Ayurveda is the ancient Indian system of natural and holistic medicine. When translated from Sanskrit, Ayurveda means the science of life (the Sanskrit root Ayur means longevity or life and Veda means science).
While allopathic medicine tends to focus on the management of disease, Ayurveda bestows us with the knowledge of how to prevent disease and how to eliminate its root cause if it does occur.
Core Principles of Ayurveda
The knowledge of Ayurveda was passed orally through a lineage of sages in India until it was collated into text more than five thousand years ago. The oldest known texts on Ayurveda are the Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and the Ashtanga Hrudaya. These texts detail the affect that the five elements found in the cosmic system - earth, water, air, fire, space have on our individual system, and expound on the importance of keeping these elements balanced for a healthy and happy life.
According to Ayurveda, each person will be influenced by certain elements more than others. This is because of their prakriti, or natural constitution. Ayurveda categorizes the different constitutions into three different doshas
