Some 5,000 years ago, Brahmin sages developed a healing science whose goal was to maintain balance among four basic elements of life - mind, body, senses and soul. Practitioners and advocates say ayurveda has been effective in treating everything from hypertension to kidney stones. But today you don't have to make the 3,000-kilometer journey from New Delhi to Kerala's capital, Thiruvanathapuram, to receive the therapeutic oil massage and treatments. Several ayurveda clinics operate in the Indian capital, treating former presidents, prime ministers, diplomats and many others for a host of common ailments. The inherent curative powers of the body and mind can be activated through the right approach to life.
Nature is the most powerful physician of the body and mind.
That philosophy appears to be catching on around the world. The National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine in New York, for example, is conducting research in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute on the anti-tumor effects of traditional ayurvedic medicine. And in London one of the first ayurvedic hospitals outside South Asia openly recently, and is attracting patients for whom traditional Western medicine has failed. Even the World Health Organization has recognized ayurveda as an effective alternative to modern medicine. The inherent curative powers of the body and mind can be activated through the right approach to life.