Ayurveda and ayurvedic medicine are based on teachings contained in the Vedas, the most ancient spiritual texts in India. A naturopathic system of healing, ayurveda recognizes that optimum health is achieved through harmony with nature. It recognizes three humors, or doshas, present in a unique proportion in every human being, and seeks to balance these in relation to each other through exercise, diet, herbal remedies, and lifestyle counseling. The best ayurveda tips recognize that a preponderance or deficiency of any dosha creates disease through imbalance.
Any successful ayurvedic therapy involves the active participation of the patient and requires conscious choices regarding daily routines like eating and exercise, and helpful ayurveda tips can be very simple. Basic diet recommendations include eating fresh food, cooking meals, and eating mindfully so the body is able to fully assimilate nutrients in a relaxed way. The constitution of a healthy diet varies from individual to individual, depending on which dosha predominates and which needs support to create a balance. There are specific ayurveda tips for individuals who have developed an imbalance that may be degenerating into a disease and these usually address the unbalanced dosha.
Individuals with too much vatta, which corresponds to the element air, tend to be cold and dry, those with too much pitta, or fire, tend to be too hot. Those with a preponderance of kapha, which corresponds to earth and water, can be too heavy and moist. Ayurveda tips regarding diet for vatta individuals would be to drink broths and avoid cold foods while those for pitta individuals would be to eat the cold foods and avoid spices. Kapha individuals should eat light, dry foods like vegetables and salads and avoid fired foods, meat and sweets. Individuals may also benefit from ayurveda formulations of specific herbs to supplement their diet.
Simple ayurveda tips regarding lifestyle can also be of benefit. Vatta people usually need more regularity in their daily routine, pitta people more relaxation, and kapha people more activity. Hatha yoga postures are also a usual part of a successful ayurveda therapy, and specific ones can be prescribed by a practitioner of ayurvedic medicine. Of all the ayurveda tips, perhaps the most basic is to maintain an awareness of the body and mind and observe how they interact. Ayurveda is, above all, a holistic approach to health and the benefits of ayurveda can potentially include a longer life and more happiness throughout its course.
