Growing up with immigrant parents from India, I am quite familiar with Indian people’s love for herbal remedies for everything. Ultimately, there was no illness of skin or hair condition that the Indian holy grails – namely turmeric, aloe vera, ginger, yogurt, etc. – couldn’t resolve. I’ve spent my childhood drinking turmeric milk when I had a cold, applying aloe vera gel on my face to get rid of pimples and tans, and applying coconut oil to my hair overnight, and I detested all of it. I would be embarrassed to come to school in two braids with ribbons tied at the end and slicked with oil, looking as if I was straight from India and didn’t belong.
However, since I’ve started to work as an EMT in college and have personally witnessed America’s obsession of resorting to pills and expensive surgical procedures to solve their health problems, I’ve come to embrace the practice of Indian Ayurveda more. It’s also apparently trendy these days to incorporate ingredients like turmeric, ginger, and moringa into one’s daily diet; these super foods have been “discovered” in the US when in fact, Indians have been incorporating these foods into their diets and routines for thousands of years.
“What exactly is Ayurveda?” you might ask. Ayurveda literally translates to “life science” in Sanskrit, and it’s a system of medicine that has existed in India for approximately 6000 years. In fact, it is considered one of the oldest systems of holistic healing in the world. The goal of every aspect of Ayurveda is to obtain balance in one’s life, mentally, physically, and emotionally. According Ayurvedic scientists, the body is composed of three different aspects (called doshas) – the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha – and Ayurveda is about recognizing how much of each aspect we harbor and trying to balance it out. Vata is predominated by ether or air, and is light, cold, dry, and rough. Pitta is an aspect predominated by fire and water, and is sharp, light, hot, and oily. Kapha is predominated by earth and water, and is heavy, slow, and stable.
These three forces define all aspects of a human person from their physical build, to their personality, to what they eat. For example, someone whose physical structure and personality is predominated by Vata is slim, nervous, restless, sensitive to cold, and adaptable like the wind. Likewise, someone who’s defined by Pitta has medium build, is prone to muscle inflammation, and is competitive, intelligence, hardworking, goal-driven, and clever. someone who’s defined by Kapha has a stocky build, is steady, a heavy sleeper, and is nurturing and grounded. Depending on which dosha predominates in a person, they should live their lives with the aim of controlling their predominant dosha and rebalancing their body. Ayurveda emphasizes preventative medicine and highlights the importance of balancing all aspects of one’s life, including the right mindset, diet, and the use of herbs. Ayurveda makes one more conscious about their body and how to achieve inner peace with it. For example, if one has a Pitta dominant dosha, they should eat more cool and light foods in order to prevent flare ups such as acne, rashes, acid reflux, etc.
This primarily contrasts with Western allopathic medicine. Western medicine is primarily focused on suppressing symptoms and treating diseases, mostly through the use of expensive drugs and surgeries. While drugs and operations have saved many lives, they have also been the cause of many chronic conditions such as C.diff. and MRSA. Ayurveda on the other hand doesn’t focus on the disease more than it focuses on one’s health to prevent disease to begin with.
That doesn’t mean that Ayurveda can substitute the benefits that allopathic medicine provides; drugs and surgery are the reason that people live longer than ever in this age. However, an Ayurvedic way of life could improve the quality of life for so many and can reduce many of the preventable public health crises that the US experiences.
featured photo credit: wuestenigel Indian colourful spices red chilli, Turmeric, Coriander and ginger powder. Selective focus via photopin (license)
