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Gathering herbs to be used in Ayurveda.
The five elements manifest in the functioning of the five senses, and these in turn enable us to perceive and interact with the environment in which we live. Ether, air, fire, water and earth correspond to hearing, touch, vision, taste and smell respectively.
The Three Doshas
From the five elements derive three basic forces, or humours, the tridoshas, which exist in everything and influence all mental and physical processes.
1. From ether and air, vata, the air principle is created.
2. From fire and water comes pitta, the fire principle.
3. From earth and water derives the water principle, kapha.
The balance of the doshas in each person will promote health and well-being, while imbalance leads to ill-health and disease. We are all born with a certain balance of doshas brought about mainly by the dosha balance in our parents at the time of our conception. This is our basic constitution (prakruti) that remains unchanged throughout our lives. The dominant dosha determines our body type, temperament and illness we may be susceptible to. Our vikruti, our present dosha balance, reflects the effect that lifestyle has on our prakruti to cause further imbalances that predispose to imbalance and ill health.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The first requirement for health in Ayurveda is proper balance of the doshas according to our prakruti. If the balance is disturbed by our diet, lifestyle or state of mind for example, illness (vyadhi) of one kind or another eventually results. The disruption may be felt in physical discomfort and pain, or in mental and emotional suffering such as fear and anxiety, anger or jealousy. Our current state of imbalance causing such symptoms to manifest is known as our vikruti.
Both prakruti and vikruti can be ascertained by careful diagnosis which involves taking a detailed case history and examining the body, paying attention to build, skin and hair type, temperature of the body, digestion and bowel function, all of which point to more profound aspects of the patient's condition. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are exceptionally valuable tools for confirming analysis of health and constitution. In these respects Ayurveda has much in common with Chinese and Tibetan medicine, in which these two indicators of the state of health are also of the greatest importance. A highly complex technique for taking the patient's pulse has been developed by Ayurvedic practitioners, which requires many years of practice to perfect.
Once the dosha balance has been diagnosed and the causes of imbalance have been established, treatment and lifestyle advice is given. The first step back to health is the elimination of toxins and enhancing digestion or raising digestive fire, known as agni.
Treatments fall into three main categories:
1. Natural medicines
2. Dietary regimes
3. Lifestyle changes
Dhanwantari was known in the Vedas as the physician of the gods and the patron saint of Ayurveda.
An Ayurvedic massage with herbs.
These are all classified according to their effect on the three doshas. To illustrate, a health problem associated with excess kapha could be characterised by catarrh, lethargy, weight gain and fluid retention. A diet consisting of warm, dry, light food would be advised since kapha is cool and damp. Avoidance of foods with a cold, damp quality such as wheat and milk products and sugar, which would serve to increase kapha, would also be recommended. Herbal remedies would include warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pepper to raise the digestive fire and cleanse toxins from the body. Bitters such as turmeric and aloe vera may also be prescribed.
The specific choice of herbal remedy depends on its “quality” or “energy” which Ayurveda determines according to 20 attributes (vimshati guna) such as hot, cold, wet, dry, heavy or light.
Ayurveda also classifies remedies according to six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.
• Sweet, sour and salty substances increase kapha and decrease vata.
• Pungent, bitter and astringent tastes decrease kapha and increase vata.
• Sweet, bitter and astringent taste decrease pitta and pungent, salty and sour increase pitta.
Herbs from the Ayurvedic tradition include amalaki (Emblica officinalis), shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), bacopa (Bacopa monnieri), guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), gotu kola (Centella asiatica), long pepper, holy basil (Ocimum sanctum), guggulu (Commiphora mukul), cinnamon, coriander, andrographis (Andrographis paniculata), aloe vera, neem, frankincense (Boswellia serrulata) and turmeric.
Detoxification is an important part of Ayurvedic treatment. This can be done gently with the help and guidance of an Ayurvedic practitioner, in which case it is known as shamana. Shodana is a more intense detoxification process known as panchakarma which is done in-house over a period of a month ideally. Panchakarma involves a thorough cleansing and rejuvenation programme, and is available mainly in treatment centres in South India and Sri Lanka, but centres do exist also in Europe and North America. Panchakarma includes the use of oil massage, sweating, therapeutic vomiting, purging, enemas, nasal administration of medicine, and purification of blood.
HERBS COMMONLY USED IN AYURVEDA
Andrographis paniculata (see page 105)
Anethum graveolens (see page 107)
Asparagus racemosus (see page 122)
Bacopa monnieri (see page 127)
Boswellia serrata (see page 131)
Coleus forskohlii (see page 145)
Commiphora molmol (see page 146)
Commiphora mukul (see page 147)
Eclipta alba (see page 158)
Emblica officinalis (see page 161)
Gymnema sylvestre (see page 180)
Ocimum sanctum (see page 206)
Piper longum (see page 216)
Tinospora cordifolia (see page 249)
Trigonella foenum (see page 252)
Withania somniferum (see page 272)
Preparations
Herbal
