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Ayurveda often called the “sister science” of yoga, is the ancient Indian healing system dating back 5,000 years.
Ayurveda was always practiced in what is known as ‘sadhana’ – which means conscious spiritual practice or protocols, meaning practices that you do in your life consciously with the intention of healing. So you could, for example, say that preparing a beautiful meal is a sadhana. If you really put love and care into the food, using the best fresh ingredients, set the table nicely, light a candle – that is sadhana. Sadhana is to make a ritual out of something that would otherwise be quite mundane.
The idea in traditional Ayurveda is that basically, your whole life can become a sadhana. Your whole life can become that conscious, spiritual practice, from the moment you wake up in the morning, until the moment that you go to bed. That there would be some kind of routine, some kind of rhythm and an ability to find the ritual, find the magic in the most mundane things. Folding up the laundry, doing the washing up and doing these things with care, attention and love. This is helpful teaching when you have a young family like I do and you spend a lot of time doing housework, but for all of us, it’s really helpful teaching.
My approach to Ayurveda is about routine and lifestyle, rather than taking medicine. What has happened to Ayurveda, particularly since the English colonised India is that it has morphed into being part of the Western medicine model, so that now if you go and see an ayurvedic doctor, very often it will be a similar experience to going to see a Western doctor. The doctor has all the power and you are the patient and you don’t have much power. You talk about what your symptoms are and you are then given medicine or herbs to heal them. This situation is not really an interaction where YOU take responsibility for your own healing, it is more like the doctor says ‘you take this pill and you will get better.
That is not how Ayurveda was traditionally taught or practiced. Traditional Ayurveda is much more about looking at the whole picture of your life and changing your habits, routines and ultimately, your mind. You might take some herbs and special tonics, but that is almost like an aside or an addition to the foundation of YOU taking responsibility for your own healing. Let me give you an example. For someone who is feeling very stagnant and low in energy, an approach in our Western culture might be to have a cup of coffee; in a severe case, a doctor might offer vitamin shots or stimulants. An ayurvedic doctor working within a similar model might offer herbal tonics. The sadhana approach might be quite different. I might suggest for example going for a walk in a forest. The crunching of the leaves and brambles underfoot will wake up your subtle body and nervous system. The fresh air and wind will invigorate. The vast sky above will expand your horizons. In this way true and lasting healing takes place
Ayurveda’s ancient teachings state that an ill body and mind suffer from an imbalance, and to live vibrantly we must live consciously.
Ayurveda offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vital, realizing their full potential. In following daily and seasonal routines, diet guidelines, observing behaviour, and proper use of the senses, we begin to bring the body back into balance in order to cultivate perfect health.
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