Ayurvedic Medicines

Ayurvedic Herbs for Self Healing

By Midori Hatakayama- Ayurveda Wellness Practitioner

I believe that herbal medicines are important to us because they connect us with the very source of our life that is the nature, which is full of vitality and pure energies. Further more, herbal medicines are the time tested holistic and preventive medicines that have least side effects if at all.

It is said that the many of the herbs on the market are wild grown and the destruction of the natural habitats and the growing needs for herbs are inviting the phenomenon of over harvesting which are risking the extinction of potent and popular herbs grown in wild.

By choosing herbal medicine, one must recognize the value of the nature and the five elements within. Herbalists must become aware of the environment that surrounds not only themselves but also the environment that surrounds the very plants that save us from suffering. It is crucial for herbalists to learn about the local cultures and the lives of local people and how the plants are harvested.

It is important that we become aware of the circumstances of the plants and that any suffering of the source we use for the medicine will directly affect the effect of our medicine not to mention the extinction of the source. It is also important that herbalists
and the practitioners of traditional medicines unite themselves in the protection and conservation of the nature.

To protect the future of the herbal medicine, cultivation and certification of herbs must be encouraged and the practitioners of Traditional Medicine and herbalists should make a conscientious choice of correcting cultivated and certified herbs instead of wild grown endangered herbs for their practices.

By choosing the way of herbal medicine, not only we have chosen the holistic health for ourselves but also chosen the holistic way of life in which we must stand aside with the nature and wildlife and participate in a conscientious and ethical practice of collecting herbs.

DOSAGES

In general, low dose restores, stimulates, or cleanses the target system by balancing related dosha; medium dose directory affects the target dosha and counteracts to the symptoms of its imbalance; and high dose dramatically increases or decreases the target dosha whereby causing aggravation of non-target dosha.

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Ayurveda and the Four Lifestyle Choices

By Rita Shylesh Nair (Student - SDCOA)

Ayurveda translates as the Science of Life. As a codified system of medicine, Ayurveda considers a human being as a whole being encompassing all aspects of mind, body and spirit functioning as one in coherence. It recognizes that a human being is a finite container of consciousness established with boundaries of their ego, mind, intellect, emotions and sensory filters. Any experience of life come through these filters and layers creating an impact on the individual’s emotional, physiological, mental and spiritual aspects.

Ayurveda as a social and spiritual system provides a set of rules for right and natural living. It promotes the idea
that one should live a life of balance, wholeness and truth for the betterment of not only oneself, but also one’s
family, society and the world. It also stipulates that one should live from the heart, live a life of truth and
principles of right living without causing harm to oneself or others.

The 4 types of Ayurs as described provide us with a methodical way on how to live life and provides insights on what causes an imbalance or for life to go out of balance thereby causing suffering and misery. It also enables us to evaluate and assess whether the individual is living a life in concordance with the principles of right living and determine root causes of suffering and unhappiness. One’s actions, thoughts and words (karma) all have a direct bearing on one’s state of suffering or health. Karmic factors extend and span across time and space boundaries as perceived by us. It also takes into account ancestral and familial factors towards health.

When one lives a life of comfort, free from physical and mental ailments and lives in concordance with nature and its principles, one is said to live a Sukh- ayu. When one lives a live contradictory to nature and its principles, one is bound to experience mental, emotional and physical suffering. This includes poor lifestyle factors, stressors, poor diet etc. This is said to be a life of Dukh-ayu.

When one lives his life in accordance with Dharmic principles of life, a life of truth, right effort, right balance, for the benefit of himself, his family and society, one is said to live a life of Hit-Ayu.

When one lives life in a state of lack of awareness or mindfulness in contradiction of truth and engages in negative thinking, attitudes and mental states that adversely impact one’s life, and others and society, one is said to live a life of Ahit-Ayu.

This system also recognizes that our actions if unconscious and without mindfulness also has a direct impact on those around us and our environment. If we do not perceive the cyclical nature of life and the phases of life that follows nature’s cycles, and live accordingly, then we are bound to experience its effects adversely upon our
physiological, mental and emotional being.
Our excessive demand for fuel has depleted earth’s resources
thereby destroying earth’s natural riches without replenishment.

The impacts of climate change are self-evident.

Many countries see increases in temperature and pollution. This has created a toxic environment and spawned
respiratory illnesses that impact millions. We continue to reach for western drugs which also create its own set
of effects. We are no longer connected to the earth by growing our own food and most food supplied in the world unfortunately has been tainted by toxic chemicals or Gentically Modified Food.

Chemicals introduced in farming practices destroy soil and has created a new slew of GI related illnesses. Our reliance on conveniently packaged and processed food has increased a hundred fold which in turn has created a whole set of diseases as well.

Our fast-paced stress filled lifestyles no longer permit us to have downtime to engage in spiritual practices or rituals
that allow one to connect back to our sense of Higher Self. This intrinsic sense of lack of connection to
ourselves and others create a sense of alienation and we live increasingly separate lives. While we live in a more
technologically advanced society, we also live lives of increased stress and stress related illnesses and
depression and other psychological issues.

The examples of disease and imbalance abound in society and
present day culture. All of these can be traced back to how the principles of life and living as laid out in ancient
Ayurvedic texts have been overlooked and ignored.

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