by Geeta Vara, the founder of Geeta Vara Ayurveda
Ayurveda
If you’ve heard of Ayurveda, you probably think of vata, pitta and kapha – your dosha type. Doshas are central to the personalised approach to wellness in Ayurveda, but there are also so many nuggets of wellness wisdom to benefit from.
Here are 10 reasons why I think it’s time to unlock the door to Ayurveda:
One size does not fit all
Ayurveda takes a totally personalised approach to health and wellness. Ayurveda is a person-centred and not a disease-centred system of health. Each person is born with a unique constitution (dosha type) and the aim is to stay as closely in balance to this as possible.
Herbs are not substitutes for pharmaceutical drugs
Ayurveda uses herbs as an integral part of a holistic approach to wellness alongside diet, nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, yoga, meditation, breathing, cleansing and rejuvenation processes.
Your body tells no lies
An Ayurvedic practitioner is a health detective looking for all the visible and invisible signs and symptoms of what’s going on inside your body. Your body leaves many imprints - in your eyes, pulse, skin, tongue, nails etc. and by recognising imbalances, we can prevent health issues from arising.
Be your own doctor
Ayurveda is totally practical in its application. By understanding the impact of the taste and qualities of every substance, you can make choices about what foods, herbs and spices can heal you and what can imbalance your doshas. I really encourage you to start listening to and trusting your intuition – it’s often your best guide.
Your gut is the gateway to greatness
No Ayurvedic journey starts without a thorough examination of your gut health. You are what you eat but you are also what you don’t digest. Most health conditions start from a compromised digestion that allow toxins to accumulate.
Fruits and dairy are incompatible
Fruits digest very differently in your system to any other foods so Ayurveda recommends that you avoid incompatible food combinations. These can include: cheese and grapes/apples, berries and yoghurt, strawberry cheesecake, melon and Parma ham to name a few.
Sleep is a pillar of life
Sleep is the bedrock of wellness. During your resting hours, your body is working hard to repair, replenish and rejuvenate every cell of your body. Late nights, too little sleep, disturbed sleep, too much sleep, sleeping immediately after food all disturb the doshas and trigger stress in the body leading to health issues.
Prevention is better than a cure
Ayurveda is skilfully poised between its ability to treat existing health issues and giving guidelines for a preventative approach to healthcare. Consideration is given to relationships, senses, occupation, environment, seasons, age and more. The aim is to identify and treat the root cause.
You have to do well to be well!
Ayurveda may be 5000 years old but the knowledge is more relevant today than ever before. We have become far removed from our natural rhythms but when we align our routines, environments, relationships to our body type and nature, we can flourish in wellness.
Lunch is the most important meal of the day
The sun is at its highest point in the day over the lunch period and since your body mirrors nature, your digestion should also be at its strongest point so you so lunch should be the main meal of the day.
About the Author As the founder of Geeta Vara Ayurveda and the author of Ayurveda: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Wellbeing (Orion Spring, publishing 7 June), practitioner Geeta Vara treats a host of health complaints and helps individuals to understand the root cause so they can start to regain balance primarily through gut health, stress management and dosha balancing. Geeta’s aim is to help and inspires her clients to be the healthiest version of themselves.