In his Ayurvedic Studies Program, Vasant Lad teaches Ayurveda as a science of moment-to-moment living. Each lecture that he gives flows from his own heart in a river of healing wisdom. This textbook conveys the philosophical and fundamental principles of Ayurveda in a dynamic and inspirational way, providing a detailed foundation upon which to pursue deeper knowledge.

Perspectives of Ayurveda in Integrative Cardiovascular Chinese Medicine for Patient Compliance, volume four in the Integrative Cardiovascular Chinese Medicine series, provides a systematic perspective of therapeutic priority by examining the homeostasis of the body, mind and spirit through Ayurveda philosophies and universal attributes, including five key elements. Holism, patient compliance and ethics in medicine are discussed, as are responsibility, awareness and guidance for compliance in cardiac patients. Finally, strategies of compliant patients outline and compare Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for dietary laws and recovery techniques, utilizing both systems for personal benefit and what compliance means and looks like in clinical settings. This important reference will aid cardiovascular researchers in the study of integrative Chinese and Western medicine, while also providing a clear, structured base to guide clinical practice and encourage collaboration between practitioners.

This book examines depression as a widely diagnosed and treated common mental disorder in India and offers a significant ethnographic study of the application of a traditional Indian medical system (Ayurveda) to the very modern problem of depression. Based on over a year of fieldwork, it investigates the Ayurvedic response to the burden of depression in the Indian state of Kerala as one of the key processes of the local appropriation or glocalization of depression. More broadly, Lang considers: What happens with the category of depression when it leaves the West and travels to South Asia? How is depression appropriated in a South Asian society characterized by medical pluralism? She explores on the level of ideas, institutions and materialities how depression interacts with and changes local worlds, clinical practice and knowledge and subjectivities. As depression travels from 'the West' to South India, its ontology, Lang argues, multiplies and thus leads to what she calls 'depression multiple'.

A single-source reference on the most important and best-investigated Ayurvedic herbs This book examines the clinical information available on more than 60 Ayurvedic herbs to determine how their use in traditional Indian medicine is supported by modern scientific study. Plants are grouped according to body systems and each entry includes a description, information on the source plant, distribution and traditional use, active chemical constituents, relevant pharmacology, and details of clinical studies and safety findings. This unique book also includes a brief history of Ayurveda, examines the history of drug development and evaluation in ancient India, and identifies current trends resulting from scientific investigation. Worldwide interest in Ayurveda is growing quickly, especially in the United States, Europe, and Japan. But until now, information on Western-style clinical trials on Ayurveda herbs has been scattered and no single source for descriptions, comments, and references has existed. Ayurvedic Herbs presents the first critical validation of Ayurvedic medicine, extensively referenced for physicians and clinicians interested in alternative and adjunctive therapies. This unique book is essential for making informed choices on herb use, offering clinical trial data, results of pharmacological studies, and safety information. Ayurvedic Herbs examines: gastrointestinal agents hepatoprotective agents respiratory tract agents cardiovascular drugs urinary tract drugs antirheumatic agents skin and trauma care agents gynecological agents antidiabetic agents CNS agents rasayana drugs dental and ophthamological agents and much more Ayurvedic Herbs includes cross-references to chapters when a particular plant has more than one indication and watercolor illustrations of twelve major herbs.

Dagmar Wujastyk explores the moral discourses on the practice of medicine in the foundational texts of Ayurveda. The classical ayurvedic treatises were composed in Sanskrit between the first and the fifth centuries CE, and the later works, dating into the sixteenth century CE, were still considered strongly authoritative. As Wujastyk shows, these works testify to an elaborate system of medical ethics and etiquette. Physicians looked to the ayurvedic treatises for a guide to professional conduct. Ayurvedic discourses on good medical practice depict the physician as highly-educated, skilled, moral, and well-mannered. The rules of conduct positioned physicians within mainstream society's and characterized medical practice as a trustworthy and socially acceptable profession. At the same time, professional success was largely based on a particular physician's ability to cure his patients. This resulted in tension, as some treatments and medications were considered socially or religiously unacceptable. Doctors needed to treat their patients successfully while ostensibly following the rules of acceptable behavior. Wujastyk offers insight into the many unorthodox methods of avoiding conflict while ensuring patient compliance shown in the ayurvedic treatises, giving a disarmingly candid perspective on the realities of medical practice and its crucial role in a profoundly well-mannered society.

Rebalance your mind, body and spirit--the natural way

Ayurveda is an ancient system of prevention and treatment of illness by maintaining balance in the body, mind, and spirit according to your individual body type.

"Ayurveda For Dummies" provides you with a comprehensive introduction to this area of complementary medicine, considering the origins and history of Ayurveda as well as practical guidance on utilizing the correct balance of nutrition and exercise, herbal remedies, yoga, and Ayurvedic massage to treat ailments and maintain a healthy, happy lifestyle.Helps you develop a diet based on your body typeAdvises you on ways to optimize your health by exercising to suit your body typeGives you trusted info on stretching your body with Yoga

This hands-on, friendly guide helps you understand your body type and restore balance to your life using the principles of Ayurveda.

