Ayurveda means ‘Science of life’ in Sanskrit.
आयुर्वेद
Maharishi Ayurveda offers a complete science of natural health addressing mind, body, emotions and consciousness.
According to Ayurveda, every person is born with a certain Prakruti (constitution), which is defined as the inherent balance of the three doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha, at conception. Every living creature has all three doshas within them, however, it is the interplay between these doshas that is responsible for body type and personality.
From the moment of conception, the embryo is exposed to its environment. If this is a healthy environment, the balance will be maintained. However, as we all know, factors like maternal stress, nutrition and toxins (alcohol/drugs) can affect this balance. The state of balance of the three doshas after conception is also called Vikruti.
Perfect Balance of Mind, Body and Emotions
In Ayurveda disease is seen as a result of imbalance in the body and health as a perfect balance of mind, body and emotions. Therefore, our aim is to create balance in the 3 doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha), balance in the 13 digestive fires and balance in tissue creation and elimination processes, resulting in bliss at the level of mind, body and soul.
Instead of treating symptoms or disease, in Ayurveda we identify the root cause of disease and treat this with many different modalities. Through changes in lifestyle and diet, plus different types of treatment, many diseases don’t necessarily have to be chronic or require chronic treatment. This also depends on the duration and severity of symptoms.
Focus on Prevention
One important aspect of Ayurveda is the focus on Prevention. With all our daily stressors, pesticides and other toxins in our food, besides environmental toxins, and often insufficient exercise and too much screen time, it has become difficult for many people to live a balanced life in accordance with nature.
This is causing many of the ailments, people experience today, at a mental level (depression, anxiety) as well as at a physical level (diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease). Just by simply living a healthy balanced conscious lifestyle, many of these can be reversed.
Consciousness-based Medicine
Maharishi Ayurveda is also called ‘Consciousness-based Medicine’ as it includes consciousness as an essential factor for health.
Because of our busy lifestyles, many of us feel disoriented, lost and pushed around by different demands and expectations, without much clarity on what we really want from life. The connection to nature as well as to ourselves, our inner connection, has been lost for many, making it difficult to connect to our intuition, which is there to guide us and make the right decisions with regards to health and life. This is where transcendental meditation can help, by increasing consciousness and the connection with oneself, creating a clear perspective of one’s goals and visions in life.
About Dr. Thirza de Jong
Mb.ChB (BE), PgD.Trop.Med.(SA), MPH (UK), PgD MAV (SI)
I am a Medical doctor, with a Masters degree in Public Health and a Postgraduate in Tropical medicine. For years, I worked in the Public health field with a focus on Mother and child health, for which I still have a passion today. I have always had an interest in herbal medicine and nutrition, but it wasn’t until 2021 that I actually started studying Ayurveda.
After finishing my Postgraduate in Maharishi Ayurveda, I am continuing to deepen my knowledge every day. Besides studying Ayurveda, applying it to my own life has given me a lot of insights and experience, which has been very valuable.
Studying Ayurveda gave me a whole different perspective of health, more natural and holistic and addressing all different levels of health; physical, emotional, mental and consciousness.
Even though Ayurveda is an ancient science, it is still very relevant today and I believe, needed even more in this day and age, where we all rely so much on sources outside of our body, instead of relying on the amazing self-healing mechanisms our bodies possess.
At the same time the concepts and treatment modalities that Ayurveda recommends are quite simple, logical and easy to apply.
It is great to be able to combine my knowledge of allopathic medicine with my increasing knowledge of Ayurveda, enabling me to use the best of both worlds and integrate this in my practice.
It is my goal to empower people to take control of their own health, as I believe there is a lot we can do to improve our health and take control of our lives, guided by Ayurvedic science.
