Health is not just the absence of illness
If you have come this far, I can assure you that you are looking for a change. This change may be a desire for better health, the answer to a chronic illness, or simply a desire to find the tools to become more autonomous and to decide about your own well-being.
The goal of Ayurveda is to bring your body, mind and spirit into perfect balance, into their natural state of equilibrium. We all have this natural state of balance in us from the moment we are born, but modern life pushes us towards imbalance.
We tend to repeat habits that are detrimental to our health and we don't realise it. Over the years, we accumulate toxins and weaken our optimal state of health. This imbalance manifests itself in many ways: some people sleep too few hours, others eat foods that are harmful to them, some feel fatigue all day, others spend the day with negative thoughts, many are stressed or have digestive or menstrual problems... the list is almost endless...
Modern medicine simply tells us that the definition of health is the absence of disease.
But it is clear that health is much more than that. Ayurveda takes into consideration each person as a whole and seeks to re-establish harmony in all that constitutes him or her, to find the balance among body, mind and spirit. Ayurveda promotes, prevents, heals and nourishes our health.
One of the reasons why Ayurveda continues to inspire me today is its broad definition of health.
We find this definition written in Sanskrit, in one of the ancient texts of Ayurveda, the Sushruta Samhita, written by India's first surgeon in 600 B.C.:
"Sama dosha Samagnischa Samadhatumala kriyaha
Prasanna atmenindriya manaha Swasthya ityabhidheeyate".
Here a healthy person is defined as one whose doshas (biophysical humours) are in balance (sama), as well as his agni (digestive fire) is also in balance (sama), and also his bodily tissues (dhatus) and his wastes (mala). The quotation explains that the balance must be perfectly in good condition - joyful or blissful (prasanna) between the person's mental state (manas), his sensory organs (indriyas) and his soul (atma). The person who has this right balance, according to Ayurveda, is a healthy person.
TAKE YOUR
HEALTH BACK
ON TRACK
Ayurveda encourages us to look inward, to consider our lifestyle, our past, our own inner constitution. It makes us realise that health is built day by day. That is why an Ayurvedic therapy involves creating new self-care routines. In order to achieve a perfect homeostasis we will pay a lot of attention to nutrition. In Ayurveda we say that your body is not what it eats, but what it is able to digest.
It is a fantastic journey of self-knowledge I would like to accompany you on. For Ayurveda, to be healthy is to be happy. That's what we all aspire to.
We will work together to find your natural balance. There cannot exist two exact persons or two exact bodies, so my commitment will be to guide you and be by your side during this process of reconnecting with the cycles of nature. You will be able to reach that state of happiness through some healthy and respectful guidelines that will take into account your way of life.
HOW CAN AYURVEDA HELP YOU?
Ayurveda has been proven to treat and improve diseases and pathologies such as:
1
Digestive issues
constipation, diarrhea, no appetite, irregular appetite, bloating, gas, abdominal pain, IBS, ulcers, acid reflux, weight management, detoxification
4
Regulates energy
chronic fatigue, low energy
2
Mental Health
stress, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger, frustration, confusion, insomnia
5
Pain Management
headaches, migraines, neck tension, back pain, joint pain, arthritis.
3
Immune System
asthma, allergies, cold, congestion, sinus issues, sinus headaches, poor immunity, immune disorders
6
Hormonal Balance
menstrual disorders, PMS, menopause
AYURVEDA & YOGA
Yoga and Ayurveda cannot proceed separately, both are two healing disciplines in India and each fulfils its own function. They have the same origin, the same philosophical school (samkhya), the same goal, the same principles. They recognise that keeping the body healthy is vital for the four goals of life: Dharma (obligations, purpose of life), Artha (material prosperity), Kama (satisfaction of sensory desires) and Moksha (Spiritual Liberation). Yoga helps us to self-realisation and Ayurveda to self-knowledge.
For me and for the whole millenary tradition of Ayurveda, the practice of Yoga is indivisible in order to find balance in each one of us.
If you have ever practised Yoga, you will remember that many of its postures (asanas) are based on sustaining balance in a harmonious way. Therein lies the point of connection between yoga and Ayurveda: finding balance, and finding it in a natural way.
Yoga does that in an internal way, while Ayurveda deals with external aspects, influencing our body. Understanding that the human body acts on a set of various external and internal forces, Yoga could complement the experience of Ayurveda, in case one is interested in exploring both practices.
BREATHE IN AND OUT
The practice of Yoga brings harmony to our lives, to our body, mind and spirit through body movements, breathing and mindfulness. It is as powerful a tool for transformation as Ayurveda.
By cultivating a proper relationship with our body, regulating its energy (but also allowing it to flow freely), managing breath and movement, we help to mobilise our inner being into a state of balance.
These two practices together will give us what in Ayurveda is considered a healthy person: balanced doshas (primary forces), balanced agni (the internal fire of digestion), well-formed tissues (dhatus) and a correct elimination of wastes that harm us (malas).
For more than 20 years Yoga has accompanied me in my daily life, giving me all its benefits and wisdom. With these two tools in my hands, my intention is to guide you to live a full life.