If you are feeling cloudy and a little overwhelmed with all the wellbeing, health and diet advice out there currently, I would like to recommend you go back to basics and look into the ancient (over 5000 years old) science of Ayurveda. Ayurveda comes from the body of knowledge of the Ved (where Vedic Meditation comes from). Ayurveda is a life science, and is one of the most practical medical sciences I have come across. Basically, it is a life philosophy of living in harmony, with the elements and the seasons with a focus on achieving balance through diet and lifestyle. Everyone has three doshas, or mind/body elements that are in a constant state of flux. You are born with a particular dosha constitution and this then shifts throughout your life. Balancing your doshas to achieve equanimity and optimum health of your mind and body is a wonderful process and can be as simple or as detailed as you like. There are three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha each with a detailed physical and emotional profile. You always have the three doshas in play, regardless of whether you might be dominant in one. So when people say for example ‘I’m Vata/Pitta’ they mean ‘I am dominated by Vata, with strong Pitta influence and minimal Kapha in my constitution’.
If you have a beginners level interest in Ayurveda, I recommend working out what type of Dosha balance you have, there are two tests, one here from Deepak Chopra’s site and one here from John Douillard’s Site Life Spa here. Both are incredible resources for gaining knowledge on Ayurveda so be sure to flick around.
To understand more about Ayurveda, a fantastic starting point is to read Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra. We have interviewed Ayurvedic consultant Nadia Marshall here on The Broad Place Journal, and she writes with ease and grace on Ayurveda in her blog here, and I really recommend her books which can be downloadedhere.
Other great books include
Ayurvedic Healing by David Frawley
Art Of Balance by Maya Triwari
Ayurveda; The Science of Self Healing A Practical Guide by Vasant Lad
Prakriti; Your Ayurvedic Constitution by Dr Robert Svoboda
Pic from The Broad Place Pinterest