Ayurveda, Secret of Healthy Life

It is stated that Ayurveda, which means life in Sanskrit, is based on spiritual knowledge. Also known as preventive or protective medicine, Ayurveda is based on Vedic culture of India.

One of the most sophisticated, powerful mind and body health systems of the world, Ayurveda was developed by wise persons of ancient India. Containing information designed to help people to stay healthy, Ayurveda strives to help people to achieve the maximum limit of their human abilities. According to Ayurvedic medicine; the balance in the human body prevents or treats diseases. Determining the ideal body type of the person, Ayurveda strives to determine the source of imbalances and finds out the source of symptoms causing imbalance and offers suggestions for restoring the balance.

Ayurveda is based on 3 basic dosha principles. Doshas are the energies that manage different functions in the body, and are found in every human in different proportion of balances. Every human is made up of five basic elements that are found in the universe. Ether, air, fire, water, and earth… And these form 3 different doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata consists of ether and air; pitta consists of fire and water, and kapha consists of water and earth. Every human is made up of a unique mixture of these 3 doshas; however, one of these doshas is usually more dominant. Each dosha controls different body functions. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is believed that the imbalances between these three doshas cause diseases.

In Ayurveda, each person is unique and does not insist on a single diet or lifestyle that works for everyone. The key to health is to be protected from diseases. It is based on personalized advice and guidance to maintain physical and mental health. Nutritional and lifestyle changes are deemed to be more important than medications. Prevention of diseases and treatment by nutrition, aromatherapy, vitamin and mineral supplements, detox, massage, yoga and meditation are brought forward. Researches show that yoga and meditation can act on diseases such as asthma, high blood pressure and arthritis.

Characteristics of Doshas

Vata Dosha: Variable, dry, light, cold, thin, active, fast and tough. It leads other doshas and is the most common cause of diseases in general. It provides energy and movement in the body. It directs the nervous system. It controls every movement in the body. Breathing, emptying the intestines and urinary tract functions are all managed by Vata Dosha. When it functions abnormally or increases, conditions such as angriness, stress, restlessness, fatigue, dryness, constipation, pain, gas, chilling and muscular fasciculation occur.

Pitta Dosha: Warmth, sharpness, slightly fatty, fluidity, sourness. It controls digestion and manages metabolism. Appetite, thirst, heat balance, eyesight, skin structure and color, intellectual balance, the pleasure you get from life, joy and fun are all managed by Pitta Dosha. If it is not balanced, feeling of excessive heat and burning, skin problems, ulcer, bad smell, loss of resistance, eyesight problems, excessive hunger - thirst, redness in face, short-temperedness, quick-temperedness, angriness and anger occur.

Kapha Dosha: Fatty, heavy, slow, soft, bright, strong and cute. It makes up the strength and structure of the body. It gives strength, heaviness, power of resistance and liveliness. It provides moistness and oiliness, and integrity of all physiology and joints.
 It gives healing power, forgiveness, courage, nobility and compassion. When it functions abnormally, it results in heaviness, fatness, excessive slowing, immobility, depression, excessive mucus secretion, all allergic conditions, itching and excessive sleeping.

Ayurveda and Ayurvedic Massages

Shirodhara, Shiroabhyanga and Anhyanga massages are the important ones among the Ayurvedic massage types. These massages are indispensable applications of complementary therapy.

Shirodhara Massage: It is a type of massage that has been applied for 5000 years and known to be applied to kings and queens in ancient times. Having relaxing and healing properties, this massage regulates your sleep, strengthens your nervous system, allows you to relax by removing your negative thoughts. Being a kind of medicine for both physical and physiological fatigue, Shirodhara massage is applied for 60 minutes. It is applied on the forehead as it is a unique therapy prepared to remove mental stress away from the body. It is effective in particular in elimination of problems such as head-neck pain, insomnia, stress, stiffness. Due to its nourishing effect on hair and scalp, it is very useful for strengthening of the hair and restoring  hair health.

Abhyanga Massage: It is a Ayurvedic full-body massage. Firstly, carrier oils such as sesame, mustard, olive and coconuts are heated and then poured on the body. It is the most basic Ayurvedic massage. Warm oil opens the pores and facilitates penetration of oil into the body, and dissolves the toxins in the tissues to help them removing away from the body. For Abhyanga, a rhythmic hot oil massage, mixtures of vegetable oils that are carefully selected according to the season and individual needs are used. Abhyanga ensures deep development and relaxation on the nervous system, which can be described as the first step of mental and physical recovery. Abhyanga massage has positive effects such as beautifying the skin, clarifying the muscles and improving the sleep quality. In addition, it has benefits such as reduced mental and physical fatigue, increased energy throughout the day, reduced stress, relaxation of joints, improvement in appetite, stimulation of internal organs, increased blood circulation, settling the nerves , elimination of toxins, deeper and better quality sleep.

Shiroabhyanga Massage: Being a combination of Shirodhara and Abhyanga, Shiroabhyanga Massage is an ancient Ayurvedic therapy method that restores body, soul and mind integrity. It is a traditional fairy-tale application within Ayurvedic lifeline, which showed up India and is applied throughout the world today. Shiroabhyanga Ayurvedic massage is only a part of this integral therapy system. In this treatment, Ayurvedic body type of the person is determined, and then, vegetable oils are used in this respect. It is applied to head, shoulders, abdomen and legs by rhythmic movements for 80 minutes by use of warm, herbal natural healing oils with special sesame oil based essential mixture. The focus is on the marma points, which are mainly found on head, during the cure that nourishes five senses. It is a natural solution technique for problems such as headache, insomnia and that affects the human life negatively. It acts on cleaning venous (dark) blood in lymph system and veins. In particular, it is important for edema, fatigue, circulatory problems and toxins.