Ayurveda – „The Knowledge of Life“

It is said that Ayurveda is as old as humanity itself.

As legend has it, meditating ascetics from the Himalaya region received the Ayurvedic wisdom from heavenly healers. The oldest written records date back to over 3,500 years before Christ, making Ayurveda the oldest health system in the world. No wonder Ayurveda is called the “Mother of Medicine”.

The expressions “Ayus” (life) and “Veda” (knowledge, wisdom) stem from the ancient Indian Sanskrit language. “Ayurveda” therefore can be translated in the sense of “The wisdom of a long and healthy life”. For more than 5,000 years regeneration and prevention have been the foundation of Ayurveda. In these holistic teachings, health is understood to be a dynamic balance of powers, which penetrate all levels of life. The individual balance of power, one’s constitution, is as unique as their face, physical build and personality.

Ayurveda is a comprehensive life philosophy and a holistic form of medicine, which help us to enjoy a healthy and satisfying life with more vitality. It draws on the knowledge and past experience, gained over thousands of years, to:

• accomplish physical, mental and spiritual well-being,
• tune an individual´s diet according to their personal needs,
• and achieve a happy and healthy lifestyle.

An overview of all the most important facts on Ayurveda:

• The term Ayurveda comes from Sanskrit and means “knowledge of life”.
• Ayurveda describes the natural laws that work in us humans and in nature.
• Ayurveda originally comes from India, but can be applied anywhere in the world due to its universality.
• Ayurveda is around 5,000-7,000 years old.
• Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine that always considers body and mind and their interactions.
• Around 80% of Ayurvedic knowledge is basically lifestyle recommendations and only around 20% is concerned with curing diseases. Ayurveda recognises that the key to health lies in healthy lifestyle habits.
• The aim of Ayurveda is to lead a long life in good health in order to 1) have as much energy as possible and 2) be mentally and emotionally fulfilled and satisfied.
• Ayurveda main topics: Nutrition, digestion, physical vitality, mental health, stress management, exercise, sleep, natural remedies and methods, closeness to nature, yoga, meditation, spirituality.
• Ayurveda is based on the assumption that every person is a unique individual.
• Ayurveda is based on the three bioenergies, the Doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Together they have an effect everywhere in nature and in every living being.
• The Vata Dosha is the bioenergy that manifests itself in every form of movement, e.g. in the turning of the earth, in the blowing of the wind, in the flow of blood, in physical movement or even in circling thoughts.
• The Pitta Dosha is the bioenergy that manifests itself in every form of transformation, e.g. the creation of fire through friction, the transformation of food and water into cell material and body fluids or the transformation of ideas into actions.
• The Kapha Dosha is the bioenergy that manifests itself in structure and form, e.g. the solidity of the earth, the structure and form of the human body, buildings that offer us protection or habits that give us stability.
• The individual composition of a person’s three Doshas is referred to in Ayurveda as the basic constitution. It is individual for each person.
• This basic constitution influences appearance, digestive power, resistance, character and much more.
• According to Ayurveda, diseases arise when the individual Dosha composition is out of balance because we live contrary to our nature.
• Ayurvedic treatment plans include many lifestyle recommendations and habit changes. This allows the patient to take control of their own health.
• Authentic Ayurveda has been offered in Germany since the early 1990s. After India and Sri Lanka, the most Ayurveda centres and experts in the world are located here.
• In Germany, there are Ayurveda practices run by specially trained Ayurveda practitioners or Ayurveda hotels that offer particularly in-depth Ayurveda treatment programmes (led by Ayurveda practitioners). There are also Ayurveda hospitals in the countries of origin.
• The best-known Ayurveda treatment is the Panchakarma programme. The body is deeply cleansed of metabolic residues (ama) and the mind is brought to a lasting state of calm.
• Ayurveda is currently enjoying great popularity in the West, as health awareness is constantly growing and Ayurveda offers individualised and holistic approaches.
• There are now a large number of Ayurveda podcasts, books, videos, magazines, online courses and blogs that provide lots of information on how to make everyday life healthier with Ayurveda.