What is Ayurveda and Its Benefits?

Ayurveda is an ancient wellness practice that originated in India over 3,000 years ago. It focuses on achieving whole-body balance and improving overall well-being using natural and holistic therapies. For individuals over 50, Ayurveda offers a variety of practices that can help maintain health and vitality. 

Balancing the Ayurveda Doshas 

One key aspect of Ayurveda is its emphasis on personalized treatments. These therapies are tailored to each individual’s unique composition, known as “doshas.” A dosha is an energetic force of nature or a functional principle that helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us. 

There are three primary doshas: Vata (wind), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (water). Each person has a unique combination of these three, and according to Ayurvedic practice, maintaining balance is essential for good health. Each dosha is critical in balancing the body, and none is superior to the other. When any one of the doshas is aggravated, we can generally promote a return to balance by reducing the influence of that dosha’s qualities while favoring their opposites.

Types of ayurvedic therapies and their benefits

Pada Abhyanga

Pada Abhyanga is regarded as a highly specialized foot therapy in Ayurveda. It is a holistic therapy that works towards effective healing by using medicated oil and focusing on nerve points on the entire foot. This treatment, which involves a gentle massage of the feet with warm oil, helps with relaxation, improves blood circulation, promotes better sleep, reduces anxiety, and improves skin texture. The nerve points on the feet are believed to be connected to various organs and systems in the body, and stimulating these points can benefit overall health.

Shirodhara

In this ayurvedic treatment, warm herbal oil is poured in an even stream onto the forehead to revitalize the mind and the body. With its intense rejuvenating and anti-aging effects, Shirodhara improves memory, addresses neurological disorders, normalizes sleep patterns and blood pressure, and leaves you feeling revitalized and youthful.

Pranayama

Center yourself with a personal pranayama session using varied breathing techniques. Learn to understand the power of breathing well with breath awareness, abdominal breathing, thoracic breathing, Nadi Shodhan, or alternate nostril breathing. These techniques promote overall relaxation and reduce the effects of stress-related illnesses. 

Pizhichil

It is an indulgent, rejuvenating experience during which lukewarm herbal oils are applied slowly and rhythmically to the entire body with light pressure. Pizhichil strengthens immunity, lubricates the joints, liquefies toxins, and increases flexibility.

Ayurvedic Marma therapy

A Marma point is an anatomical spot where flesh, veins, arteries, tendons, bones, and joints meet and where prana (life force) is situated. There are 107 Marma points throughout the body. Each point has its own intelligence and consciousness, which coordinates between the mind and body. Marma Therapy is a technique that involves stimulating these points to strengthen the organ systems and tissues, relieve physical and mental blockages of energy, improve lymph drainage, relax muscles, and improve the quality of sleep. This therapy is a holistic approach to health that recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind and body.

Tibetan Kuu Nye

This ayurvedic body massage helps to balance and restore a harmonious flow of energy and vitality in the body. A blend of essential oils is beautifully combined with Tibetan techniques of cupping, kneading, and acupressure, as well as hot Himalayan Crystal salt poultices and stones blessed by the energies of Tibetan monks. This helps restore the nervous system and stimulate a free energy flow within the body.

Reiki

Reiki is a gentle, hands-on ayurveda technique that promotes a deep level of relaxation and healing on a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level. It uses universal life force energy to break up energy blockages in the body, allowing healing energy to flow again freely and stimulating the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Reiki reduces stress and anxiety and balances the body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Abhyanga

The traditional synchronized full-body massage, given by two skilled Ayurveda therapists using herbal-infused sesame oil, is the perfect remedy after a strenuous morning activity. Also known as the “four-handed massage,” Abhyanga improves balance, sleep patterns, and eyesight. It helps liquefy toxins and induces relaxation while eliminating impurities.

Mukhlepa

For centuries, Mukhlepa has been a beauty ritual. Traditional herbs cleanse, exfoliate, tone, and hydrate. A specialized dosha-specific herbal mask is applied to the face to bring out the glow from within.

How to find quality ayurveda

Utilizing any of these Ayurvedic approaches can be an excellent way to promote well-being and maintain a healthy lifestyle as you age. If you’re interested in exploring these therapies and experiencing their benefits, it’s essential to consult with a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner who can guide you toward the therapies that will best enhance your unique dosha. 

A Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner is trained in preventive healthcare, nutrition, lifestyle pathology, and disease management based on the principles and practices of traditional Ayurvedic medical science. A list of Ayurveda Practitioners can be found here: The National Ayurvedic Medical Association Certification Board.