subject: What Is Old Is New Again Ayurveda [print this page] The 5000 year old therapy duo to that brings us to the edge of
living in harmony and being in balance
When we think about therapies in spas it is generally of Swedish massage, facials, steams and pedicures, what I would like to talk about is a 5000 old tradition of wellness and longevity, whose teachings were passed down the ages as oral tradition and eventually as Sutras, or poetical verses in Sanskrit.
When speaking of well being in the context of health, one is not speaking of the market-driven ideas of the present day, but of the intimately related emotional and physical aspects of health and well being (Mind, Body & Soul). The more we nurture ourselves with the purity of the environment, the more radiant we become physically and expressively regardless of our particular body shape or proportions. We will glow, things flow smoothly, its as if a light has come on that has been out.
Ayurveda is perhaps the most complete system of living, embracing not only medicine, but also philosophy, psychology, lifestyle, and health. It is Indias traditional natural healing system, believed to be more than 5,000 years old.
The term Ayurveda derives from the Sanskrit words ayus and veda. Ayus translates as life and Veda as knowledge or science Ayurveda thus means the Knowledge or Science of Life. According to Ayurveda Ayus is union of the mind, body, senses and soul. It is energy and vitality and is eternal.
Ayurveda teaches us to live in harmony with the basic laws of nature. According to Ayurveda, health is a continuous and participatory process that embraces all aspects of life: physical, mental emotional, behavioral, spiritual, familial, social, and universal. Achieving balance on all levels of being is the true measure of vibrant health.
All organic and inorganic substances are made up of five basic elements, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, & Earth. These are the building blocks of all material existence. Everything we know has a varying ratio of the five elements. Since we as humans are a combination of the five elements we also have a distinct pattern or map for each person, and no two people will be the same.
We nourish ourselves with foods from the earth, and eventually, our body returns to the earth, from where it came. Water is our life sustaining fluid, making up a large percentage of our total body mass. Fire is within us accounting for the heat and radiant energy that exists within all metabolic and chemical actions. Air flows freely throughout the body, giving movement to biological functions and feeding every cell with oxygen. Space is ever-present, patiently residing in the background, providing the other elements with an opportunity to interact in this way.
The five Elements also explain why substances of the natural world are harmonious with the human body. We utilize plants, herbs, minerals, and water because these substances are the same in composition and character to our own underlying make-up.
Clearly, as each individual has all these principles at work, each person is a combination of the three doshas. Typically though, one or two doshas dominate lending unique character to the individuals mind-body constitution.
Here are a few examples of what it is like to be in and out of balance with your specific dosha (body types):
The pressures of modern life can and will wreak havoc with our natural state of well being. In past times people were in close contact with the earth and changes of the seasons, working the land, hunting and harvesting the food. Today we have traded this time tested habit of natural and direct experience for our creature comforts and conveniences.
More of us live in cities, spending the waking hours in man-made environments. Simple things like light and heat, which once ruled our work and sleep patterns have become controllable at the flick of a switch. Foods flown in from all over the world are available to us year round, all but extinguishing seasonal selection.
The world of the computer has on one hand made life simpler, but has also encouraged a sedentary existence. Supposedly we have more control, but the further we get from the earths natural rhythms, the more stressed our daily living becomes.
Why is this you ask? It is these simple and modern connivance's that interfere with the energy flows in our bodies. As a direct result, the bodys natural balance of elements is disturbed. In an Ayurvedic context one would refer to this as an imbalance in our doshas (body type). The results could be stress, insomnia, anxiety, hypertension, hair loss, flu or common cold and many other disorders that affect lives and well being. Bearing in mind we cannot drop out and return to a natural existence, what can we do to help restore our own natural balance in modern times?
Popular cosmetology and medicines focus primarily on outer beauty, treating the symptom rather than the cause of the disorder itself. Ayurveda recognizes that individual positive health results from a balance of five fundamental elements. When this balance is disturbed, ill health issues occur. Ayurveda addresses well being from the sites of origin in the mind and body, and capitalizes on all efforts relating to positive health, treating people as a whole, unique individuals rather than mere cases of some skin or scalp disorder. The most basic idea of Ayurveda is the concept of balance. We are healthy and happy when our doshas (body type) are properly balanced. Most disease results from an imbalance of our doshas.
