Ayurveda Program and medicine, popular in India

Ayurveda is an ancient system of health care that is native to India. The word Ayurveda is a compound of the word a-yus meaning "life" or "life principle", and the word veda, which refers to a system of knowledge. Thus Ayurveda roughly translates as the "knowledge of life". Ayurveda translates as Science of Life, the sister art/sister science of yoga. Ayurveda offers a broad understanding of life on planet earth, not just getting over illnesses. In this talk we will discuss the fundamentals of Ayurveda and how we can use Ayurveda to help ourselves get more out of life in a healthy non-harmful way. See here for a list of Ayurvedic herbs.

Ayurveda basics include 3 Gunas, 3 Doshas, 5 Elements, 6 Tastes, Qualities of time, Prakruti Vikriti, Routines, etc.

Rasayanas
Ayurveda adapts a unique holistic approach to the entire science of life, health and cure. The areas of special consideration in Ayurveda are geriatrics, rejuvenation, nutrition, immunology, genetics and higher consciousness. The Ayurvedic texts describe a set of rejuvenative measures to impart biological sustenance to the bodily tissues. These remedies are called Rasayana. Rasayanas are organ and tissue specific.

Brain enhancing herbs used in Ayurveda practice
Rasayanas specific to brain tissue are called Medhya Rasayana. They retard brain aging and help in regeneration of neural tissues besides producing antistress, adaptogenic and memory enhancing effect. The popular Medhya Rasayanas are Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera Dunal), Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri Linn), Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica Linn) and Shankhapushpi, also spelled as Sankhapuspi (Convolvulus pluricaulis Chois).

Ayurveda questions
Q. On a visit to South Africa in January 2007, we experienced a day of relaxation and Yoga exercises. We were asked to gargle our mouth out with Pure Sesame Seed Oil for 5 minutes to remove toxins from our mouth. On my return to England I have continued to do this each day. Blind Faith! Can you possible give me any more details re this.
   A. We have not seen any research on this. Whether gargling with sesame seed oil has long term health benefits is not known to Western medicine. There are many practices done in Ayurveda that are based on folklore but not science, but then again the ancients have discovered some interesting properties and uses of oils and herbs that modern medicine is not aware of . Whether sesame seed oil gargling falls into the category of worthless folklore or ancient wisdom is not clear to us at this time.

Is tongkat ali herb used in Ayurvedic medicine?
    This herb is used in Malaysia and Thailand, but has not been historically used in India.