The paths of yoga and Ayurveda are so closely intertwined that it is hard to imagine traveling down one without knowledge of the other. The Ayurvedic practitioner prescribes specific practices to prevent illness and assist the healing process. Written by the National Institute of Health Ayurveda is India's traditional, natural system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 5000 years. Ayurveda provides an integrated approach to preventing and treating illness through lifestyle interventions and natural therapies. Ayurvedic theory states that all disease begins with an imbalance or stress in the individual's consciousness.
Lifestyle interventions are a major Ayurvedic preventive and therapeutic approach.
There are 10 Ayurveda clinics in North America, including one hospital-based clinic that has served 25,000 patients since 1985. The research base is growing concerning the physiological effects of meditative techniques and yoga postures in Indian medical literature and Western psychological literature. Published studies have documented reductions in cardiovascular disease risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, and reaction to stress, in individuals who practice Ayurvedic methods. Laboratory and clinical studies on Ayurvedic herbal preparations and other therapies have shown them to have a range of potentially beneficial effects for preventing and treating certain cancers, treating infectious disease, promoting health, and treating aging. Mechanisms underlying these effects may include free-radical scavenging effects, immune system modulation, brain neurotransmitter modulation, and hormonal effects.