Definition

Ayurvedic medicine has been the traditional medicine of India and Sri Lanka for at least the past two thousand years. It is a comprehensive healthcare system (in Sanskrit, Ayur-Veda means "science of life") that treats disease with natural therapies and considers that each person must be treated individually. It is concerned with the mind and spirit as much as the body, and seeks to guide individuals to their natural, inner harmony.

Purpose

Ayurvedic medicine seeks first to prevent disease by keeping an individual's constitution sound and strong. When a person does get ill, the Ayurvedic practitioner tries to identify and understand that individual's unique make-up and to discover what has put his or her constitution out of balance. As a total system of healthcare, it goes far beyond any single type of therapy or treatment and offers instead a complete life-regimen.

Precautions

As an overall healthcare system, Ayurvedic medicine is safe for most people if they are in the hands of a qualified practitioner. Such a competent and experienced professional would work with whatever conventional medicine his patient was following and would adapt his special treatments accordingly. However, certain detoxifying treatments, like enemas, may not be suitable for pregnant women or patients with very delicate or frail health. Also, herbal remedies should be taken with care, following the quantity and dosage carefully. Patients with a pre-existing surgical condition like a hernia, or a serious disease like cancer, should be cautious using Ayurvedic medicine.

Description

Ayurvedic medicine is decidedly different from the typical form of medicine practiced in the West, as it is much more than a science-based system of treating diseases and physical conditions. Rather, it is a combination of philosophy and science. As such, it takes into account every aspect of a person's life and involves a large degree of patient involvement, and even belief. Because it is a holistic system, it concentrates as much on the individual's mental and spiritual well-being as it does on physical health (since it asserts that they are interrelated and inseparable). Good health is simply a means to attain a meaningful life. Ayurvedic medicine, therefore, is not simply a series of treatments or therapies but is more of a way of life aimed at preventing illness through maintenance of optimal physical and spiritual health.

One of the basic tenets of Ayurvedic medicine is the important principle of "biologic individuality." This means that each person is a unique individual with his or her own special physical and mental constitution, and must, consequently, be treated individually. Therefore, what works for one person does not automatically work for another with the same condition. Another tenet is that ill health is the result of an imbalance in the individual's "dosha" or three vital energies. At birth, everyone is endowed with a varying degree of each of these, known by their Sanskrit names as "Vata," "Pitta," and "Kapha." The functions of the body and mind are regulated by these three physiological principles, and we are who we are according to how much or little of each principle we possess. Since the proportion of these three principles varies from person to person, it is the skill of the practitioner that identifies the exact composition of each person's constitution or, more specifically, his or her psycho-physiological type. There are ten major types that are derived from the different combinations of the "doshas." Finally, since bad health is the result of an imbalance in an individual's dosha, Ayurvedic practitioners first diagnose the exact imbalance and then prescribe some combination of diet, exercise, herbal products, and purification procedures to rebalance the patient's dosha.

The ability to determine an individual's metabolic body type is the key to practicing Ayurvedic medicine. Once the experienced practitioner composes a health profile of the individual patient, he is able to prescribe a specific plan of treatment to guide the individual back to harmony and health, and to advise on ways to prevent further ill health. Each of us has his or her own dosha, which we receive at conception and which is ours for life. It is our permanent blueprint, containing all of our strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies, and affecting every aspect of our lives, from hair color to the kind of food we prefer. Each of these major metabolic body types, "Vata, "Pitta," and "Kapha," has primary characteristics that dominate and typify that certain type. For example, the typical "Vata" dosha has a thin build, the "Pitta" has a medium frame, and the "Kapha" is heavyset. More important are the intangible characteristics of each. The "Vata" characteristic represents motion and flow, and is primarily changeable. A true "Vata" type would, among other things, be a wiry person with prominent features who is moody, imaginative, impulsive, and who sleeps erratically. For an occupation, he might be some type of artist and work alone. The typical "Pitta" type is more predictable, but also more passionate and explosive. As an orderly, predictable, efficient person, she is articulate and a perfectionist. A true "Pitta" would make a good business chief executive. The basic "Kapha" type is relaxed, and has a solid, even heavy, body type. Slow to anger and slow to act, they are usually tranquil and steady and sleep very well. To continue the business analogy, they would make good middle managers.

Since all three "dosha" types are present in every part of a person's being, most people are a mixture of types, with one type usually being dominant. Being able to identify the proportional mix of the three "doshas" in a specific individual is crucial to Ayurvedic medicine, since the practitioner's goal is to restore the proper, healthful balance; a balance based largely, but not exclusively, on the original proportion. A scientist in the West might describe this ideal of balance in mind, body, behavior, and environment as being a condition in which the body is best able to heal itself. In fact, many in the West now narrowly interpret the concept of balance as meaning a properly functioning immune mechanism.

The primary diagnostic tool for the Ayurvedic physician is simple observation. Doing without most equipment or laboratory testing, the experienced practitioner first asks many questions of the patient, learning details of his health history, as well as that of his family. After those medical questions, he will inquire as to the type of child and adolescent the patient was, and learn about the patient's lifestyle, job, likes and dislikes, and habits. During the physical examination, the physician observes the patient very closely, first simply noting his overall appearance, especially his coloring. He will then study the eyes, lips, tongue, and nails, looking for signs of doshic imbalance. In addition to palpation, or feeling the body and its internal organs, he will also listen to intestines, as well as the heart and lungs. The tongue is an especially important diagnostic site, as discoloration and localized sensitivity indicate particular problems with internal organs. Some physicians examine a patient's stools, while most routinely perform an examination of a patient's urine, focusing on color and odor.