
- Image via Wikipedia
Parallel to the rapid advancement of medical sciences, focus on alternative medicine as preventive measures has also increased at a feverish pitch.
Alternative medicine, in common parlance, relates to all health medicines and healing systems other than the allopathy. Most eastern or Asian systems of healing fall under the category of alternative medicine. These systems of healing are premised on the understanding that the human body as a unit is capable of curing itself from any disease; the alternative healing systems simply aid the body’s inbuilt capacity to recover and recuperate.
Many of these healing systems contend that the person’s state of mind is the key to his or her health and well-being. Therefore, in ancient Indian systems like Ayurveda the effort is more on correcting any imbalance in the mind and body which has caused the ailment.
According to the 5,000-year old health medicine system of Ayurveda, the universal life force is represented or manifested in every human body through types of energy, called doshas. Every human body is said to be composed of three doshas: pita, kapha, and vata. Any physical disease or mental disturbance is said to be caused by the imbalance of the doshas.
For healing, Ayurveda uses a combination of herbs, dietary practices, yoga exercises and other therapeutic processes. One of the very well-known Ayurvedic healing methods is the panchakarma. A person undergoing panchakarma is required to abandon fish and meat and consume only simple, non-spicy vegetarian food. This regimen has to be followed up with regular practice of yoga and meditation. The high point of panchakarma is the massage sessions. Herbal oils are used by professional practitioners to rub into the body of the person undergoing treatment. Shirodhara is a significant aspect of panchakarma where hot herbal oil is dripped on the center of the person’s forehead. These Ayurvedic treatments have proved to cure ailments from common cold to nervous disorders over varying spans of time.
These health and healing systems are gaining immense popularity across the world as they are completely non-invasive, holistic and free of side-effects.










