Ayurveda, the world’s most ancient known tradition of health, is now undergoing a vigorous revival not only in the place of its birth, India, but also throughout the world because it is capable of meeting the needs of our time. The two Sanskrit words ayus and veda together mean "knowledge of life".

Ayurveda is a complete medical system that has evolved over time, integrating centuries of wisdom derived from experience. Holistic medicine at its best, Ayurveda describes all aspects of health – physical, mental, spiritual, social, environmental – all aspects of the relationship between the individual and the universe, and how all these aspects are handled so as to generate health. The importance of a person’s lifestyle and dietary habits and their appropriate variation in different seasons are understood. Treatment and management of diseases are described; though it is an ancient system, the benefits of many Ayurvedic herbals are validated by modern science.

While Ayurveda is a complete and complex system, its fundamental principles are simple and practical to use. It is easy to integrate them into your life and create better health for yourself and your loved ones. As much about staying healthy as curing ill-health, Ayurveda enables you to recognize your unique nature and to live to your full potential.

Variety is the spice of life. Some plants like the sun; others like the shade. Some grow in sandy soil, while others prefer damp, boggy earth. The polar bear thrives in the Arctic, lizards in the desert.

Similarly, human beings have different natures and needs. Yet differences, while giving variety and joy to life, also mean that what is good for one person may not suit another. To be healthy, we each need to know our own unique nature, and the things that are good (and bad) for us – otherwise we resemble car owners who don’t know whether to use petrol or diesel, what type of oil is right, or when to service the car.

A complete system of health care has to understand us, and the universe around us, and the connection between ourselves and the universe. From all the possibilities available, it must be able to show us how to choose what we need, and how to avoid what we don’t need, in order to be healthy and happy. Ayurveda is a practical system that helps us to understand not only ourselves, but also our connection with the world. It can teach us how to get in touch with ourselves at a very deep level, how to love ourselves profoundly and how to care for our physical body, as well as how to love and respect plants, animals and the whole of nature that surrounds us and from which we can draw health.

A key tool in Ayurveda is the classification of three fundamental principles, known as vata, pitta and kapha. These principles determine the individual qualities of every person and how they relate to their surroundings. From them, you can select the right elements to create balance in your life. As modern science has shown, there are patterns in nature: events do not happen in a completely random way. Once such patterns and principles are understood, we can make huge progress in harnessing the connections between ourselves and the universe. This doesn’t just mean discovering electricity, or the secrets of flight, or any of the many other wonderful transformations of the past. It also means discovering the blueprint for perfect health in our own lives – in many ways, the most exciting transformation of all.

To enjoy life to the full, you must be fully healthy. The "knowledge of life" contained in Ayurveda for millennia empowers you to take control of your health.

As we will see, everything in life and in the universe has qualities. Food is hot or cold, oily or dry, heavy or light. The weather may be damp or dry. The company you keep – is it cheerful or dull? The qualities of everything around you will interact with your own unique qualities either to improve or to disrupt your health.

Perhaps you are a warm, compassionate person? Steady? Quick? Ayurveda describes you in terms of such qualities, and such a description includes body, mind, emotions, and the person as a whole.

Opposite qualities balance each other: and according to Ayurveda the secret of health is to be balanced. If you are feeling cold, you naturally choose heat. If you are full after overeating, you eat lightly at your next meal. By understanding your own qualities and how to keep them in balance, you can choose how to be healthier.

In Ayurvedic philosophy, the source, or essence, or most fundamental aspect of life, is your "self" – an inner self that operates through your five senses to create the five subtle elements that make up vata, pitta and kapha.

You constantly nourish your mind-body through your interaction with the universe, borrowing atoms to structure your tissues. Your mind-body is organized by a vast intelligence that has its origin in your inner self, and which uses atoms to precipitate into physical matter. On the level of mind you may experience this as, for example, anxiety or joy, which simultaneously in the body precipitate as adrenalin or serotonin.

The intelligence within knows how to generate health. Your body will heal because that is the way it is structured, always trying to return to its template for good health. You have to work hard and put much time and energy into creating the disruptions that bring health problems. But your natural state is to be healthy, which is why it is easier to be healthy than to be ill.

Ayurveda addresses each person individually: the important point is to make the right choice for you, your circumstances and your imbalances.

An Ayurvedic practitioner, or vaidya, will advise changes to your routine, exercise, environment, stressors and so on. In Ayurveda, food is medicine: the vaidya will give you information on foods to favour and avoid. She/he may prescribe natural substances such as plant or animal products, minerals and purified metals, in the form of infusions, decoctions, medicated wines, extracts, powders, pills, poultices and oils.

Therapies also include such sophisticated processes as fasting or treatments (panchakarma) to eliminate toxins, and a range of tonics to strengthen you. Much of what is prescribed you will do for yourself – a change of routine or exercise. Some things, such as herbal preparations, you will imbibe. You may be advised to take up Transcendental Meditation or yoga, which work in harmony with and are considered part of Ayurveda.

Extracted from Live Better Ayurveda by Donn Brennan, 

text © 2006, published by Duncan Baird Publishers, London