Ayurveda, a Sanskrit term meaning knowledge (or science) of life, is one of the oldest healing traditions, dating back some 5,000 years. It is India's original system of medicine and remains the foundation of medical care in that country. In contrast to the approaches of mainstream medicine in this country, Ayurveda is not just a science but also an art and a philosophy of healthy living. Integral to it are an understanding of nature and the universe, of which the individual is seen as a microcosm. And while allopathic ("Western") medicine focuses on using pharmaceuticals to alleviate symptoms and eradicate disease once it has taken hold, Ayurveda seeks first to establish a healthy body-mind through specific daily practices, then treat illnesses that arise through an individualized prescription of foods, herbs, aromatic oils, bodywork, and spiritual practices.

In the Northeast, the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and the National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine in Manhattan (with another clinic in Brewster, New York) are highly respected centers of Ayurvedic-based care. Several smaller centers in Manhattan also offer counseling, treatments, and health products. In addition, some "Westerners" like myself have had the privilege to train in India with Ayurvedic physicians and bring this holistic tradition to people seeking complementary health support.

This article will introduce the fundamentals of Ayurveda and give examples of how it is applied to maintain and restore health. As you read, set aside your conditioning from a culture steeped in allopathic medicine, which views the physical body as a biochemical machine. Imagine instead what many of us know intuitively: that true health is a state of balance in action, intention, emotion, thoughts, and sense of self, in relation to one's surroundings. 

Ayurveda arose from observations made by nomadic sages thousands of years ago. Their collected knowledge was recorded in what is now known as the Charaka Samhita, the foundational texts of Ayurveda that are part of a larger body of Indian philosophical texts, the Vedas. The sages defined five states of energy/matter: ether (unbounded space, void), air, fire, water, and earth. They perceived that everything, including people, could be described as various combinations of these five "elements."

The sages also observed interactions among nature, food, and health, noting that people reacted to the same foods and living conditions differently. This led them to classify a host of cause-and-effect relationships between individuals and their intake of substances in the environment. It also led to the concept of the doshas—inherent qualities within each person that are expressions of the elements, and so connect humans with nature and the universe.

There are three doshas, referred to as Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each dosha has its own suite of qualities resulting from a pairing of elements. Vata is a combination of ether and air; Pitta is a combination of fire with some water; Kapha is a combination of water and earth. All doshas are active within each of us, though in differing proportions, conferring a unique personal doshic constitution. One (or two) often manifests most strongly and creates certain physical, mental, and emotional attributes.

In addition, each dosha is more prominent at certain times of the day, seasons of the year, and phases of life. Although this may seem puzzling, a familiar analogy is the sense of having "energy to burn." Some people seem to have a lot more than others (a personal attribute). But we each have our daily periods of higher energy. And over the course of our lives, too, we are likely to describe having more energy to burn in youth or middle adulthood than in our elder years.

You don't have to fully understand the doshas to benefit from Ayurvedic health practices, but a fuller description of them is a fascinating entrée. As you read a little more about the doshas, you may recognize yourself. To discover your own doshic constitution, you can consult an Ayurvedic specialist or complete an evaluation in a book on Ayurveda, or one I provide online at www.divinaessentials.com.

Vata, consisting of ether and air, is the principle of movement. In our bodies it governs such things as prana (life force), breath, circulation, and mental activities. Its function is to move everything in our body-mind in its appropriate direction and rhythm. Imagine the qualities of ether and air: spacious, light, dry, and freely mobile. Vata is especially prominent  between two and six o'clock, day and night; because of this, early morning hours are the best time to meditate, when prana is abundant. Vata is the dominant principle during autumn and in cold, dry weather. Vata also increases during the elder years.

When Vata is dominant in a person's constitution, he or she is imaginative, good at generating ideas, and able to meditate with ease. But too much (or "aggravated") Vata causes excessive energy with anxiety, inability to make decisions, involuntary weight loss, irregularity, instability, psychological disturbances, and a sense of being ungrounded. If Vata is blocked, energy flow is disrupted. Symptoms of this include pain disorders, localized weight gain, and poor circulation.

Pitta, made of fire with some water, is the principle of transformation. It changes food, ideas, and emotions into usable forms of energy to fuel the body-mind. To understand Pitta, examine the qualities of fire: hot, bright, burning, sharp and penetrating, overtaking anything in its path. Pitta is prominent during the daily cycle from ten to two o'clock, day and night; these periods are the best time to eat because the digestive fire is strongest. Pitta peaks seasonally in summertime; it is the strongest doshic manifestation from late adolescence through middle adulthood, our primary years of striving.

The strengths of a Pitta-dominated constitution are a sharp intellect, determination, a keen ability to learn and process information, and powerful digestion. Pitta individuals are accomplished, brilliant, and born leaders—the visionaries and activists working to transform the world. But excessive Pitta stirs anger, competitiveness, and a tendency toward addictive behaviors. Type A personalities fall in this category, subject to burnout and excesses. Physical manifestations include fevers, skin eruptions, and digestive problems such as ulcers and acid reflux. A Pitta excess, whether in a Pitta-dominant individual, or in summer, or during the middle years of adulthood, can be balanced through cooling foods, calming activities, noncompetitive sports, and outlets for an inspired focus.

