In this video taken from Dru’s 4-week online course, Eat, Heal Evolve, we join Annie as she explains some of the foundational concepts of Ayurveda and how you can start to identify your unique constitution. If you’re wanting to understand the scope of Ayurveda and what it can do for you, this is the perfect session for you.
The word Ayurveda in Sanskrit is made up of two words: ‘Ayur’, which means life, and ‘Veda’ which equates to knowledge, insight, or wisdom. Therefore we are learning about how to understand our connection with the world we live in. Ayurveda, therefore, is said to be the science of life.
The Laws of Nature
In the busy-ness of our modern life, it seems that many of us have lost our connection with the laws of nature. For example, we travel in fast cars. Flying in aeroplanes that take us across multiple time zones in one go. Late nights with blue light from our devices changing our sleep patterns. And, even simply enjoying electrically generated light means that our day now extends well beyond the sunset.
Ayurveda therefore helps us to:
- Reconnect us with the natural laws of day/night and the flow of time etc.
- Brings us back into connection with nature and the 5 elements
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Provides a unique personal health picture and helps us design a health programme based on your constitution
Below are the 5 main areas that Ayurveda addresses. When you can tailor each of these areas to your unique constitution, it means that you understand yourself and the people you love and work with a lot better.
- Nutrition - food/ cooking
- Herbs and supplements
- Yoga and meditation
- Oils and therapies
- Lifestyle tips
Ayurveda and you
The panch maha-buta or the five elements are: akasha, air, fire, water and earth. How we work with the elements is essential to bring our health and life into balance.
The main thing you’ll hear about a lot in Ayurveda is the word dosha. Dosha actually means fault or change within one’s original nature. When we are born, we have a particular make-up that is ideal, innate and unique to us. However, we often lose that balance as our lives unfold. The idea of Ayurveda then, is to identify where our imbalance is, and therefore which elements need to be brought back into balance for us to live in an optimum way.
The 3 main doshas (imbalances)
1. Vata: space and air
2. Pita: fire and water
3. Kapha: earth and water
The main aim of Ayurveda, therefore, is how do we find and then keep our doshas balanced in the perfect way for us, so that we are healthy, calm, peaceful and living our full potential.
