Neerja is the Principal Consultant and Director at Ayurveda Awareness Centre, and she is a trained consultant, therapist and classroom facilitator for courses run by Ayurveda Awareness Centre, for nearly two decades now. Neerja has led educational seminars, workshops and retreats and has published in national magazines and professional journals.
Neerja’s intimate connection with the Indian culture and her personal interest in holistic healing, Indian herbs and cuisine gives a unique authenticity to her practice.
Ayurvedic medicine is a traditional Indian medicine that focuses on balance between the mind, body, and spirit. When these areas are properly balanced, the body can naturally self-heal. The primary goal of this practice is to promote good health, rather than fighting disease. In saying this, the practice is also sought out for particular health issues like psoriasis, bloating, and tinnitus.
The original Sanskrit texts on Ayurveda break it down into eight unique areas:
Ayurvedic medicine involves the use of a variety of substances and techniques, including herbal medicines, yoga, proscribed diets, and massage. It’s used by around 80% of people living in India and Nepal1.
Ayurvedic practises such as meditation, massage, acupuncture, and certain herbal medicines have lots of science-backed health benefits. They’re used to treat a variety of conditions and disorders, in addition to promoting overall health and well being. Other practises like dietary recommendations and panchakarma are lacking in research, but may still provide health benefits through the placebo effect.
Ayurveda is believed to have come directly from the Hindu god Brahma, who gave it to the Dhanvantari—the “physician of the gods”—sometime in the 2nd millennium BCE. Combining this information with the philosophical teachings of Vaisheshika and the logical teaching of Nyaya, the god-given concepts were laid out in the Atharvaveda text, and later extended in the medical treatises Caraka-samhita and Sushruta-samhita. These are now core texts for Ayurvedic practice2.
According to Ayurvedic philosophy, everyone is born with a particular constitution called prakruti, which determines their physical and psychological characteristics. This is influenced by various internal and external factors like day and night, the seasons, and lifestyle choices, which Ayurveda attempts to balance to achieve good health.
Prakruti contains three doshas—energies that have a specific impact on your body. These doshas are vata, pitta, and kapha, and they each relate to particular elements of the earth:
An Ayurvedic diet involves restricting particular foods based on your unique dosha (or body type), which is thought to help you lose weight, be more mindful of what you’re eating, and maintain excellent health. For example, the kapha dosha is based on earth and water, and can be described as heavy and cold (among other things). This means you may benefit from a diet with the “opposite” foods that are warm and stimulating, such as peaches, ginger tea, carrots, black beans, cayenne, and quinoa.
As one of the oldest health practices in the world, Ayurveda has produced a variety of techniques to promote holistic healing. These are the common types recommended by practitioners.
Ayurvedic herbal medicine
Ayurvedic practitioners can select from thousands of herbal medicines and 250 single plant remedies, to promote healing. These are categorised based on their health effects, such as increased vitality.
These are some scientifically-proven herbs that can be recommended by Ayurvedic health practitioners:
Acupuncture (marmapuncture)
In Ayurveda, acupuncture aims to stimulate special points called marmas, which are connected together via energy (known as prana) channels. This concept has striking similarities to traditional Chinese medicine, which also uses acupuncture to provide scientifically-proven healing.
By stimulating specific marmas, practitioners realised that they could influence particular organs, release blocked energy, and restore their patients to good health.
Breathing exercises (pranayama)
Pranayama is the practice of breath regulation, used as a way to improve physical and mental well being. It involves a pattern of purposeful inhalations, exhalations, and breath holds, using specific timings and durations.
Pranayama has a variety of scientifically-backed health improvements, including:
There’s a number of these breathing techniques that can be practised, including:
Diet
An Ayurvedic diet is believed to be good not just for your body, but for your mind too. It’s based on the five elements of the universe—vayu (air), jala (water), akash (space), teja (fire), and prithvi (earth)—which relate to certain types of food, and in turn, specific doshas in your body. When these doshas are balanced, it’s believed to promote good health.
Massage (abhyanga)
Ayurvedic massage is used primarily for relaxation purposes, but also includes health benefits like reduced muscle tension, diminished pain, and nourished skin. The practice focuses on the skin rather than the underlying muscles and is used in conjunction with health-promoting oils.
Panchakarma
Panchakarma is a group of treatments that are meant to detoxify the body and balance the doshas. It includes vomiting, enemas, and blood-letting. Protocol will vary individually and vomiting is not included in Australia at this point in time.
Yoga
Yoga came from the ancient practice of Ayurveda and has become an incredibly popular way to improve your overall health. Benefits include improved strength and balance, relief from back pain, improved heart health, and reduced anxiety. The list is a long one!
Here are some guidelines to follow when choosing an Ayurveda practitioner:
Once you’ve found a potential Ayurveda practitioner, it’s worth asking them the following questions to ensure they are credible and suitable for you.
In your first appointment with an Ayurveda practitioner, their goal is to find out about your holistic health, including any current health issues you have. This may include a discussion of your lifestyle, diet, and exercise regime, as well a medical assessment, pulse diagnosis, and tongue diagnosis.
Once the assessments are complete, the practitioner will create a personalised health and treatment plan. Recommendations can include dietary changes, yoga, herbal remedies, and other practises that may be beneficial.
