But by the way, what is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda def: This natural medicine, more than 3000 years old, appeared in France a few years ago. Recognized by the World Health Organization, its goal is to restore physical balance in humans and harmony with the universe to live better.

“Ayurveda” means “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit. Since its creation, this discipline has been transmitted orally. But its main principles have resisted foreign influences. For example, during the colonization of India, the English banned its practice, but later Mahatma Gandhi rehabilitated it.

Ayurveda def. : how it works ?

Ayurveda is based on five elements: water, fire, earth, wind and space, which make up everything, including the human body. In each man and woman, these elements are present in different proportions. These are precisely those proportions that influence the personality of an individual.

Then, we distinguish between three moods, these are called the “doshas”. Each dosha has properties or qualities that ayurvedic doctors will use to determine the “prakriti” (birth constitution) of the person and the causes of its imbalance. This information will allow them to help the individual establish appropriate diet and treatment.

You are :

• Vata if the elements space and air predominate. Its qualities are dryness, lightness, coldness, roughness, subtlety and movement.
• Pitta if they are fire and water. Its qualities are smoothness, penetration, warmth, lightness, bad smell, fluidity and liquidity.
• Kapha for land and water. Its qualities are stability, coldness, heaviness, slowness, softness and viscosity.

The qualities associated with these three doshas are expressed in all metabolic functions of the organism. Each person has within them the qualities associated with the three doshas (otherwise life would be impossible), but one or two doshas take precedence over the others.

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Ayurvedic medicine is primarily preventive

To be healthy, these humors must be in balance with each other. Otherwise, the disease may set in. As is the case with the traditional chinese medicinethe goal of the practitioner is generally to detect the problem before the disease manifests itself, because Ayurveda is certainly a curative medicine but above all a preventive one.

To determine the origin of the disease, the practitioner examines his patient in detail. He interrogates him, observes, among other things, his skin and his hair and performs a palpation.

In order to restore the balance of humors, the practitioner establishes a whole program which includes, for example, Ayurvedic massageexercises of yoga or sessions of meditation. He also prescribes a treatment based on natural remedies.

A fundamental element of healing is dietetics. The practitioner carefully chooses each food and each medicinal plantdepending on the elements that compose them.

For everyday life, Ayurveda advises moderation in all activities (diet, sexual intercourse, etc.)

He considers that man is an integral part of a whole, the universe, from which he is inseparable. This is why the personal well-being requires harmony with others, and with the environment around us. It’s a natural medicinebut also, and above all, an art of living and a philosophy of life.