What is Ayurveda?
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the original self-care system designed to maximise quality and longevity of life by managing mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Food is the central pillar of Ayurveda, supported by exercise, mindfulness and meditation.
Ayurveda and Yoga
Ayurveda is thousands of years old (possibly well over 5000 years), originated in India and comes from the same source of knowledge as yoga. It shares the same foundations and you can think of it as ‘yoga for food’.
Ayurveda and yoga are two sides of the same page when it comes to ancient wisdom of peak performance for mind and body. While modern yoga focuses more on breath and movement, modern Ayurveda focuses more on food and lifestyle.
These two blockbuster forms of self-care are both focused on connecting mind, body and spirit for holistic wellbeing. Together they can help you stay balanced and experience life without the drawbacks and distractions of unnecessary illness.
While modern research is proving the benefits of yoga (and meditation), and their public awareness is high, Ayurveda is about a decade behind but is starting to become more known.
Ayurveda the self-care system
The translation of Ayurveda is ‘knowledge of life’ (‘ayur’ means ‘life’ or ‘vital power’ and ‘ved’ means ‘knowledge’). Well before the periodic table, the brain or human DNA were mapped, Ayurveda had established the key biological relationships that we use for healthcare today.
Ayurveda is about maximising quality and longevity of life
Ayurveda works on the idea that, with a basic knowledge of the fundamentals, you can look after yourself and prevent serious illness from arising. Animals naturally self-care but we’ve lost the knack and since we are a more complicated beast a textbook is useful!
Ayurveda is a big part of the primary healthcare system in India and used by millions of people every day to stay well. Its status as a health care system is also recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
As was the case with yoga and meditation, Ayurveda is still relatively unknown outside of south-east Asia and research into its benefits has been constrained by funding. This is now changing, and like yoga and meditation, its ancient principles are proving to be well founded.
It’s an inexpensive and simple form of preventing illness and it’s looking like we need it more than ever.
Sound familiar?
Here are five things Ayurveda confirmed thousands of years ago:
1. Stress pushes our mind and body out of its natural balance (creating ‘dis-ease’)
2. All disease starts in the gut
3. Good digestion is critical to good health
4. Every food is a superfood and is medicinal
5. One size doesn’t fit all – we are all built differently (versions of core ‘body types’)
Find out about body types
Ayurveda and Superfied
Since Ayurveda is thousands of years old and very deep and philosophical, we aim to streamline the basics, make them accessible and integrate them with modern know-how. The best of old and new for simple, effective self-care that everyone can follow. No fads, no fuss, no straitjacket – just fun!
Take your first step to being Superfied