The Healing Remedies Sourcebook: Over 1,000 Natural Remedies to Prevent and Cure Common Ailments. C. Shealy Norman

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      PRANA - THE ENERGY OF LIFE

      The fundamental belief in Ayurveda is that everything within the universe is composed of energy, or “prana.” Like everything else, we too are comprised of energy, which changes according to our circumstances, our environment, our diets and lifestyles, and the world around us. Some of these changes can be positive, and others negative, and in order to ensure that most of the changes are positive, we must live in a way that encourages energy balance. Energy controls the functions of every cell, thought, emotion, and action, so every aspect of our lives, including the food we eat and the thoughts we think, affects the quality of our energy, and consequently our health.

      A HISTORY OF AYURVEDA

      Over 3,000 years ago, 52 great Rishis, or seers, of ancient India discovered through meditation the “Veda,” or the knowledge of how our world and everything within it works. Contained within the knowledge of the Veda were the secrets of sickness and health. These secrets were organized into a system called Ayurveda, the sophistication of which is apparent in the most famous of all ancient Ayurvedic texts, the Charaka Samhita. The knowledge of the Rishis had three main components: etiology (the science of the cause of illness and disease), symptomatology (the study of symptoms), and finally medication (the process of treating individuals to cure disease or relieve pain).

      The beliefs were founded on Hindu philosophy, and were expanded and enhanced by the teachings of the Lord Buddha (d. 483 B.C.E.), who taught that the mind could be enriched through correct thinking. Today Buddhism is one of the fastest-growing belief systems in the West. The eightfold path of Buddhism encompasses:

       right understanding

       right concentration

       right livelihood

       right mindfulness

       right action

       right thought

       right effort

       right speaking

      Another important Ayurvedic text, the Sushruta Samhita, offers guidance on surgery, surgical equipment, suturing, and the importance of hygiene during and after an operation. Detailed medical information is teamed with commonsense advice on how to live a healthy and meaningful life.

       The Texts

      Throughout much of their history, the Indians came into contact with the Persians, Greeks, and Chinese, with whom they exchanged information. About 900 B.C.E. the Ayurveda, written in India, combined descriptions of disease with information on herbs and “magic.” The first great known Hindu physician, Charaka, practiced about 1000 B.C.E. Sushruta, in the 5th century c.e., noted the relationship of malaria to mosquitoes, and of plague to rats, knew of more than 700 medicinal plants, and described more than 100 surgical instruments. He treated fractures, removed tumors and kidney stones, and delivered babies by Cesarean section.

      In Vedic philosophy our lives become meaningful when we strive to fulfill our potential, but that cannot be achieved without basic good health.

      CAUSES OF DISEASE

      Ayurvedic practitioners believe that disease may be triggered by many external causes, including planetary influences, acts of god, fire and accidents, harmful gases (which we would today call pollution), poisons and toxins, and evil spirits. As well as this, there are two other main causes of illness, an imbalance of the “tri-doshas” (vátha, pitta, and kapha, see here) and mental imbalance.

      The purpose of Ayurveda is to enable people to avoid serious illness by understanding how we become ill. For the most part, it works on a preventive basis, but when we do become ill it offers a wide range of treatments to help the body heal itself. Every Ayurvedic remedy is free of side-effects, is made from natural substances, and is nontoxic. In order to benefit from Ayurveda, it is not necessary to understand or believe in the complex spirituality that goes hand-in-hand with the system. All that is necessary is an open mind and a desire to be healed.

      HOW DOES IT WORK?

      Our constitutions are very important in Ayurveda, and each of us is individual, according to our specific energies. We inherit many aspects of our constitution, and we can live a healthy and happy life if we strive to attain a good quality of spirit (with no envy, hatred, anger, or ego), and maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle.

      Your constitution is determined by the state of your parents’ doshas at the time of your conception, and each individual is born in the “prakruthi” state, which means that you are born with levels of the three doshas that are right for you. But, as we go through life, diet, environment, stress, trauma, and injury cause the doshas to become imbalanced, a state known as the “vikruthi” state. When levels of imbalance are excessively high or low it can lead to ill health. Ayurvedic practitioners work to restore individuals to their “prakruthi” state.

      THE FIVE ELEMENTS

      The universe consists of five elements, Ether (space), Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Our bodies consist of a combination of these elements.

      All five elements exist in all things, including ourselves.

      ETHER corresponds to the spaces in the body: the mouth, nostrils, thorax, abdomen, respiratory tract, and cells.

      AIR is the element of movement so it represents muscular movement, pulsation, expansion and contraction of the lungs and intestines—even the movement in every cell.

      FIRE controls enzyme functioning. It shows itself as intelligence, fuels the digestive system, and regulates metabolism.

      WATER is in plasma, blood, saliva, digestive juices, mucous membranes, and cytoplasm—the liquid inside cells.

      EARTH manifests in the solid structures of the body: the bones, nails, teeth, muscles, cartilage, tendons, skin, and hair.

      The five elements also relate to our senses:

       Sound is transmitted through Ether;

       Air is related to touch;

       Fire is related to sight;

       Water is related to taste; and

       Earth is connected to smell.

      Ayurveda teaches that all organic matter is formed from the Earth element, which “gave birth” to other matter. All five elements may be present in all matter: Water, when it is frozen, becomes solid like Earth; Fire melts it back to Water; Fire can turn Water to steam, which is dispersed within the Air and the Ether.

      THE THREE DOSHAS

      There are three further bio-energies, called doshas, which exist in everything in the universe, and which are composed of different combinations of the five elements. The three doshas affect all body functions, on both a mental and a physical level. Good health is achieved when all three doshas work in balance. Each one has its role to play in the body.

       VÁTHA is the driving force; it relates mainly to the nervous system and the body’s energy.

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