meaning and basic principles of ayurveda

In reality, Ayurveda is more than just a medical system; it is the “Science of Life” – its meaning in Sanskrit.

We are all part and parcel of nature. Ayurveda is a system that helps maintain health in a person by using the inherent principles of nature to bring the individual back into equilibrium with their true self. In essence Ayurveda has been in existence since the beginning of time because we had been and always will be governed by nature's laws. Charaka (circa 300 BC), an Ayurvedic scientist, underlined this:

“Every individual is different from another and hence should be considered as a different identity. As many variations are in the Universe, all are seen in human beings”.

In Ayurveda, the human body is controlled by three biomaterials, somatic doshas or fundamental energies in an intensive interplay - described as movement or motion, transformation or chemical activity, and structure or solid material structure.

They govern both our internal and external environments and are branded in Sanskrit as Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire), and Kapha (Earth). The biomaterials or doshas coexist in a determined proportion and function in a complementary manner to maintain the overall function of the total organism in spite of their opposite properties and functions and are responsible for the characteristics of our mind and body.

Each individual has a unique proportion of these three forces, determined at conception shaping in that way our uniqueness psycho-somatic temperament understood at a macromolecular and micro-molecular as our Prakruti (constitution), which can be correlated to the genetic material or DNA.