Ayurveda Defined

 

If I was describing Ayurveda to someone who’s never heard of it I would say it’s the science or knowledge of life to keep us healthy and in balance. AYU you means life and VEDA means knowledge or science. Ayurveda is an ancient system of health and well being that’s holistic in its approach.  It treats the person not the symptoms and looks at lifestyle, diet, detoxification procedures, seasonal changes and how our body adapts to these changes. It also includes spiritual practises such as meditation and mantras and also how relationships effect our health. We could call it a "manual", similar to a car manual you get when you buy a new car which tells you when to change the oil and all the procedure of how to keep the car running well.  

Shaka Vansiya Ayurved is a specific branch of Ayurveda that can trace it routes back 5000 years to the time of Krishna when these ancient physicians were summoned to treat Krishna’s son of leprosy. The story continue to say that they were the wise men delivering sacred herbs to baby Jesus and his mother at his birth.

I was fortunate to study with Vaidya Rama Kant Mishra who stems from the Shaka Vansiya lineage. He studied at an Ayurvedic college in India but then was mentored for 7 more years by his father and grandfather. Not only was the ancient knowledge from texts like Charak transmitted but also the wisdom of how to adapt the knowledge to challenges faced by our modern lifestyles. There were no chemical antibiotics, birth control pills or electricity or EMF in ancient times but there were toxic plants and lightening strikes which produced similar effects that were recorded. Vaidya Mishra was a highly enlightened compassionate soul to developed many protocols and formulations to deal with modern day imbalances and ailments.