How is the modern American to make sense of the many alternative medicines? In many situations it may not seem to matter. You are not feeling well; you find a doctor of Chinese medicine; or you find a doctor of Ayurvedic medicine; you get better. What else matters? The only problem is everyone is not better. Until then, we must try to understand how to choose.
The traditional medicine of India, Ayurvedic medicine, is not nearly as prominent as Chinese medicine in this country. Acupuncturists are common now. Ayurvedic doctors are harder to find, and our understanding of Ayurveda is more limited. Nevertheless, on a personal level, I have gradually drifted from an interest in the Taoist traditions of China to the spiritual traditions of India over the past 10 years. I find the spiritual traditions of India to be subtle, complex, and easy to misunderstand at first exposure. Westerners tend to get a taste of it through yoga, but this is the tip of the iceberg. The relationship of the individual to the cosmos is an entirely different one in the Ayurvedic tradition. In my current understanding, jyotish the complex astrology of India, forms a dominant, perhaps the dominant, underpinning of the entire Ayurvedic tradition. In India, how one fits into the cosmic order is what is important to understand. The western mind tends to come at it the opposite way: how can I get the cosmos to revolve around me?
Thus, Ayurvedic medicine, like that of the Chinese, is a cosmic medicine, concerned with keeping the body and mind in energetic balance both within itself and the universe (what I call a 3rd level intention, see categories on right). Yet, the language and understanding of energetic balance in Ayurveda is quite different from the Chinese. The Chinese primarily understand energetic balance in the human being in terms of the 12 energetic (acupuncture) meridians, intricately mapped out. In ancient India, balance concerned the three doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha.
These three categorizations roughly relate to the three body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. People who have dominant vata tend to be thin (ectomorphic), dry, and there is an emphasis on the nervous system, i.e, there is a lot of anxious mental energy. In the terminology of the ancients, vata is made up of the elements of air and ether (ether was the ancient’s idea of empty space). Pitta people tend to have a large boned, muscled (mesomorphic) frame. They are hot, action-oriented types, and in more ways than one, need ways of cooling down. This relates to the element of fire. with a bit of water thrown in for some steam. Kapha is heavy, cool, and slow, corresponding to the round, endomorphic frame, which tends to easily put on weight. There is a pulling downward. The corresponding elements are of earth and water. Kapha people can suffer from inertia. Once comfortable, on the couch, at their job, in whatever way, change can be difficult.
Everyone has a dominant and subdominant dosha, and balance in Ayurvedic terms is to offset the tendencies of one’s nature. If one is an anxious vata, for example, there is an emphasis on calming and steadying influences. If one is pitta, cooling influences become more important. And for kapha, it becomes important to counteract inertia through action and heat. Thus, for example, hot and spicy food is usually good for kapha people, but it may aggravate people who are predominantly pitta.
It is not a bad idea to familiarize oneself with one’s Ayurvedic constitution and how we use this to promote healthy balance. Yet the genius of Ayurvedic medicine, in my understanding, lies in its detoxifying procedures called Pancha Karmas. The idea is that toxins, both real (i.e. material) and energetic, accumulate in the body that interfere with its proper function and also with medicinal therapies. That is to say, medicines “won’t take” as well if the body is not prepared for them—like trying to paint an unprepared surface covered with dirt and grime.
This detoxifying branch of Ayurveda is vast, using many different therapies and substances (e.g. oils), and drawing on the rich spiritual heritage of India. We westerners can begin to approach it by taking time--particularly at the beginning of seasons when detoxification is most recommended--to find an Ayurvedic clinic or spa using Pancha Karmas, getting to know some of their procedures. Although my experience here is limited, my sense is that those in the Ayurvedic tradition have the inside track on detoxyifying procedures. Because detoxification is an essential piece in the living a long and healthy life, I plan to explore it further in the future.
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