AyurvedaReturning to Wholeness

Sheila Patel, MD

Medical Director, Chopra Center for Wellbeing

Mind-Body Medical Group

Carlsbad, CA

WHAT IS HEALING?

• Experiencing self-regulation

• A process of self-organization

• Activating internal healing

mechanisms

• Feeling at peace

• Feeling “whole”/connected to

something greater

Interference with self-regulation is central to the

vast majority of health and social problems that

plague modern society.

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Ayurveda

Ayu = Life

Veda =

Purpose:

Knowledge/wisdom

to heal, and to maintain the quality and

longevity of life (through self-regulation)

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Health and Disease

Allopathic Model: Health is the absence of a definable

disease

Ayurvedic Model: Disease is the absence of vibrant

health

In 1948, WHO defined health as a “state of complete physical,

mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of

disease or infirmity”

• HOLISTIC—BODY/MIND/SPIRIT

• SYSTEMS BIOLOGY—addresses the whole body

• PERSONALIZED—DOSHAS-what is right for one person, may not be right for another; allows predictions of health

• PREVENTIVE/CREATES HEALTH--by treating the root cause

• PARTICIPATORY/MAINTAIN HEALTH BY DAILY LIFESTYLE PRACTICES—health is our natural state and the system is always trying to achieve homeostasis/balance

AYURVEDA

Humans as a System

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• EVERYTHING IS A SYSTEM—from the macrocosm to the microcosm

• Humans are an intelligent system which senses and adapts to its

environment/experiences

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Mind-Body Connection

CNS

AdrenalsMedulla

AdrenalsCortex

MetabolismAutomatic functions

Immune

System/Inflammation

STRESS

General Adaptation

Selye 1950’sFight or Flight

Cannon 1930s

GI

General Adaptation Response to Chronic Stress

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Treatment

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Ayurvedic Treatments--treating the root cause

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AYURVEDIC TREATMENT

• MEDITATION

• YOGA/PRANAYAM

• PROPER DIET/DOSHA SPECIFIC

• HERBS/SPICES

• MASSAGE/MARMA

• DETOX

• PROPER SENSORY INPUT

• DAILY ROUTINE

• REGULATION OF EMOTIONS

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadosha, samagnis cha

Samadhatu-mala-kriyah

Prasanna atma-indriya-mana

Swastha iti abhidhyiate

– Susruta Samhita, Sutrasthanam 15.41

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadosha, samagnis cha

Balanced doshas and strong digestive fire

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Three Doshas: Mind-Body Constitution

Vata

Space + Air

Pitta

Fire + Water

Kapha

Water + Earth

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Dosha quiz

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AYURVEDA--INDIVIDUALIZED MEDICINE

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you

something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~Ralph Waldo

Emerson

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadosha, samagnis cha

Balanced doshas and strong digestive fire

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadhatu-mala-kriyah

Balanced tissues-waste-elimination

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Rasa Plasma

Rakta Blood

Mamsa Muscles

Meda Fat

Asthi Bone

Majja Bone Marrow &

Nerves

Shukra Reproductive

The Dhatus = Tissues

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadhatu-mala-kriyah

Balanced tissues-waste-elimination

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Mutra Urine

Purisha Feces

Sweda Sweat

The Malas = Waste Products

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sweat

DETOXIFICATION/ELIMINATION

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Prasanna atma-indriya-mana

Happy soul-senses-mind

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Our health cannot be separated from what we

eat, what we do and what we think

“What we think, we become” --Buddha

In sum, we report that gratitude and spiritual wellbeing are related to better mood and sleep, less fatigue, and more self-

efficacy, and that gratitude fully or partially mediates the beneficial effects of spiritual wellbeing on these endpoints. Efforts to

increase gratitude may be a treatment for improving wellbeing in HF patients’ lives and be of potential clinical value.

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Swastha iti abhidhyiate

Health is thus known

Ayurvedic Definition of Health

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Samadosha, samagnis cha

Samadhatu-mala-kriyah

Prasanna atma-indriya-mana

Swastha iti abhidhyiate

–Susruta Samhita, Sutrasthanam 15.41

Ayurvedic Path to Balance

Goals:

• Balance doshas/Balance agni

• Reduce ama (toxicity)

• Ensure proper intake/elimination

Tools and Treatments:

• Meditation

• Pranayam

• Yoga

• Cleansing/detox therapies

• Nutrition/Proper use of herbs

• Massage, incl. self-massage

• Emotional balance

• Mindful input of sensory experience

• Energy therapies

• Daily and seasonal routine/exposure to Nature

Healing Through Nature—Grounding

The quickest way to align with nature

Research has generated evidence that connecting with the

Earth can:

•Reduce inflammation

•Lower stress levels

•Improve muscle and joint pain

•Boost mood

•Promote a healthy immune system

•Improve sleep

Being connected to the Earth gives us access to the negative

charge (electrons) that exists on the surface of the Earth

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Grounding promotes stress reduction as observed through modulation of central

nervous system pathways (HRV) and also modulates inflammatory markers

demonstrated by increase after one week of not grounding

Measurable decrease in 2

specific cell-membrane

chemicals (phosphatidylcholines)

correlating with serum cholesterol

and Type 2 diabetes risk

Plasma and serum levels of the

metabolites of

phosphatidylcholine are highly

predictice of cardiovascular dz

risk

AYURVEDIC DEFINITION OF DISEASE

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THREE SOURCES OF DISEASE/DISCONNECT

1. Physical imbalance

2. Emotional turbulence (mind)

3. Spiritual disconnect

Treatment is individualized and with the understanding

that everything is connected (the body is a system); goal

is to re-establish wholeness.

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Each of us is born with the gift of

healing. We can help ourselves to

heal and we can help each other to

heal. We just need to be made aware

of this gift and learn how to use it.