Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a system of medicine that originated in India several thousand years ago. The term Ayurveda combines two Sanskrit words--ayur, which means life, and veda, which means science or knowledge. Ayurveda means "the science of life."

In the United States, Ayurveda is considered a type of CAM (complimentary and alternative medicine) and a whole medical system. As with other such systems, it is based on theories of health and illness and on ways to prevent, manage, or treat health problems. Ayurveda aims to integrate and balance the body, mind, and spirit. This balance is believed to lead to contentment and health, and to help prevent illness. Ayurveda also proposes treatments for specific health problems, whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Specifically, Ayurveda incorporates modalities such as nutrition, herbs, physical exercise/yoga and lifestyle. A chief aim of Ayurvedic practices is to cleanse the body, mind and emotions of substances and patterns that can cause disease, and this is believed to help reestablish harmony and balance.