To heal the disease, the Ayurvedic practitioner attempts through various treatments to restore the balance. The balanced body then heals itself. In essence, Ayurveda is a system that uses the body's own defenses and recourses to restore and maintain health and happiness. It pertains to the achievement of the perfect state of well being, balancing the mind, body and soul.
The Ayurvedic approach to health is twofold: heal sickness by restoring the body's natural balance of energies (doshas), and preserve health by carefully maintaining that balance through daily and seasonal routines. Two 5,000 Ayurvedic year old, wellness and longevity therapies, Abhyanga Marma Point Massage and Shirodhara can help return and maintain the doshas (body types) balance. When we combine them we will allow the bodys energies to be restored and the inner mind to find peace, thus leaving us to live in harmony and be in balance, disease free.
Abhyanga literally translated means oil application. Marma Points (vital energy points) are positions on the body where flesh, veins, arteries, tendons, bones and joints meet. They are also junctions where Vata, Pitta and Kapha elements meet. They are points which have great importance to a persons mind, body and spirit. The major Marma Points correspond to the chakras. The minor points are found around the torso and limbs thus healing through marma affect the chakras, physical health and the doshas.
This massage can be done with two or four hands, when using four hands it stimulates both the left and right side of the brain simultaneously, and also allow for deeper oil penetration. The therapists are moving in synchronicity and the pressure is applied equal at all times. They will also be working either from navel towards head or from navel towards foot, or on the left hand side and right hand side of the body. It is a well choreographed dance full of grace, giving and gratitude.
This treatment utilizes dosha specific herbal oils to pacify the clients imbalance in their doshic type. Because the marmas are the junctions of all five elements, it is these points that herbal application and pressure can most effectively restructure or re-balance the health and longevity of the body and mind by ensuring the proper balance. Abhyanga therapeutic oil application combined with Marma Point Massage helps eliminate toxins from the body, allowing healing and restoration of the tissues, channels, digestion and mental functions.
General benefits may include the following:
Calming excessive mental activity
Improving circulation
Removing stiffness from joints
Improving concentration and intelligence
Promoting good vision
Stimulating the lymphatic system
Remedying insomnia
Balancing hormonal and nervous system
Making the body feel light, active, energetic
Stimulates antibody productions thus strengthening the immune system
Shirodhara
Shiro means head/forehead region and Dhara literally means flow in this case with therapeutic oils. This traditional technique is quite powerful in its ability to relieve emotional and physical tension by working on the third eye (the center of the forehead).
Shirodhara is a modern therapy based on an ancient Indian technique. The patient lies supine on a flat surface with head back and a rolled towel or pillow beneath the neck. A stream of warm oil is poured very slowly onto the center of the forehead (the location of the "third eye"), known as the window to the soul. The effect is indescribable. People emerge from this therapy with a new sense of tranquility that is reflected in a healthy glow as a free flow of energy emerges.
Typically, the treatment lasts half an hour. Sesame or other base oil is blended with a few drops of aromatic essential oil to create the liquid. It is then warmed to a comfortable temperature and the treatment begins.
The third eye is a vital marma and the chakra for mental powers; it is not unusual for some people to find this a very powerful meditative experience. It is critical that the room be quite, clean and free of drafts. Shirodhara has over the generations been applied to treat various disorders of the head, neck, eyes, ears, nose and skin, throat and nervous system. It is specifically suited to ease any Vata imbalance located in the head and chest area. Wonderful also for Pitta issues, this treats cholesterol, enlarged prostate, ulcers and reduces heat from the systems. Some simple benefits are that:
Provides deep mental and physical relaxation
Reduces insomnia
Helps treat asthma, allergies and rheumatism
Alleviates excess perspiration
Helps resolve mental conflict
The combination of Abhyanga Marma Point Massage followed by Shirodhara is the a way of fighting back, of getting back to the natural rhythms of the earth, a means of warding off the effects of the modern day and keep us in touch with ourselves.
These Ayurvedic Therapies are two of the best kept secretes that no longer needs to be kept. As a friend once said anything that is good or valuable we retain any thing that is irrelevant is lost or forgotten, as is true of a tradition that has not been forgotten after 5,000 years. How can you now not have any interest in locating a qualified Ayurvedic practioner or discovering a Spa/Resort that offers these Ayurvedic treatments, in order to lie down and close your mind to stress and anxiety and open it to a balanced mind, body and spirit.
