ᾹYURVEDA

Ᾱyurveda is a Sanskrit word meaning “science of life and longevity”.

It is a medical science born in India about 5000 years ago, deriving from the Vedas, the ancient sacred texts; the spiritual component is therefore deeply inherent.

As a holistic discipline, it maintains that well-being is not just physical, but for a person to be defined as “healthy,” body, mind, senses and spirit must be in balance.

Balance is one of the key words of Ᾱyurveda: it is based on the principle that everything in matter, including us, is composed of the five elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) in different percentages; these elements can easily become unbalanced, due to our lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, work, etc.) and, if not brought back into order, over time they manifest themselves in illness.

The aim of Ᾱyurveda, therefore, is to maintain the right balance between these elements, in their continuous and fluid change, in relation between the internal world (body, senses, mind and spirit) and the external world (environment, nature, relationships, Work…); in this sense, prevention is the cornerstone of Ayurvedic medicine.

The fundamental point is that each of us, as composed of different percentages of these elements, which give us our physical and mental characteristics, is unique and unrepeatable, so the Ayurvedic treatment is outlined on the individual person and what is good for one individual, can be harmful to another!

But how is it practiced?

In Ᾱyurveda there are different figures: the doctor, the therapist and the patient and all three, in order for the treatment path to be functional, must be active parts in the transformative process.

First of all, the doctor makes a diagnosis of the patient to understand his general state of health and, in particular, the imbalance to be resolved. To bring it back to its natural state, the doctor prescribes herbal remedies and cycles of massages and treatments with specific oils and powders carried out by the therapist, gives information on the Ayurvedic diet to follow (foods to favor or avoid, times to eat and quantities, combinations to avoid, how you eat) and gives indications on the ad hoc lifestyle (what time to wake up and go to sleep, what activities to do, what mantras to recite...), as well as giving advice on the emotional, psychological sphere and spiritual.

Ᾱyurveda is a lifestyle, kept traditional and simple, because, essentially, we just need to return to connecting with nature, inside and outside of us.

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"Like the heat of fire and the liquidity of water, Ᾱyurveda or the science of life is innate and does not require any effort on the part of humans to exist."

Caraka Saṃhitā – XXX,27