What is ayurveda

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Peaceful, committed atmosphere for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda – the science of life

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of life. Much more than a system of medicines for ailments, it consists of a body of wisdom designed to help people stay healthy while living their life to its full potential.

Ayurvedic philosophy holds that the mind and the body are fundamentally connected, and that nothing has more power to heal than the mind. Ayurveda teaches us how to connect with and balance the life force within.

The essence of Ayurveda is a way of life, a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is an ancient system of rejuvenation of both the body and mind.

Ayurveda is considered to be the sister science of yoga, and as we are also a Yoga Centre, we are well-placed to provide you with an overall program for your overall health and well-being.

Disease is born when the mind is constantly in flux between the past and the future, causing stress, anxiety and depression. Ayurveda and yoga therapy help to bring the mind back to the present into a calm state, where healing can naturally occur.

The treatments that we offer are based on Ayurveda’s holistic views of the body, which covers lifestyle issues, diet, mental attitudes and a person’s individual constitution. According to Ayurveda, your constitution is determined by your body type, or dosha.

There are three types of doshas – vata, pitta and kapha, and it is the way in which they are combined in each individual that makes a person unique. Our trained therapists can help to analyse your body type and determine appropriate treatments according to this.

Want to know your own constitution? Read our next section on Self-diagnosis.

Self-diagnosis

Determining your body type In order to determine your body-type you first need to understand the doshas. The universe and all its components are made up of a combination of the five great elements, or five states of matter: earth, water, fire, air and space. The Tridosha, or three energies, are made up of these five elements, and are an indication of the constitution of each person’s body type. The table below shows the properties, functions and locations: vata, pitta and kapha. Every person is a combination of these three energies, with one being predominant. The purpose of this table is to create an awareness and understanding the Ayurveda point of view of one’s fundamental health.

Vata (air + space)	Pitta (fire + water)	Kapha (water + earth)
Properties: dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, minute, moving	Properties: slightly oily, light, hot, penetrating, unpleasant odour, spreading nature, liquid	Properties: oily, heavy, cold, slow acting, slimy, firm, smooth
Physical functions: motion, breathing, natural urges, speech, tissue transformation, senses, secretions and excretions, blood circulation, pulsation, nervous system.	Physical functions: digestion, metabolism, hormones, enzymes, vision, hunger, thirst, colour complexion, temperature	Physical functions: solid body structure, organ coating, lubrication, strength, potency
Mental functions: fear, anxiety, impulses, pain, enthusiasm, alertness	Mental functions: thinking, intelligence, understanding, perception, desire, courage, bravery, anger	Mental functions: enthusiasm, forbearance, sexual urges, forgiveness, attachment, courage, passion, stability, greed
Primary locations: intestines and lower body	Primary locations: navel and stomach area	Primary locations: chest, head and neck area (above the heart)

Your inherent nature (prakriti) – You are unique! The Tridosha make up one’s constitution, or prakriti (inherent nature), which determines how to accept, process and absorb the food we eat, as well as how to respond to the environment around us. Each individual physical and mental body is determined by the relative proportions of the three doshas at the time of fertilization. When the embryo is formed, the constitution is determined. Unique constitutions mean that each person is different in their own way. This is why a diet programme can work well for some and not at all for others; why some people get ill during certain seasons while others do not; why some eat a little and gain weight while others eat a lot and do not gain any; why some get tired after little physical work whereas others seem to be endowed with an inexhaustible store of energy; and so on. According to Ayurveda there are seven main constitutions with one or more predominant doshas:

Vata predominant
Pitta predominant
Kapha predominant
Vata-pitta predominant
Pitta-kapha predominant
Kapha-vata predominant
Vata-pitta-kapha in equal balance (a rare occurrence).

Understand your prakriti Below is a list of the physical and mental traits of each dosha.

