day around noon. Heavier foods and yogurt should be eaten at lunch rather than dinner for the same reasons.

And when you have five to ten precious extra minutes, take the time to just sit quietly after the meal, savouring the experience, before you resume activity. This will direct your body’s energy towards digestion before you draw it to other activities.

5. Drink to good health!

Water, the Ayurvedic beverage of choice, is crucial for digestion and absorption and to help flush toxins out of the body. It helps prevent bloating and constipation, and helps transport nutrients to the cells and tissues. It helps support the metabolism of fat.

Drink room temperature water or warm water through the day. Water spiked with digestion enhancing spices and herbs is even better. Light, clear vegetable broths, prepared fresh each day, are good detoxifiers and offer soothing comfort on cold winter days.

Eating Right The Ayurvedic Way: Five Tips for Good Digestion

Many people in today's fast-paced world suffer from everyday digestion problems such as gas, bloating, stomach pain, constipation, heartburn, and fatigue after eating. Ayurveda provides simple solutions to these common complaints by considering not only what we eat but how we consume our meals while driving through traffic? How many times have we caught a bite to eat at our workstation because we could not take the time to have a proper lunch?

Our bodies need an uplifting and settled environment in order to process and absorb the nutrients from our meals. If that is not available then we should at least be sitting down to eat - not standing, walking, or driving our way through a meal.

The act of eating is life-giving. The process of eating, according to Ayurveda, is something reverent and important for the development of consciousness as well as our physical health. When we sit down to eat our stomach is in a relaxed posture and our awareness is on the taste, texture, and smell of the food. This will greatly improve the digestion.

Another way to improve the digestion is to stimulate the Agni or digestive fire before we begin eating. Weak digestive Agni may result in fatigue after eating so Ayurveda recommends eating a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger with a few drops of lemon juice and a few pinches of salt on it before a full meal. This starts to activate the salivary glands, producing the necessary enzymes so that the nutrients in the food are easily absorbed by the body.

Balancing your digestive Agni is a key principle in Ayurvedic medicine. That's why ayurveda recommends a number of general practices for better digestion. Digestive Agni can be compared to a burning fire. If the flame is very low than it will take a long time to cook the food. In the same way if the fire is too big it can burn the food. If we put a huge log on a low fire it will extinguish it. Our digestive fires should be balanced so that we can digest our meals efficiently and smoothly.

The ginger and lemon juice recommendation helps to increase the digestive power. If, however you suffer from an over-active Agni, because of which there is too much internal heat and acid, then pomegranate chutney may be more suitable for you.

The next Ayurvedic recommendation also addresses Agni. Ayurveda recommends avoiding cold drinks at meals and ice-cold foods in general. This is like putting cold water on the burning logs. Iced water, normally served at restaurants, extinguishes the digestive fire. Even juice or milk right out of the refrigerator is too cold for the digestion. Juice should be taken at room temperature and water without ice. Once you get into this habit of drinking beverages at room temperature you will notice a dramatic improvement in your digestion and the way your body feels while eating and after the meal. Cold drinks and foods mixed with warm cooked foods can cause stomach cramps, bloating and general discomfort in the stomach area.

If you have a Pitta imbalance you can take cool drinks in-between meals. Cold or frozen foods are not recommended for Pitta either because even though they may temporarily cool down the heat, the Agni is still being over stimulated and the imbalance will continue. Try slightly cool drinks made with rose water, or milk blended with dates or fresh mangos. The next recommendation has to with the time of the day that you eat your meals. Have you ever gone out for a late dinner and found that it was a strain to wake up the next morning or that it was difficult to be efficient during the following day? These are often the side effects of improperly digested food. The best way to avoid these problems is to follow nature's prescription of suitable times to eat. When the sun is strongest between 12 and 2 p.m. is when the digestive fire is also strongest. Agni is associated with the Sun. This is one of the ways ayurveda seeks to connect our mind and body with the environment. Ayurveda recommends that lunch be the largest meal of the day since that is the time the digestive agni is working at its maximum potency. As the sun goes down so does our agni.

Dinner should be lighter than lunch and should ideally be eaten before 8:00 p.m. Late night meals interfere with sleep and after 10:00 p.m. the body is working to burn off toxins and continue to digest food from the day. If you eat after 10:00 p.m., the food may cause toxins to accumulate in the system, and as a result the next day you wake up tired. If you are not able to wake up fresh and clear, then it is important to analyze the quantity of food and the time of night you are eating dinner.

Another Ayurvedic tip for digestion is to drink a fresh yogurt drink called Lassi either during or after the meal. This drink consists of 1/4 cup fresh homemade yogurt, 1 cup room temperature water and sugar to taste. Blend it for one minute in the blender. Lassi is light and contains lactobacilli, necessary bacteria that lubricate the intestines to help digestion go smoothly. Lassi drinks help to reduce gas and bloating. They also taste delicious and can make a meal more satisfying and nutritious.

There are many recipes for Lassi. The following one is good for warding off gas and bloating:

* 1 cup room temperature water

* 1/4 fresh homemade yogurt

* 1 pinch ground ginger

* 1 pinch ground cumin

* 1 pinch ground coriander

* 1 pinch salt

Blend for one minute. Drink after lunch.

