About Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a highly systematized body of knowledge based on sound foundational principles, and it has a very logical as well as rational thinking process. Most importantly, it is a time-tested knowledge system, in that it has successfully treated people having varied disease conditions through the centuries.

Ayu means Life; Veda means Knowledge. Ayurveda means Knowledge of Life . Ayu or Life according to Ayurveda is a combination of the soul, mind and the body. There are two primary purposes of Ayurveda – preserving the health of a healthy person and curing the disease of an ill person.

There are 8 branches in Ayurveda namely

Kaya chikitsa or General Medicine

Kaumarabhritya or Pediatrics

Bhutavidya or Psychiatry

Salakya Tantra or ENT & Ophthalmology

Salya Tantra or Surgery

Agadatantra or Toxicology

Rasayana or Rejuvenation

Vajeekarana or Virilification

Wellness

The Defination Of Wellness As Per Principal Of Ayurveda - Health is a state of bio-physical and physiological well being and a contented state of consciousness, senses and mind. In Ayurveda terms, this would mean - a state of balanced doshas, agni (digestive fire), dhatus, transformation, formation and elimination of malas (waste); a clear content state of the soul, sense organs and the mind.

JAyurveda also understands the mind from the viewpoint of satva or a pure state, rajas or a pro-active state and tamas or an indolent state of the mind.Ayurveda believes that all diseases are psycho-somatic. What takes root in the mind affects the body also, and what takes root in the body affects the mind also.Ayurveda believes that if one is able to achieve a balanced state of satva, rajas and tamas with preponderance of satva, this would contribute significantly to wellness.

Diet And Wellness

The importance of food in the creation and maintenance of wellness is all too well known. What is not known however is the importance of creating and maintaining a diet that is suited to a particular individual based on the need of his body and mind instead of a generalised diet based primarily on the disease condition.

We must remember that it is not only the type and quantity of food that determines whether its intake is healthy or not; other factors like the strength of the digestive fire, quality of food , mode of processing, types of food that are processed together, types of food that are eaten together in the same meal, when the food is eaten, how the food is eaten, where the food is eaten, what is done after the meal is over etc. too play a very important role in making the food taken health or unhealthy.

One should normally take food that one is used to and “that which becomes one with the body from the habit of using for a long time and so gives comfort to the body”.

Lifestyle

Ayurveda tells us that we should wake up with sunrise and commence our daily routine. Even as the sun mitigates the external darkness, one should commence the natural cleansing process starting with the physical and then moving internally. Do remember that Ayurveda is based on the understanding that what happens in the external world is also reflected on the human body.

The very first activity on waking up would be the cleansing of the bowels and the bladder. This is a natural cleansing process removing the impurities of the digestion of the previous day. After this, comes the cleansing of the sense organs – namely the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. After the application of oil, one should proceed to do some exercise or vyayama. The bodily movement which is meant to produce firmness, stability and strength is known as vyayama or physical exercise; one should practise it in moderation.

At night, early to bed is important for two reasons. The first is obvious – in order to gain a sufficient amount of sleep, an early riser needs to retire early. In addition, sleep gained early in the night is more refreshing because kapha is the dominant dosha till about 10p.m. and hence if one retires before this hour one’s sleep will be more rested and relaxed since it is dominated by kapha’s qualities of heaviness and tranquility.

This is thus, the lifestyle advocated by Ayurveda in general. Based on place, climate, individual constitution and other factors, this can be adapted; the prime consideration shold always be to adopt a lifestyle which minimizes stress and disease and helps one to lead a high quality life.

Ayurveda Medicines/Oils

The medicines at Kensville primarily contain natural products. Ayurveda is closely linked with nature and believes that Mother Nature provides for all our needs. And hence we do not believe in anything synthetic; the products are all natural produced using herbs, shrubs and trees mostly growing in the wild. Where conservation measures are necessary, we rely on cultivated herbs. Hence we do not believe in using only the active principles; we believe in using a plant part in its entirety and thus depend on the synergistic effect of the entire plant or plant part rather than the isolated effect of an active principle. Hence Ayurveda medicines are mostly free from side effects. You can rest assured that the medicines at Kensville are prepared thus, under tight supervision, and with great care and love, to ensure that they only add to your healing effect.

The medicines at Kensville are primarily of the following types

kashayam or kvatha – herbal teas

choornam – herbal powders

ghritham – medicated ghees

lehyam – herbal jams

thailam – medicated oils

arishtam/asavam – naturally fermented preparations

gulika – medicated pills

Over 500 herbs (or parts of herbs) used alone or in combination go into the preparation of the over 300 medicinal products that are available at Kensville for use based on individual need as determined by the physicians.