ayurvedic medicine

What is ayurvedic medicine?

Ayurvedic medicine is perhaps the best-known form of traditional medicine used in India. Its name comes from two words meaning 'life' and 'knowledge'. Ayurvedic medicine is based on two medical texts which date from around 2,000 years ago. Ayurvedic medicine suggests that there are three 'doshas' which control the health of the body. If the doshas become imbalanced then illness is the result.

What symptoms does it treat?

It can be used to treat a range of illnesses, with some of the most common being digestive problems, gynecological problems and skin disorders.

What will happen in an ayurvedic medicine session?

The practitioner will usually examine you to discover how the doshas are balanced within your body. They may look at your pulse, tongue, voice, skin, vision, general appearance, urine and stools.

From these observations the practitioner will be able to find out information about the doshas. For example, if your tongue is greasy with a white coating that relates to a particular imbalance, or if your pulse is fast that relates to another imbalance.

The treatment assigned to you will depend on the results of this examination. It will generally consist of herbal medicines combined with massage and manipulation, diet and lifestyle advice and possible yoga exercises.

REVIEWS OF AYURVEDIC MEDICINE

Review by Liza

I have suffered from IBS for as long as I can remember. I have seen several specialists, naturopaths etc, and nothing had worked for me until now! A friend suggested that I see a particular practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine so I didn't have anything to lose by making an appointment and going to see him.

I honestly couldn't believe it. I didn't tell him a thing about myself. Instead he got me to poke my tongue out and told me exactly what was wrong with me, the first being IBS, then other related symptoms such as gynecological problems and lower back problems.

He asked me what I ate and although I thought my diet was fantastic it was apparently over-run by acid. This completely made sense to me as I was practically addicted to mandarins, tomatoes, oranges and any form of fruit juice I could get my hands on. I was also very stressed at the time which wasn't helping.

After my thorough consultation the practitioner put me on an acid-free diet and also eliminated heavy food such as pasta and the like. I was also put on some lovely tasting herbal cleansing tablets which I could feel working immediately. I sent one of my friends to him who suffers a lot worse than I do with IBS and she was in tears because he put his finger on what was causing hers too.

I can honestly say I'm a new person after seeing him. I used to live on Imodium and antacids. I can honestly say I haven't had a problem now since I saw him over four months ago.