Apart from diet and exercise, the strategic use of different classes of prescribed or non-prescribed xenobiotic compounds for the restoration of euglycemic levels in the body is well known. The ongoing rivalry between the recommended usage of allopathic medicines versus ayurvedic remedies has encouraged many researchers to focus their studies on thoroughly isolating and characterizing the extracts from different parts of plants and then evaluating their relative activities via in vitro, in vivo and in some cases clinical studies. Alternative Medicines for Diabetes Management: Advances in Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Chemistry provides a holistic view of all oral therapies for diabetes mellitus that are available to the public by removing the silos and stigmas that are associated with both allopathic and ayurvedic medicines. Additional Features Include: Highlights the potential role of dietary and medicinal plant materials in the prevention, treatment, and control of diabetes and its complications. Educates readers on the benefits and shortcomings of the various present and potential oral therapies for diabetes mellitus. Allows quick identification and retrieval of material by researchers learning the efficacy, associated dosage and toxicity of each of the classes of compounds. Presents the history, nomenclature, mechanisms of action and shortcomings for each of the various sub-classes of allopathic therapeutants for diabetes mellitus and then introduces ayurvedic medicines. Section C discusses various metallopharmaceuticals and provides a holistic view of all available and potential therapies for the disease.

The ABC's of Chakra Therapy is a practical, user-friendly workbook that leads readers on a journey of self-healing and transformation through the exploration of the human energy field, specifically the seven main energy centers, or chakras. The unique approach of this book focuses not just on one method of energy clearing, but incorporates a variety of therapies to choose from. The forms of therapy in this healing "bag of tools" include: visualization, sound, color, aromatherapy, reflexology, crystals and gemstones, yoga and other physical exercise. Learn to combine powerful healing techniques to enable healing on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. You'll become more aware of your own energy, compared to energy that belongs to someone or something else. You'll be better able to take control of your life -- no longer being at the mercy of the unconscious effects of others. Where traditional psychotherapy leaves off, The ABC's of Chakra Therapy comes in -- expediting healing by providing a means of de-energizing and neutralizing negative patterns, beliefs, and behavior at the core level.

The effective yet gentle 'Sukshma' technique, for working with the Marma points at the emotional as well as on the physical level, is fully described in this book. Marma Therapy - the art of treating specific vital points on the human body - is one of the greatest healing secrets of Ayurveda. It can be used to detoxify, strengthen and revitalize the body, for rejuvenation and relaxation or to release blocked energy. The authors explain the theoretical basis of Marma Therapy, and then provide a detailed, fully illustrated guide to its use. For each Marma point, the authors provide information about its significance, the Ayurvedic element it relates to, the most appropriate oils to use, and what it can be used to treat. Clear step-by-step instructions and photographs illustrate the techniques, and advice is also included for self-treatment. The authors explain how to strengthen the Marmas through yoga and use mudras to support and complement Marma treatment. Finally, they describe how to treat common physical and emotional conditions, from headache and back pain, to exam nerves and insomnia.

Readers of my work will find this book an invaluable resource'. The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies is a comprehensive encyclopedia of self-healing. Based on an ancient healing tradition from India that dates back thousands of years, it is the definitive guide to safe, effective alternatives to Western medical treatments. Dr Lad, the world's leading expert in Ayurvedic medicine, explains the principles behind the science of Ayurveda. Discover how to determine your Ayurvedic 'type', and learn how to treat common ailments and chronic conditions such as cold and flu symptoms, sore throats and acne, artritis, high cholesterol and anxiety. Discover the health benefits of yoga postures, meditation, breathing exercises, cleansing and rejuvenating programmes, diet and nutrition, herbs and essential oils that can be found in almost any health food store. Complete with an extensive resource list of Ayurvedic herbs and suppliers, this authoritative guide tells you all you need to know about achieving physical and spiritual healing.

This book examines the history and evolution of Ayurveda and other indigenous medical traditions in juxtaposition with their encounter with colonial modernity. Through the lens of hereditary folk and Ayurvedic practitioners, it focuses on Kerala's heterogeneous medical traditions and presents them against the backdrop of the geographical, historical, sociocultural, ethnographic and regional contexts in which they developed and transformed. The author explores the world of Kerala's last traditionally trained hereditary practitioners (folk healers, poison therapists, Sanskrit-speaking Muslim Ayurvedic practitioners and the legendary Brahman Ashtavaidyan physicians). He discusses the views of these physicians regarding the marked difference between their personalised ancestral methods of treatment and the standardised version of Ayurveda compliant with biomedicine that is practised by doctors today. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, this book will be useful to researchers and scholars of medical anthropology, health and social medicine, sociology and social anthropology, the history of science and modern Indian history, as well as to medical practitioners interested in alternative and traditional medicine.