What is Ayurveda?
Updated: Sep 3
‘Ayu’ is life and ‘Veda’ is knowledge. Ayurveda is the knowledge of life and longevity. It is an ancient wisdom about lifestyle which teaches us how to take care of our body. According to Ayurveda, we are a miniature form of nature. What is outside is within us. To maintain good health, we need to align our lifestyle with the surrounding nature to feel vitality.
Just like there are different seasons in nature, our ‘Prakruti’ or body’s constitution is made up of 3 doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each individual is a combination of these three. That makes us unique.
Each dosha is a combination of five elements — Earth, Water, Fire, Wind & Space.
Dosha types are as follows:
Vata is made up of wind and space. It is essential for movement and circulation.
Pitta is made up of fire and water. It governs digestion and intellect.
Kapha is made up of water and earth. It is a building block of our structure and joint lubrication.
Disturbance in any one of these can cause an imbalance in our health, called ‘Vikruti’ in Sanskrit. Following a lifestyle related to food, sleep, exercise, and our daily rituals according to our body type helps balance the doshas. Ayurveda encourages us to be an active participant toward our healing journey.