TRAITS	Vata	Pitta	Kapha
PHYSICAL TRAITS
Body frame/type	Thin, lean	Medium, athletic	Large, stocky
Hair	Curly, dry, thick	Straight, grey, bald	Silky, thick, oily
Eyes	Small, unsteady	Sharp, reddish	Large, oval, clear
Lips	Thin, dry, cracked	Pink, medium, soft	Full, smooth
Skin	Thin, dry, rough, cold	Smooth and warm	Normal, cool
Body Temperature	Cold when touched	Hot when touched	Norma, cool
Weight	Lose easy, gain hard	Steady, slow change	Gain easy, lose hard
Hunger	Unpredictable	Strong every 4 hours	Regular
Cravings	Caffeine, sugar	Spicy, intense foods	Ice cream, cheese
Digestion/elimination	Regular constipation	Rare constipation	Slow, steady, regular
Sleep	Light, restless	Sleep well 7-8 hours	Deep, hard to wake
Exercise	Run, dance, move	Competitive sports	Mild, gentle
Sweat	Hard to sweat	Sweat easily	Regular
Movement	Quick, light step	Average, strong step	Slow, steady steps
MENTAL TRAITS
Temperament	Lively, enthusiastic	Motivated, intense	Relaxed, accepting
Learning	Breadth over depth	Analytical, in-depth	Common topics
Memory	Quick grasp and loss	Sharp, clear	Slow grasp, not lost
Work	Independent/creative	Leads, likes to be boss	Employee, guided
Projects	Rarely completed	Sets goals, executes	Take time, completed
Emotion under stress	Anxiety, fear, worry	Angry, irritable, jealous	Laziness, withdrawal
Decision-making	Difficult, overthinking	Quick, confident	After contemplation
Communication	Fast talker	Direct, persuasive	Calm, deep voice
Lifestyle	Unattached, mobile	Busy, well-structured	Routine, constant
Weather	Dislikes cold, winter	Dislike heat, humidity	Dislikes cool, rain
Faith and beliefs	Ever changeable	Strong, extremist	Stable/set in stone
Interest/motivation	Art, travel, experience	Sport, business, politics	Comfort, family, food

So, after having read this table

WHAT IS YOUR CONSTITUTION?

Example of the daily schedule

This schedule is a sample only and is subject to modifications according to individual circumstances and other conditions.

7:30 am – 9:30 am	Hatha yoga – asana, pranayama, samyak kriya, yoga nidra and meditation practices
9:30 am – 10:00 am	Breakfast in silence
10:00 am – 12:00 pm	Ayurveda cooking class
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm – 6:45 pm	Free time/rest/conscious walk/bathing in Ganga etc.
6:45 pm – 7:30 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm – 8:00 pm	Rest/free time
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm	Kirtan/satsang/silent meditation

What do we offer in Ayurveda?

Testimonials

I stayed at the Centre for just over one week for a short introductory course on Ayurveda massage with Rajendra and practiced Kriya Yoga every morning with Shailendra. It was a great experience, the whole family made me feel at home, they helped me to learn the techniques and let me patiently practice on them, fed me genuine and delicious food and there was often time for interesting discussions about Indian culture, psychology, philosophy, spirituality, mindfulness and many other interesting topics. It was a 360 degrees experience where you really appreciate their knowledge and dedication. The centre is clean and quiet, surrounded by greenery and right on the Ganga river banks, conveniently located in front of the Laxman Jhula.

Barbara

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Peaceful, committed atmosphere for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

Peaceful, committed atmosphere for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda – the science of life

Self-diagnosis

Example of the daily schedule

What do we offer in Ayurveda?

Ayurveda therapies

Panchakarma (Detox)

Courses

Testimonials

Barbara

Frankie Kao

Frankie Kao

Himalayan Tradition

Years of Mastery

Holistic approach

Certified therapist

Peaceful, committed atmosphere for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

Peaceful, committed atmosphere for physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda – the science of life

Self-diagnosis

Example of the daily schedule

What do we offer in Ayurveda?​

Ayurveda therapies

Panchakarma (Detox)

Courses

Testimonials

Barbara

Frankie Kao

Frankie Kao

Himalayan Tradition

Years of Mastery

Holistic approach

Certified therapist

Shopping Cart

What do we offer in Ayurveda?