Prefer listening to reading? Check out my podcast episode on What is Ayurveda? here.
Ayurveda is the holistic health approach I use most when working with my 1:1 coaching clients. I talk about it a lot, and refer to it in my public classes and workshops. Of course I talk about what Ayurveda actually is in workshops and with my clients, but it struck me it might be handy to have a post on it for anyone who’s stumbled on my site and wants to know more. In this post, then, I will explain in a nutshell what Ayurveda is and why I find it such a useful wellbeing approach for modern day living.
First things first, what’s in a name?
Ayurveda is the sister science of yoga. So, just the names of yoga postures are in the Sanskrit language, so too is the name Ayurveda. Sanskrit is a wonderful language with each word made of multiple components, and each of those having different possible translations. Ayurveda has two parts to it:
Ayur = generally translated as life, to live.
Veda = generally translated as knowledge.
Ayurveda, then, is the knowledge of life. Otherwise translated as the science of life, or the art of living well. All of these names reflect that Ayurveda is a complete system aimed at supporting our utmost, holistic wellbeing.
Pin for later
The aim of Ayurveda is to support us in living well.
Ayurveda works with the idea of prevention being better than cure. So, within Ayurvedic texts and teachings, we find laid out for us principles for living our most healthy and well lives. This system of wellbeing is thought to be the oldest holistic health system, dating back at least 5000 years. The reason I think it’s still so relevant today is that it’s rooted in knowing ourselves, and the idea of living in harmony with the world around us.
We are a microcosm of the macrocosm.
Perhaps the key Ayurvedic principle to understand is that we are a microcosm of the macrocosm. Our internal world reflects our external world. It is this concept that allows us to understand that the weather, the people around us, the light, the time of day, the food we eat, the atmosphere, the music we listen to – truly everything we come into contact with has an affect on our inner state of harmony. It is when we are out of balance that we can experience disease (or, dis-ease).
Taking an Ayurvedic approach to life means seeking to restore balance to yourself moment to moment. This all comes from knowing yourself.
Not one size fits all.
One of the first things you’ll do when you work with me on a Holistic Health Coaching Programme is to take a prakriti and a vikriti test. These determine your own nature, and your current state of imbalance respectively. From understanding your own nature, and how to return to your individual state of balance you can start making small changes to your daily life and routines to bring yourself back into balance.
One of the reasons I love Ayurveda is that it meets you where you are. It’s a very practical approach, which means that no matter what our lives look like there is always a way we can start working Ayurvedic guidance into our lives.
It’s instinctive and based in common sense.
You don’t need to work with somebody to start bringing Ayurveda into your life. You can read some books, find something that resonates with you and makes sense and start bringing it into your life. Sometimes, though, we do want to work with someone and that can be wonderfully supportive. What’s brilliant about Ayurveda, though, is that once you start to get the hang of it you see how much it’s rooted in common sense and our own intuitive wisdom. After a while of working with someone, like myself, you’ll have a whole heap of brilliant tools and a deeper understanding of Ayurveda; you can continue applying Ayurvedic wisdom into your life long after the work together has stopped.
Interested in finding out more about Ayurveda? Read my post on Spring Seasonal Living here and on Summer Seasonal Living here. Find out more about my Holistic Health Coaching here.