Ayurveda dates back thousands of years, and many scholars believe that it is the oldest system of medicine that is still around today.

Ayurveda can be translated as science of life, knowledge of longevity, or the art of living. The word ayu is the Sanskrit word for “life” or “longevity”, and veda is the Sanskrit word for “sacred knowledge.” It is part science, involving experimentation and observation of yourself and your relationship to your environment. But Ayurveda also an art: the art of living.

Ayurveda’s goal is to understand how to best support and enhance your life force. Whether or not you’ve been exposed to traditional Ayurvedic teachings, you likely have some inherent understanding of what supports and enhances your life force. Whether it’s foods, certain people, or certain activities, Ayurveda can help you to become aware of how your diet and lifestyle affect your overall health so you can make more conscious choices.

Ayurveda provides a framework for exploring and understanding ourselves. It gives names to patterns that are universal and exist in nature, which allow you to step back and see yourself more clearly. This framework allows you to detach and depersonalize, and to be more kind to yourself.

Ayurveda is a system of self-healing. Your active participation is what will lead to results. In this sense, it’s very empowering for your own healing journey. You’re not just giving yourself over for someone else to “fix.” Through Ayurveda, you learn about yourself through observation, reflection, and experimentation, in order to better understand what supports your unique life force. Working with a practitioner can be very helpful, but it’s important to remember that a practitioner cannot heal for you. They can merely show you the path to self-healing.

One of the reasons I believe Ayurveda is gaining so much popularity is because it’s one of the only surviving ancient healing traditions that has been well preserved. There are a lot of surviving, in-depth written texts on Ayurveda. Many other traditional healing systems from around the world either didn’t record their teachings as thoroughly, or their writings didn’t survive. But any healing tradition based in the laws of nature likely has similarities with Ayurveda.

Ayurveda doesn’t view the mind, body, and spirit as separate. All three are integral to your overall health. The mind affects the body. The body affects the mind. And if you’re not in integrity with your spirit, your mental and physical health can suffer.

Ultimately, Ayurveda is aligned with the laws of nature. One of the things that I hear most from my clients when I explain an Ayurvedic principle is, “that makes so much sense.” It’s intuitive, but we have to be retaught how to tap into that intuition. These teachings are already within you and part of your nature. You just might need some guidance to help you get back to that place of listening, understanding, and trusting your inner wisdom.