Natural Health and Ayurveda 101

I've studied healing systems from all over the planet, and I use techniques from a lot of them, but when I'm eyeball to eyeball over the exam table with someone, my mental wheels are turning along the paths of Ayurveda, India's 5,000 year old holistic healing system.

The name is translated from Sanskrit as "the science of life" (ayus= life, veda= knowledge, science), and that is just what it gives you. Since it is such a huge collection of interrelated practices, and encompasses so many aspects of a person's health and lifestyle, I can always find something to suggest for everyone.

Since I also practice and teach yoga, Ayurveda's mental and spiritual sister science, I can draw from the rich integrated heritage of centuries of healing techniques they have to offer.

Ayurveda is likely the oldest healing system on the planet, sometimes called "the mother of all healing." According to scholars of Ayurveda, this system is the origin of most healing systems in today's world; all Asian medical systems evolved from its core methods.

Some historians debate it, but there are written records going back 5,000 years for Ayurveda and an oral tradition going back for thousands of years previous. Ayurveda offers me, and each of you, a framework for understanding our bodies and how to best support health over a lifetime.

So, to summarize, Ayurveda is

* The ancient natural health system from India;

* The sister science of yoga;

* A holistic system of health maintenance and natural medical treatment;

* An organized and intelligent system of using herbs, diet and exercise to stay healthy.

At Yogi, we use the long established principles of Ayurveda and the lifestyle practices that go along with yoga to formulate and produce tasty, effective, healthy foods and beverages. Over time, we'll go into more detail about using Ayurveda and how you can apply its timeless wisdom in your life, so stay tuned.