Kapha, made of water and earth, is the principle of cohesion. Kapha nourishes and sustains. Its elemental nature is like moist earth: cool, sticky, slow, even stagnant. Kapha time is six to ten o'clock, morning and night—ideal for bedtime. Kapha season is late winter/spring. Kapha governs childhood, when we experience the most physical development.

Kapha-dominant people are stable, easy-going, loving, and nurturing. They have a tremendous ability to stick with a project to completion, are great managers, and are loyal employees and partners. But they also can experience attachment, depression, lethargy, and greed. A Kapha person can go for long periods without experiencing hunger or thirst because of a sluggish digestion. They tolerate fasting well and should do so one day a week, to improve metabolism. Kapha excess is associated with congestive disorders and weight gain. Stimulation and physical activities help to counteract the lethargic tendencies it induces. Warm, drying foods help bring excess Kapha in balance, as does sweating.

The doshas in synergistic balance create a strong immune system, good digestion, emotional well-being—in short, excellent health of body and mind. In digestion, for example, food is moved along the tract by Vata, transformed into usable nutrients by Pitta and nourishment stored in the body through Kapha. Vata then takes over again governing elimination. This process continues over and over in a harmonious cycle.

But an overly active or underactive dosha can cause illness. Maintaining balance becomes a dance of attentiveness to action and reaction. This can be as simple as the recognition that drinking ice water (your action) gives you a chill, or as subtle as a shift in emotional states during different phases of the moon (your environment's influence).

While studying at the International Academy of Ayurveda in Pune, India, I asked my professors how I could best present Ayurveda in the United States. They unanimously replied, "Teach prevention." That is the focus of my practice, and it also is an easy way to add Ayurveda to your health regimen. Prevention means adopting a healthy lifestyle tailored to one's individual needs, and maintaining that through daily self-care practices.

A main focus of self-care is eating in ways that are conducive to optimal digestion. Regardless of doshic constitution, it is best to eat at times when digestive powers are strongest (Pitta time, from ten to two), with the largest meal at midday and at least five or six hours separating it from other meals. Atmosphere is important, too, because it can enhance, or impede, assimilation of food energy. So eating should be the only activity going on—no reading, watching TV, or other distractions. The environment should be clean, uncluttered, and peaceful. Harmonious companionship will serve digestion best—leave arguments or discussion of the world's horrors for another time!

Ayurvedic wisdom recognizes that people of different constitutions react differently to the same foods. So health maintenance includes choosing appropriate foods. Specifics about which foods suit one's inherent doshic constitution—or will restore balance when that is disrupted—can be determined either by consulting an Ayurvedic counselor or a good Ayurvedic text.

Other elements of a daily routine are tongue scraping to remove toxic buildup, gargling with an herbal rinse, clearing the sinuses with oil or saline solution, pranayama (breathing exercises), evacuating the bowels before eating, bathing with warm water (never using hot water on eyes or scalp), self-massage with specific essential oils, yoga or stretching, and spiritual practices (meditation, mantra repetition, prayer).

If doing all this seems overwhelming, you can incorporate one or two practices at a time, starting with those that address any troublesome conditions. My personal experience of keeping a daily Ayurvedic-based routine is one of greatly improved digestion, complexion, and stronger immunity.

When doshic harmony is disturbed and illness results, Ayurvedic interventions to restore health focus on detoxification and internal cleansing. Ayurvedic therapies known as panchakarma (five treatments) help rid the body of toxins and include massage, enema, purgatives, steam bath, nasal oil drip, and other localized applications of hot, medicated oil. Changes in daily routine and support with herbal preparations are also important. And these are individualized treatments. As one of my professors, Dr. Sandeep Shirwalkar from Pune, in Maharastra, India, said, "The important fact is that Ayurvedic treatments are person-specific rather than disorder-specific."

Consultation with an Ayurvedic specialist will assess a person's condition, identify doshic imbalances, and prescribe treatment. In a typical consultation eating habits, digestive functioning, physical activity, and psychological tendencies will be evaluated. Physical assessments will include pulse diagnosis and appearance of tongue, fingernails, eyes, and body frame. Medical history and symptoms of any current conditions are also recorded. A thorough evaluation should be able to identify doshic constitution and imbalances.

In India today, health practitioners recognize that life-threatening problems such as traumatic injury and heart attack are best handled by a combination of allopathic medicine for acute care, followed with Ayurveda to stabilize the condition, help correct causes, and rebuild a weakened system. But many chronic illnesses for which we might be given a pharmaceutical (or several) have long been well managed with Ayurvedic approaches.

Ayurvedic treatment of adult onset diabetes, for example, includes familiar dietary recommendations of avoiding refined sugar and simple carbohydrates and eating whole grains and vegetables, but also includes certain bitter herbs, cooking with pungent spices, and specific remedies of neem (Azadirachta indica), shilajit (mineral pitch), triphala, and trikatu (two formulas that aid digestion and balance sugar production). Massage with warm medicated oils and anointing of diabetic wounds with them is also indicated. These same strategies greatly aid people with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In my Ayurvedic internships, I was astounded at the excellent results with these treatments, and diabetic amputations were rarely necessary.

For me, the best part of using Ayurveda is that it has given me greater control of my physical and emotional health. It can do the same for you. I believe that no one knows your body better than you do, and you know best when you are off balance. By understanding the dietary and lifestyle requirements of your constitution, you can tailor your habits and see positive changes.