Any habit, whether good or bad, is always harmful when it is followed to the extreme. I have noticed that those who are too extreme about their health tend to fall sick more often and most often don’t enjoy their diet or routine as often. They tend to miss out on many aspects of life. It is their lack of flexibility that makes them more vulnerable to illnesses.
It is best to always follow a good routine with good habits, but at the same time to be flexible about your lifestyle. If you are an early sleeper and go to bed before ten, then one night of staying up late should not be harmful if you are flexible about it. I know people who are very rigid about what time they go to sleep and if they stay up late once, then they feel sick for a week. If you are an early sleeper, but understand that sometimes circumstances come up in which going to sleep early is not an option and you must adjust. If you willingly adjust to changes or disturbances in your diet and lifestyle, then one night of staying up late will not harm you in any way.
Furthermore, there is no need to be rigid about whether or not you are sitting next to a person with a cold in the movie theater. If you have a strong immune system and take good care of yourself, being in the same room as someone who has the flu or a cold will not make you sick.
Just remember, your health is most important. A good health will support a healthy life and therefore be flexible about your health. One thing off of your normal routine should not be the cause of your illness. Flexibility is one of the keys to having perfect health free from disease. Ayurveda says that everything should be in moderation.
A question that I often get asked is why doesn’t Ayurveda recommend taking vitamin or mineral supplements.
The reason is quite simple. A single vitamin or mineral taken alone has side effects and it uses the isolated chemical approach. For example, taking iron pills can lead to side effects such as constipation. So, what’s the point of taking a vitamin if it causes other problems and is not supporting a healthy functioning of the physiology? A research study done on calcium intake shows that those who took a ‘x’ amount of calcium in the form of pills had a lower bone density than those who took that same amount of calcium within their diet.
That is the very reason why Ayurveda does not recommend taking vitamin and mineral supplements. Ayurveda aims to restore the proper chemical levels through the diet. All vitamins and minerals are more easily digestible and are more effectively absorbed when taken with food in a natural state.
Our bodies do not work on one chemical at a time, but rather, there are a countless number of chemical reactions occurring in the body at once. The reason that modern medicine has so many side effects is because modern medicine uses an isolated chemical or only the active ingredient. The concept behind using the active ingredient is that only the most important aspect of the chemical composition is used, as that is the most useful part of the drug. However, by doing this, the drug loses its synergistic effect. With no other ingredients in the drug to balance its counter effects is why there are so many negative side effects to all modern medicine.
The reason why herbal medicines, especially Ayurvedic medicines work so well and effectively without side effects is because of their synergistic effect. It is well known in alternative forms of medicine and even in cooking, that more than one ingredient is needed to create its desired effect. Take Indian food for example. Indian food uses a variety of spices, such as ginger, cumin, turmeric and chili powder, which gives the taste it does. In Italian food, spices such as oregano and parsley are added to create its wonderful taste. Similarly, all Ayurvedic herbal remedies use the entire natural composition and most often each medicine contains more than one whole ingredient.
Ayurveda treats the entire body, rather than just the symptoms and that is why although treatments are longer, there are no side effects. To give effective treatment you must take into consideration that more than one process is going on in the body at any given time. Therefore, to be able to effectively treat any illness, you must manage it from the root cause and treat the body as a whole rather than just the symptoms.
Ayu is the Sanskrit word for life and Veda is the Sanskrit word for knowledge. Therefore, Ayurveda is the total knowledge of life. Ayurveda is natural, preventative based medicine originating from India.
The foundation of Ayurveda emerges from the five elements of space, air, fire, water, and earth. In turn, these five elements dynamically interact to form doshas, or bodily humors. There are three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each dosha has its own functions, influences and qualities that can be seen both in the human physiology and in the environment.
Vata is comprised of air and space and its functions include movement, communication, and transportation throughout the physiology. Vata qualities are dry, rough, cold, light, subtle, moving, clear, and brittle. The blood flow through the arteries and veins, the nervous system communication and the transportation of nutrients are just a couple examples of how Vata works in the physiology.
Pitta is comprised of fire and water and its main functions include digestion, transformation, and metabolism in the human physiology. Some of the qualities of Pitta are heat, sharp, flowing, sour, pungent, and slightly oily. Everything the body intakes, whether it’s tangible as food or intangible, such as experience, our bodies have to process it. This is where Pitta works. Its job is to metabolize everything so that we are able to extract the most nourishment.
Kapha is comprised of water and earth and therefore, its main functions include structure, cohesion, and lubrication. Kapha qualities are heavy, cold, soft, sweet, oily, stable, steady, and sticky. Many of our favorite desserts, such as ice cream, cake, and pies are Kapha increasing foods. Kapha provides the support and structure, along with lubrication for our muscles and tissues throughout the physiology.
Although the three doshas have individual functions and qualities, they cannot work alone. For maximum body efficiency, all three doshas have to be working together in a balanced state. In Charak Samhita, the main Ayurvedic text, states, “Doshas are three: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. In their balanced state they maintain the body. When imbalanced they afflict the body with imbalances and diseases.” (Charak Samhita, Vimanasthan, 1.5).
