Indian medicine system, Ayurveda offers simple and practical tools for those who want to have more physical and mental health.
Ayurveda is an Indian system of medicine that has been developing for over 3000 years and is still alive today. In Sanskrit, ayuh means life and Veda means knowledge.
Ayurveda is among the integrative and complementary practices recognized by the Ministry of Health. And it has gained more and more supporters among those who seek the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Internationally, it is recognized by the United Nations (UN) for its importance and effectiveness.
I have been studying Ayurveda since the beginning of the year when I discovered that the principles of this ancient medicine meet two aspects that I consider fundamental when it comes to health: seeing the human being as a whole, body and mind, and focusing on disease prevention. and the importance of healthy habits.
We’ve never lived this long: in the early 19th century, life expectancy was 33 years. Today, that average is 73 years old. But living longer does not mean living better. WHO data confirm that a large portion of the population spends a good part of their lives sick, with problems that could be avoided with a healthy lifestyle.
And Ayurveda can help on this journey, as it offers simple and practical tools for those who want to have more physical and mental health. It is a science of self-observation, and this is the first and greatest teaching: self-observation in order to know yourself.
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Probably look on the phone. Or get up running because you’re late. Who never?
“When waking up, the first thing we should do is observe the body. Pay attention if you rested during the night if you are feeling well or have any pain if you have digested the previous day’s meal if there is anything that bothers you”, says Matheus, who graduated in medicine in India with a speciality in Ayurveda in the BAMS course (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery).
“When we dedicate 5 minutes to observing how we feel, it becomes much easier to make a series of choices throughout the day”, completes the specialist, creator of Vida Veda, a platform for disseminating knowledge about Ayurveda. He was the one who led last week’s immersion.
It makes sense. If I woke up not hungry, do I need to have breakfast? If I’m tired, can’t I cancel that dinner to go to bed early? It sounds simple, it just seems common sense. And it is: Ayurveda is common sense. It’s so simple that most people forget to apply it on a daily basis.
“It is this self-observation that will show you what is good for you and what is bad for you. It is only by knowing who you really are that you will be able to choose what is good or not for your life”, says Macêdo.
And let’s go to the second great teaching: only eat when you feel hungry. Again it seems obvious, but why, when someone calls us to dinner, do we sit down and start eating without thinking if we’re really hungry?
Digestion is a fundamental point of Ayurveda: our health depends on the ability to metabolize everything we receive from the environment. Not just what we eat and drink, but also ideas, thoughts, emotions, and relationships.
What the body cannot digest turns into a toxin. “Accumulated, these toxins can generate a feeling of heaviness, discomfort, joint pain and various diseases.”
In addition to looking at the quality of the food we consume (and we know what is healthy), it is important to look at the quantity: the excess will not be digested properly.
And also pay attention to how often we eat. If the body doesn’t have time to digest the meal and we keep putting more and more food in the stomach, it won’t handle it. Result: more toxins.
In practice, it’s as simple as this:
Stop to think about what you eat during the day.
Before you eat, see if you are really hungry (or is it anxiety, impulse, boredom?)
Notice how you feel after eating.
Heartburn, reflux, bad digestion, and gas are your body’s warnings that something didn’t go right. So, before you become an antacid customer, try to identify and replace the foods that don’t work for you.
These are just two of the many guidelines that Ayurveda offers to live better. The essence of this ancient medicine is to observe how the body interacts with all internal and external stimuli and, from there, make more conscious choices that bring more health and well-being.
“Understanding how your body works, what is good for you and what is bad for you, what gives you energy and disposition, you increase control over your health and can decide for yourself what to eat and what not to eat. , how, when and where to move, when you need more or less rest”, says Matheus.
