Applying Ayurveda in Modern Day Life, Ayurveda is a simple and practical all-inclusive remedial system with principles that stem from the ancient Vedas of India above 5,000 years ago. It is one of the oldest forms of health science in the world.
It aims to comprehend one’s own constitution (recognized as Prakruti in Sanskrit) and its relationship to the laws of nature to reach a seamless and harmonious equilibrium of body, soul, and mind. Understanding our constitution plays a chief role in how we can live our lives efficiently.
Ayurveda aims at averting and dismissing the diseases of the body and mind through self-observation and self-care.
How do Ayurvedas translate now for us in the 21st century?
The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda designates several ways to sustain balance as the variables of life change around us. Seasons vary, relationships vary, and we grow older.
The only persistence in life is change. If we adjust ourselves internally as per external forces or stresses, we can endure in a state of relatively stable steadiness and good health.
We know we can all slow down, we know we could all consume healthier and we know the benefits if we would all meditate more frequently. It’s a daily brawl facing to ‘do/be better. Ayurveda has a practice of dinacharya – ‘following the rhythm of the day – and is one of the single most influential Ayurvedic tools for living in harmony and balance.
Having a daily routine offers health, vitality, and a sense of clarity to our lives. Adopting a suitable routine or ‘healthful habits’ is one of the most validating and nurturing things you could do for yourself.
Some instances are rising early with the sun to be in sync with nature’s rhythm and to feel alert; beginning the day with a warm drink of ginger, lemon, and honey to flush the system and rouse digestion; scraping the tongue to eliminate toxins; morning movement like yoga and meditation to get the system circulating, aid in removal and to get the mind focused for the day ahead; and regular (self) massage with oil. These are very simple practices yet tremendously operative in keeping us balanced and grounded.
Ayurveda summarizes the curative power of spices and herbs and what is best to eat for an individual, including how and when (and how much!).
It talks about exact treatments to recover and eliminate ailments of the body and mind. It seeks out the root cause of an illness instead of just treating the symptoms.
In our modern lives, we are shelled by stimulation: electricity and technology, family demands, financial pressures, pressure, social expectations, and processed foods. This is far from the sort of lives the Indian sages and scholars led – a life of self-inquiry, at one with nature, living with its natural rhythms, and leading a divine life.
By looking at how they lived their lives with mindfulness and purpose we too can find this state of balance amongst the confusion of our busy, contemporary lives.
Ayurveda is prodigious for everybody. Now more than ever as we rush through our ever-challenging lives we need to take some time out for ourselves to slow down, nurture, live with nature and nurture ourselves by the laws of ancient Ayurveda.