What is Ayurveda — This is the ultimate beginner’s guide on the topic.

Well, I did it!

I’m all signed up and ready to start the Chopra Ayurvedic Health Certification Program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

The program officially starts on Monday, October 22nd.

[Watch this. It’s SO inspiring!]

Once you read through this post, you might feel excited to join the program with me.

And if so, you can use my code ‘AGUTSYGIRL’ to save 25% off course enrollment.

PLUS, once you enroll, I will give you instant access to my Quick Gut Detox Program.

This way, you can start something today, and then also have full access to all the other pieces contained within this course.

Upon enrolling in the Ayurveda for Balance: Chopra Health Enrichment Program, I will send you the code for the INSTANT Quick Gut Detox Program.

What is Ayurveda – [The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide]

Click HERE to save What is Ayurveda – [The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide] for later.

When you enroll in the course, you’ll get immediate access to the foundations of Ayurveda, including:

1. What is Ayurveda?
2. The Three Doshas
3. Prakruti
4. The Five Sense
5. Vikruti

And because this is The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Ayurveda, I want to share the ins-and-outs.

What is Ayurveda

In English, Ayurveda is translated as “the science of life.”

Thousands of years before modern medicine provided scientific evidence for the mind-body connection, the sages of India developed Ayurveda, which continues to be one of the world’s most sophisticated and effective total health systems—highlighting the symbiotic nature of our physical health and our emotions, stresses, and the state of our relationships. 

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NOTE:

One thing I want to share before we get too far into this information is that my 28-day gut healing journaling SYSTEM, Ahara Dinacharya, was named and based off of Ayurveda + Sanskrit.

In this gut healing journal, I state,

In Ayurveda, ‘Ahara Dinacharya” refers to the daily routine or regimen related to food and eating habits.

“Ahara” means “food” or “nutrition,” and “Dinacharya” means “daily routine” or “daily regimen.” And both, when placed in perfect harmony, are the foundations for the A Gutsy Girl gut healing journal system method.

I’ve been curious, interested, and borderline obsessed with Ayurveda, the language, and its teachings for years already. I just didn’t realize that the universe would align it all as it has.

p.s. Yes, of course I own aharadinacharya.com 🙂

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If you want something simpler for what Ayurveda is, then think of it as…

A complete healing system focused on giving you tools and practices to create health on a daily basis by using your innate healing ability. (Chopra Health Enrichment Program)

Where Does the Word Ayurveda Come From?

It comes from the Sanskrit language:

• Ayu (or Ayus) (ah-yoo); LIFE and
• Veda (vey-duh); SCIENCE or WISDOM

If you want to look up any word in English and translate it to Sanskrit, I love THIS Sanskrit dictionary.

How does Ayurveda “Work?”

Honestly? I think it’s sort of what we’ve all been looking for / asking >

How can I take the ancient wisdom and apply it to this modern life?

That’s exactly what Ayurveda does and teaches. It uses the ancient wisdom combined with modern living to provide a personalized roadmap to well-being.

But furthermore, it reminds us that we cannot just take care of our physical bodies.

We must address the health of our mind, body, spirit, and environment so that we can experience a state of wholeness.

Which reminds me yet again of something I wrote about long ago: Healing vs Wholeness. 🙂

To that extent, Ayurveda gets back to the promise of bio-individuality, where every health-related measure is based on an individual’s unique dosha combination – and the lifestyle choices that are best suited for it.

(If you’re wondering what a “dosha” is, I’ll get there, too. I promise.)

The goal of Ayurveda is to create balance in all aspects of our lives.

And on a very personal level, friends, I’m DESPERATE for this currently. Reason #1,297 why I needed this course in my life.

Benefits of Ayurveda

There are 3 main benefits of Ayurveda, and Deepak teaches them with an easy-to-remember “3 P’s of Ayurveda:”

1. Personalized – just for you
2. Preventative – the best choice to prevent disease
3. Practical – simple tools

What is a “Dosha?”

(See, I told you we’d get here!)

This is where we get into the first “P” — personalized.

In 2021, I wrote a massive article on the Mung Dal Kitchari.

Kitchari is an Ayurvedic dish that has been used as a traditional Indian cleansing dish. 

Anyways, the post is super popular, having been pinned already over 9,000 times!

And in the article, I break down the 3 doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha.

If you’re like me and learn through visuals, then here you go!

Everyone has all three doshas—but the amount of each we’re born with varies. The blend of doshas is what makes up each person’s individual dosha type.

Preventative

This encompasses so many things.

Ayurveda views disease as a blockage in the energy flow—an expression of toxic accumulations in the mind-body physiology. – Chopra Ayurvedic Health Certification Program

So often, in the gut healing community, I find that women are trying to solely reduce their bloating and reduce weight by means of food.

While food plays a huge part – even in the Ayurvedic teachings – there is so much more at play.

It’s also why I created Gut Healing: ELEVATED — because I WISH and DESIRE for you to learn about all aspects of gut healing; not just the food.

The two major sources of toxins, according to Ayurveda are:

1. Physical – yes, in food; but also, personal and household products, air, water, and other elements in the environment
2. Emotional – negative thought patterns and beliefs, self-criticism, chronic stress and painful experiences that we have NOT fully digested

And in both of these, can you see more clearly the role in DIGESTION from a holistic viewpoint?!

We have to treat all of this in order to heal.

Practical Example

Let me give you a practical application (as suggested through the Chopra Ayurvedic Health Certification Program) for GUT health and how Ayurvedic medicine might look at heartburn:

If you are having frequent heartburn, rather than prescribing an antacid (treating the symptom), Ayurveda focuses on what is causing the heartburn.

• Are you eating too many hot, spicy foods?
• Are you driving yourself too hard, not balancing work with leisure and downtime?
• How about taking in toxins in the form of cigarettes, pollution, or processed food?

AGG Note: I’d also add: What is your stomach acid status? Is it truly too high, or is it too low?

Once the underlying cause of the heartburn is identified, Ayurveda can treat the symptoms while also addressing the root cause.

In doing so, not only do the symptoms resolve, but there is less likelihood that the illness will recur.

Practical

While no healing theories are easy, they can be simple.

After all, this is what I teach and preach.

Ayurveda does the same.

For example:

• Use sound to soothe stress
• Practice self-massage
• Embrace colors that improve mood
• Incorporate tastes to feel satisfied
• Anchor positive emotions with aroma

Some ways I personally engage in the above:

• At night, I listen to the Moshi app to fall asleep
• I use a Lacrosse ball to roll on my feet and lower back
• If I’m feeling uninspired or down, I’ll seek out images that bring me joy – and they usually contain my favorite colors
• I turn my AromaTru on every night before bed

These are all so simple.

I hope you have loved learning more about the basics of Ayurveda as much as I love sharing it with you.

It feels like forever until the full course begins on October 22nd because I simply cannot wait.

Remember, if you want to go on this exploration journey into all things Ayurveda with me, you can save 25% off the Chopra Ayurvedic Health Certification Program simply by using code AGUTSYGIRL at checkout.

Any questions?! Let me know!

If you liked this article on What is Ayurveda – [The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide], you might also enjoy:

1. Kitchari Cleanse Recipe [One Pot Kitchari]
2. This One Feels Very Personal
3. Ayurveda for Balance

Xox,

SKH