Pomegranate Chutney

Use: Use as a spice on one food at every meal
Why: Aids digestion and elimination without aggravating Pitta
Improves regularity of elimination
Helps control stomach acid
Helps decrease digestive gas

Recipe:

Dried Pomegranate seeds - 8 teaspoons
Rock salt (or some natural salt) - 2 teaspoons
Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Citric acid (or dried lemon juice) - 1/8 teaspoon
Pure cane sugar (Sucanat or Florida Crystals are good) - 25 teaspoons

Prepare:

Grind and powder all herbs and seeds separately
Then mix the first two herbs together
Then add one herb at a time, mixing well before adding another
Produces a powdered mixture
Store in an airtight container, for up to a month

Comments:

For grinding the pomegranate seeds, you will need a large grinder that can handle wet as well as dry herbs (you can find one at a gourmet cooking store)

Quick Review of Recommendations for Good Digestion:

Eat sitting down, in a settled environment, without the TV on.

Eat a fresh piece of ginger and lemon before a full meal or (pomegranate chutney to balance Pitta).

Drink Lassi with or after lunch.

Avoid ice cold drinks and food.

Lunch should be the biggest meal of the day.

Dinner should be lighter and eaten before 8:00 p.m.

(Source: www.boloji.com)

Balance and the Doshas

According to Ayurveda, internal balance is the key to perfect health. This natural internal state of balance is described in terms of an important Ayurvedic concept – the doshas. Each person is born with a unique combination of the three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

"The Ayurvedic theory of disease and healing has a very solid scientific base," says Dr. John Peterson, Maharishi Ayurveda physician from Muncie, Indiana. "After all, human beings are part of the universe, and are composed of the same five elements as everything in creation. Quantum physicists call these five elements the five basic spin types. The ancients called them space, air, fire, water and earth. Ayurveda describes the three governing principles or doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, as combinations of these elements. Vata comes from space and air. Pitta comes from fire and water. Kapha comes from water and earth. The nature of these elements gives us a clue about the properties of the doshas. Vata governs movement, Pitta governs heat, metabolism and transformation, and Kapha governs structure and fluid balance. Even children can quickly come to understand themselves, their friends and all of nature in terms of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It is the interplay among the three doshas that determines the health of a living being."

More about Vata

Vata governs all movement in the mind and body. It controls such things as blood flow, elimination of wastes, breathing and the movement of thoughts across the mind. Since Pitta and Kapha cannot move without it, Vata is considered the leader of the three Ayurvedic principles in the body.

These are the sub-categories or sub-doshas under Vata –

Prana Vata: The senses, creative thinking, reasoning, enthusiasm, leader of all 15 categories of Vata, Pitta and Kapha

Udana Vata: Quality of voice, memory, movements of thought

Samana Vata: Movement of food through digestive tract

Apana Vata: Elimination of wastes, sexual function, menstrual cycle

Vyana Vata: Blood flow, heart rhythm, perspiration, sense of touch

More about Pitta

Pitta governs bodily functions concerned with heat and metabolism, and directs all biochemical reactions and the process of energy exchange. For example, Pitta controls how we digest foods, how we metabolize our sensory perceptions, and how we discriminate between right and wrong. Pitta governs the important digestive "Agnis" or fires of the body.

Pitta dosha is further divided into the following sub-doshas –

Alochaka Pitta: Functioning of the eyes

Bhrajaka Pitta: Healthy glow of the skin

Sadhaka Pitta: Desire, drive, decisiveness, spirituality

Pachaka Pitta: Digestion, assimilation, metabolism for healthy nutrients and tissues

Ranjaka Pitta: Healthy, toxin-free blood

More about Kapha

Kapha governs the structure and cohesion of the organism. It is responsible for biological strength, natural tissue resistance, and proper body structure. It also governs lubrication in the mind and body. It controls weight, growth, lubrication for the joints and lungs, and formation of all the seven tissues – nutritive fluids, blood, fat, muscles, bones, marrow and reproductive tissues.

These are the sub-doshas of Kapha –

Tarpaka Kapha: Moisture for nose, mouth, eyes and brain

Bhodaka Kapha: Sense of taste, which is essential for good digestion

Kledaka Kapha: Moisture of the stomach lining for good digestion

Avalambaka Kapha: Protects the heart, strong muscles, healthy lungs

Sleshaka Kapha: Lubrication of the joints, soft and supple skin

Restoring Balance

An individual may have a natural predominance of one or more doshas. These doshas need not be present in equal proportion in an individual to ensure balance, but they need to be functioning in harmony with each other.

According to Ayurveda, disorders stem from an excess of a dosha or a shortage of a dosha, whereas maintaining balance of the doshas results in good health. For example, when Pitta is in balance in an individual, digestion is normal, but an aggravated Pitta can result in ulcers and acid indigestion.

Over time, the natural balance of the doshas in an individual can be disturbed by a number of factors, such as improper diet, poor digestion, high day-to-day stress levels and environmental pollution and chemicals. The Ayurvedic approach to health is all about restoring this natural balance, through dietary and lifestyle recommendations as well as herbal formulations. The goal is not to treat surface symptoms, but the underlying imbalance, thus creating long-term health and a strong immune system.

(Source: www.boloji.com)