Ayurveda Gaining Popularity In US

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Ayurveda Gaining Popularity In U.S.

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, January 26, 2004: After experiencing heart

palpitations Jon Mejia's doctor diagnosed abnormal heart rhythm and sent

him to a specialist at a prestigious Los Angeles medical center. Although

his doctor told him that beta blocker drugs could control the symptoms,

Mejia, 49, didn't want to take them because of concerns about side effects.

So Mejia turned instead to practitioners of the ancient Indian medical

system ayurveda. After some dietary changes and three days of massage and

purification treatment called panchakarma at Surya Spa, an ayurvedic center

in Pacific Palisades, "the heart palpitations are almost gone," he says.

Mejia is one of a growing number of Americans taking an interest in

ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old holistic system of health that in Sanskrit means

"knowledge of life," explains this L.A. Times article. It uses combinations

of herbs, purgatives, rubbing oils and other elements to treat diseases.

The California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, a professional group

based in Foster City, California, is sponsoring its first Ayurveda

Awareness Day on February 13. Research into ayurveda is in its infancy in

this country, but as interest grows, so does funding. The National

Institute of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine allocated $3.5 million in grants last year to study its safety and

efficacy. Ayurveda treatments are becoming popular in spas, medical

clinics and wellness centers. And like Mejia, many people are finding their

way to ayurvedic medicine through the practice of yoga. Ayurveda holds that

health and well-being of the body, mind and spirit is our natural state,

experienced through proper diet, herbs, meditation, yoga, breathing

exercises called pranayama and other daily routines. Ayurveda is used to

prevent disease and boost the immune system so the body can heal itself

from illness. To read the full, informative article, click on "source"

above

 

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