Among ancient Eastern methods, which medicine and the beauty industry turns to more and more, Ayurveda is the leader. This isn't just fashion or exotic trends. In the five thousand years that Ayurveda has existed, it has proved to be a serious science, which can do such things that often, can not be done by official medicine.
There are whole tractates about Ayurveda, which are now available to the wide audience. Therefore, we will only go over some underlying aspects, which demonstrate the modernity and timeliness of Ayurvedic teachings. If we look at Ayurveda outside of the philosophical environment and very ancient context, it is simply teachings about the healthy way of life - "the science of life". Ayurveda tells us that the length and quality of life depends on the person; what he eats, how he behaves, and what efforts he takes on the way to perfection of body, mind, and spirit.
Ayurveda offers a whole set of methods, which can help successfully progress on this path. All the doctors - experts in the sphere of Ayurvedic knowledge ? say that their knowledge roots from the first teacher, Charaka Samhita, who wrote the guide to Ayurveda. After receiving this knowledge from sages, who have granted him the ability to give amrita (the nectar of immortality), Charaka gave them book format, and thus was the first author of Ayurvedic texts. The chain of teaching the next generations of doctors began with him.
Untypical Types
Any treatment is proscribed with the consideration of prakri (the patient?s constitution). According to Ayurveda, all people are divided into certain types. For example, muscular people with red hair, who are inclined to become irritated and even aggressive, belong to the category of pure Pitta people. The Kapha types are massive people with thick skin. They are slow and sleepy, and usually strive to collect material riches. Vatta, on the contrary, are thin people with dry hair. They have weak joints, and are usually inclined to be scared and to worry. There is a whole set of signs ? not only constitutional, but also inner and psychological signs, - which can determine which type a person belongs to. There are many formal methods; it is enough to fill in a form to find out which qualities a person possesses. However, this does not mean that Ayurveda strictly divides people into only three types.
There are combined, ?dual? types, and besides that there are different amounts of righteousness, passion, and ignorance in each type. A certain diet, exercises, methods of cleaning and rejuvenating the organism, a special set of spices, herbs, and preparations are recommended for each type. The ability of Ayurvedic doctors depends on how well they can determine the methods of treatment and improving the health for each individual person. They also have to give recommendations about the way of life, advise herbs and spices, oils and types of massage, which harmonize the mind and emotions, colors and precious stones, yoga and meditation exercises for every patient. This is because what might be good for a Vatta, is not at all suitable for a Pitta or a Kapha.
More on Ayurveda: Ayurveda | Yoga - Vedabook Publishing - Books and audio-seminars in Russian and English
