AYURVEDIC TREATMENTS
Ayurveda has its own views about principles and philosophy of life. Ayurvedic system describes man as a universe within himself which is a child of the cosmic forces. His existence is inextricably intertwined to the total cosmic manifestation. The entire universe, as well as the body is made up of five basic elements. These elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space.
According to Ayurvedic medicine, human body consists of three primary life forces or biological humors, which are Vatha, Pitha and Kapha. These three doshas are called the tridoshas. A balance among these life forces is essential for proper health. Any imbalance among the tridoshas causes a state of unhealthiness or disease.
Ayurvedic system says that this imbalance is the effect of the constant reaction of the internal environment of body to the changes in external environment. It is only required that we bring back normalcy to the balance of these doshas, to bring back the state of healthiness.
Other basic concepts of Ayurvedic system are the Saptha Dhathus (the bodily tissues), Srotas (Channals), Ama (toxins and filthy matter) and the trinity of life - body, mind and spiritual awareness.
The first step in the method of diagnosis in Ayurvedic form of medicine is to determine the constitution of the person. That means it is the patient who is diagnosed first and not the disease.
The same disease might appear in different forms in two persons because their constitution is different. Due to this variation in constitution the medicines and treatment may be different for two people with the same illness. This difference in treatment methods according to the constitution is essential to bring back the natural balance of the biological humors. The constitutional approach is the essence of the Ayurvedic system.
Ayurvedic treatment measures include internal medicine, external medicine, surgical treatment and psychotherapy.
Ayurvedic treatments can be classified under two groups - tonification and reduction.
Reduction therapies decrease excesses in the body while tonification methods nurture insufficiency in the body. Reduction therapy has two parts called pacification and purification.
Pacification is done with herbs, fasting, exercise, sunbathing and exposure to wind. Purification is a special form of therapy for elimination of the disease causing humors. The power of Ayurvedic elimination therapy is its system for guiding the toxins to their sites for elimination.
It consist of five parts - The pancha karmas - cleaning enemas, nasal medication, Purgation, Emesis and blood letting. All these require preliminary Ayurvedic practises of oleation and sweating.
Ayurvedic pharmacology is based upon the concepts of rasa, veerya and vipaka. A vast variety of plants, metals, minerals, animals, birds and even mud and sand are used as medicines in Ayurveda.
Knowledge about Ayurvedic type of medicine is divided into eight branches.
The branches are 1. Kaya chikilsa (general medicine), 2. Shalya (surgery), 3. Shalakya (ENT and Ophthalmology), 4. Graha (Psychotherapy), 5. Damshitra (toxicology), 6. Bala (Pediatrics and Gynecology), 7. Jara (rejuvenation) and 8. Vrishya (Aphrodisiacs).
Of the above the seventh one, that is rejuvenation therapy is a unique method which Ayurveda performs. Until death our body is engaged in a continuous struggle against the aging process. Hence the body is called Shareeram - something that degenerates.
Kerala has many Ayurvedic health centers, with resident doctors, Masseurs, visiting Ayurvedic doctors who are specialists in various fields of Ayurvedic medicine.

THE HISTORY OF AYURVEDA

THE HISTORY OF AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is a holistic healing science which comprises of two words, Ayu and Veda.

Ayu means life and Veda means knowledge or science. So the literal meaning of the word Ayurveda is the science of life.

It dates over 3000 years, with roots going back even further. It is the worlds first holistic system of health maintenance, based on lifestyle, diet and herbs.

According to many scholars knowledge of Ayurveda originated from India and influenced the ancient Chinese system of medicine and medical system practiced in Greece . Thus, Ayurveda is also known as the “Mother of all Healing”.

According to a legend, the knowledge of healing originated from Brahma who taught it to Daksha, who further taught Indra.

Ayurveda was said to be a world medicine dealing with both body and the spirit. Before the advent of writing, the ancient wisdom of this healing system was a part of the spiritual tradition of the Sanatana Dharma (Universal Religion), or Vedic Religion. VedaVyasa, the famous sage, shaktavesha avatar of Vishnu, put into writing the complete knowledge of Ayurveda, along with the more directly spiritual insights of self realization into a body of scriptural literature called the Vedas and the Vedic literatures.

Vedic Brahmans were not only priests performing religious rites and ceremonies, they also became the Vaidyas (Ayurvedic Physicians). The Sage- Physician- Surgeons of that time were the same sages or seers, deeply devoted holy people , who saw health as an integral part of spiritual life. It is said, that they received their training of Ayurveda through direct cognition during meditation. In other words, the knowledge of the use of various methods of healing, prevention, longevity and surgery came through Divine revelation . These revelations were transcribed from the oral tradition into book form, interspersed with the other aspects of life.

Consequently Ayurveda grew into a respected and widely used system of healing in India.
Around CA.1500 Before.Common era. Ayurveda was delineated into eight specific branches of medicine and there were two main schools - Atreya, the school of physicians, and Dhanvantari , the school of surgeons.
These two schools made Ayurveda a more scientifically verifiable and classifiable medical system.

Scholars from China, Tibet, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome flocked to India's Ayurvedic schools to learn about this holistic medicine

Ayurvedic texts were translated in Arabic and physicians such as Avicenna and Razi Sempion, who both quoted Ayurvedic texts , established Islamic Medicine.
This medicine became popular in Europe and helped to form the foundation of the European tradition in medicine.

In the 16^th Century Europe , Paracelsus , who is known as the father of modern Western medicine, practiced and propagated a system of medicine which borrowed heavily from Ayurveda.

IMPORTANCE OF AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is a science dealing not only with treatment of some diseases but is a complete way of life.

Ayurveda aims at making a happy, healthy and peaceful society. The two most important aims of Ayurveda are:
+ To maintain the health of healthy people
+ To cure the diseases of sick people

Today, well over 100 ayurvedic colleges in India grant degrees after a five-year program. More than 300,000 ayurvedic physicians belong to the All-India Ayurveda Congress, making it the largest medical organization in the world.