Take Charge of Your Own Health: What is Ayurveda?
“Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn
By Georgia Tetlow, MD and Jill Maddock
Ayurveda is a vast teaching in holistic health that emphasizes the importance of physical and mental health as well as living in tune with nature. This is needed now more than ever, because we are moving away from and even harming nature instead of considering ourselves a part of it. Ayurveda goes back to the basics, back to ourselves and our harmony with the world around us. “Ayur” means life a “veda” means wisdom or science, so Ayurveda translates directly as “the wisdom of life.” This healing science dates back over 5 thousand years, and has been passed on through the spoken word, yes, almost like a poem.
Integrative medicine aligns with the principles of Ayurveda because both fundamentally believe in prevention. If we ignore the signs that our body may give us along the way, these signs may eventually manifest into a larger issue. The goal is to recognize these signs and bring ourselves back into balance as early as possible. Ayurveda provides very basic interventions to help you be well in the form of food, herbs and lifestyle changes. At PIM, our providers consider Ayurvedic techniques as a part of your treatment in combination with western, evidence based medicine to give you the best of both worlds. If you aren’t sure where to start, request a free 20 minute consultation with a PIM provider and see how this approach can help you.
There is no single diet, medication or supplement that can solve all our problems, even though we really wish there were. Each of us has our own unique, physical and mental constitution - a sort of blueprint if you will. An Ayurvedic approach starts with understanding your unique constitution by taking this into consideration along with all aspects of your life -- your physical body, diet, the qualities of your mind, passions of your soul, the people you surround yourself with, your work life, family and relationships, your environment, and what is going on in your community and world. Ayurveda helps you recognize your body’s unique constitution. Banyan Botanicals, one of our supplement suppliers, offers an Ayurvedic quiz to identify your personal constitution, and they even offer basic lifestyle recommendations.
Ayurveda has recognized the importance of digestion and absorption for 5 thousand years and modern science is just now catching up! Seventy to eighty percent of our circulating immune cells are contained in our digestive system. This is why Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine to address root causes through assessing and healing the gut! Purchase a ticket to our next Nutrition class on 1/17- Eating with MTHFR.
Interested in connecting with PIM? Register for one of our upcoming events - FREE Group Classes at Cabrini College (please RSVP online) OR Nutrition Classes with our very own Rachel Hershberger, MS, CNS, LDN, tickets just $45 at sign up (limited to 8 participants for individual attention, registered participant only, no walkins).
If you or your loved one has ongoing stress, mood or hormone imbalance, or they are suffering from a chronic illness, please consider scheduling a 20 minute free consultation or an appointment with Lauren Houser, MS, MSN, CRNP or Annmarie McManus, MMSc, PA-C, PT, IFMCP.
Resources:
https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/learning-ayurveda/intro-to-ayurveda/