What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is an ancient system of health originating from the Indian region. It understands that everyone is unique and requires different approaches to ensure health through the body, mind and senses. This can be in the form of maintaining good health as well as working to correct imbalances in the body that can cause illness.

As well as working with diagnosed illnesses, in Ayurveda there is an understanding that just feeling out of sorts is an indication that something isn’t right and an imbalance needs to be worked with.

Each of us is made up of the five base elements; space, air, fire, water and earth. We are each born with a unique combination of these five elements with some being more dominant than others. Over our lifetimes, our diet, lifestyles and experiences change this balance of elements within us resulting in imbalances. The aim of Ayurveda is to restore each of us to the proportions of these elements that we had at birth.

The first time many people hear about Ayurveda, it is related to the doshas (vata, pitta, kapha). The doshas are a way of representing the five elements:

• Vata (space and air)
• Pitta (predominantly fire with a little water)
• Kapha (earth and water)

How Does it Work?

After establishing the body type of the individual and any imbalances that may be present, Ayurveda will traditionally use a combination of five approaches to restore balance; diet, herbs, lifestyle, yoga and massage.

Everything around us is also made up of the same five elements that we are made of so we can use these approaches to work with the elements within each of us to restore or maintain balance.

What Is Ayurveda Good For?

Ayurveda sees health as having a balanced body, mind and senses. An imbalance can manifest itself from feeling slightly out of sorts to a chronic illness. Whatever the manifestation, Ayurveda can help to restore balance. Some imbalances that Ayurveda is commonly used to treat are:

As well as treating illnesses and disorders, Ayurveda can be used to maintain a healthy balance throughout the body and mind.

Ayurveda is for everyone.

What Does a Consultation Involve?

The main part of the consultation will involve me asking a lot of questions. These will be about diet, lifestyle, work / school, hobbies, exercise, medical history, allergies, etc… This is to get a really good all round picture of each person so that my advice and therapy plan will be effective and manageable.

In addition to asking loads of questions, I will also do pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis. Pulse diagnosis is used to ascertain your base body type, i.e. the balance of elements you were born with. It is also used to see what imbalances there are now.

The tongue is a reflection of the whole body so I will look at your tongue to see if there are any imbalances indicated there and where in the body they are located.

Based on what I see on the tongue or feel through the pulse, I may ask a few more questions to get a clearer picture.

Following on from the diagnosis, I will give advice based on what we have spoken about and explain the therapy plan I have in mind for you. There will be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. The detailed therapy plan will then be emailed to you with a recommended food list, herbs and any lifestyle recommendations. I would recommend a follow up 2 to 4 weeks after the initial consultation to make sure everything is alright and make any amendments to the therapy plan if required. For longer term treatments, additional follow up consultations may be recommended.

All supplements and oils will be available to purchase from me if you wish to do so. I aim to make the whole process as simple as possible. It should be possible to integrate Ayurveda into your life with very little effort.

Commonly Asked Questions?

Will I be told to become vegetarian?

No. In some instances, you may be advised to cut down and reduce intake of meat, fish and eggs. However, for others, intake of these can be beneficial and it may be recommended that you include some in your diet.

Can I follow an Ayurvedic diet if I am Vegan?

Yes, you absolutely can! Food lists are created that work with existing lifestyles, allergies and intolerances.

I am also seeing a Nutritionist? Will I be asked to do something different?

The consultation is extremely in depth and if you have been given advice by another health professional, then I will work with this to create a therapy plan that is perfect for your situation.

I have never done yoga before. Will it be part of the therapy plan?

Ideally some yoga practice will form part of your therapy plan but if you have never done yoga before, you will not be expected to do these practices without supervision. If you do wish to start a yoga practice to support your Ayurvedic journey, then I can recommend some group classes to get you started or you can book a private yoga session with me that will be tailor made for your requirements and your yoga experience.