Nature's Healing Hand

My name is Lana, I am a professional linguist/ translator and am in love with writing, too! I was born, brought up and educated in Russia, continued my education and got married in India, now I am living in Thailand and have no idea where I will find myself tomorrow! I love learning languages, travelling and getting to know about other cultures. I know Russian, English and Hindi; some bits of German, Turkish and Tatar, now learning Thai, and have great plans for at least 5 more languages!:) I am happy to share a few articles regarding Russian, Indian and Thai cultures with you.

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Modern medicine with all its technologies and latest achievements could not supplant traditional medicine of which Ayurveda is the most acknowledged example. This unique system of health care originated in India more than 5000 years ago and has been continuously practiced through all the centuries till date. Now, in India it is successfully blended with modern medicine, and with "Back to Nature" trend Ayurveda is on the rise in the West as well.

The base of Ayurveda is a holistic approach. It treats the human being as a whole body, soul and mind, giving them equal attention and importance. That is, Ayurveda is not purely medical system, it fully justifies its name (translated as "science of life"), applying its principles to all spheres of life.

According to Ayurveda, imbalance is the main cause for disorders and diseases. Hence, maintaining the balance in everything is the key to harmony and healthy life. Ayurveda recognizes five basic elements (Panchamahabhutas), which all objects in the universe including human body are made of: earth, water, fire, air and ether. These elements can combine into three dynamic forces called doshas. Each dosha represents a number of characteristics which can affect every living thing in nature, being responsible for its balance or imbalance.

Vata dosha is a force made up of ether and air. Vata governs the principle of movement and therefore can be seen as the force which directs nerve impulses, circulation, respiration, and elimination. Pitta dosha is a force created by interplay of water and fire. Pitta is responsible for transformation and metabolism in the organ and tissue systems as well as cellular metabolism. Kapha dosha is formed by water and earth. Kapha offers protection and is responsible for growth, adding structure unit by unit. These three doshas are divided into subtypes, where one or two doshas predominate.

Imbalance of any dosha results in different mental and physical disorders. For example, Pitta aggravation leads to anger, impatience, acidity, heartburn, diarrhea, acne, boils and fever, while signs of Kapha imbalance are lethargy, tendency to sleep too much, feeling of heaviness and circulation problems.

Treatment in Ayurveda is always based on the patient's unique constitution and the concept of tri-dosha. Before diagnosing the disease, Ayurveda specialist examines every aspect of the person's life to define the imbalance of which dosha happened and due to what factors. Diet, herbal treatment, massage, meditation and yoga are the main Ayurvedic therapies.

There is no disease or illness that is out of competence of Ayurveda as there is no incurable case. It deals with all branches of medicine including plastic surgery (experiments in this field are dated back to 6th century BC!). Numerous clinical studies showed amazing proofs of effectiveness of Ayurveda, though only a small part of Ayurvedic therapies is offered widely, that is usually massage and herbal treatment. Authentic Ayurveda clinics and educational institutions can be found mostly in Kerala only, and Kerala Ayurvedic specialists are considered to be the best and are in great demand all over the world.