The word Ayurveda is made up of two components – ‘Ayus’ meaning ‘Life’ and ‘Veda’ meaning ‘Science‘. Thus Ayurveda literally means, ‘the science of life‘.

Ayurveda is the world’s oldest system of medicine. Its origin can be traced to the Vedic Age of India nearly four thousand years back. Ayurveda sees health as the integration of the environment with the person’s body, mind and soul. Ayurveda’s holistic approach makes it more a way of life than a system of medicine.

Ayurveda is India’s 4000 year old complete mind and body health care system, Renowned for its vast knowledge of herbs and making use of it to help the body heal itself naturally. Ayurveda is now being reinvented all round the globe as the new age panacea for 21st century.

Ayurveda is a complete system of health care both preventive and curative. Treatment processes to detoxify and to build up immune system is very special to Ayurveda.

Basic Principles Of AyurVeda

Two main theories form the basic concept of Ayurveda :

The Panchabhoota Theory :
According to Ayurvedic philosophy, all living and non-living matter is made up of five basic elements in various proportions. They are Prithvi(Earth), Jala (Water), Teja ( Fire), Vayu (Air), and Akash (Ether). Even the human body is made up of these elements, known collectively as Panchabhootas.

The Thridhosha theory :
According to this theory, all the physiological functions of the body are governed by three biological units named Vatha, Pitha and Kapha each of which in turn is made up of the Panchabhootas.

Vatha is responsible for all voluntary and involuntary movements in the human body. Pitha is responsible for all digestive and metabolic actions in the body. Kapha provides stable energy for holding body tissues together. It also provides lubrication at the various parts of friction. When these doshas maintain a state of equilibrium, the body is healthy. When the equilibrium is disturbed, ill health results.