Digest Number 546

[Guest guest]

dear Radhika

 

> Ayurveda it is recommended to take a balanced formula that addresses

> and balances your Pracrity(your constitutional nature) as well as your

> current imbalances(vikrity)rather than one or 2 herbs to soothe your

> current symptoms.

 

Ayurveda seeks to relieve suffering, and to relieve suffering we must

direct our attention to what the patient suffers from

 

while this doesn't mean simply suppressing symptoms, it does not mean

treating something that does not cause disease, namely, the prakriti

 

that of course is not to say that a disease could not be the same as

the prakriti

but the _timing_, _approach_ and _measures_ taken are totally different

in scope and intent

 

when a patient is diseased, what causes _dis-ease_, this is called the

vikriti, and this where the attention should be directed

 

when a patient is healthy, there are certain tendencies, NOT diseases,

that a person expresses

this is the prakriti

 

most Ayurvedic practitioners simply aren't skilled enough, even with

years of experience, to correctly ascertain the prakriti, and what they

might think is the prakriti is usually the vikriti

 

this is besides the point that all of you can change your prakriti to

one extent or another

the physical form is a manifestation of consciousness, and if you

change your consciousness, you change your body

 

that means that if you were a skinny, weak person, you could decide to

become more pitta by deciding to start lifting weights, and thereby

dramatically changing your body; you might start getting involved in a

community and adopting a leadership role because you become passionate

about something; or perhaps you might start watching american football

with male friends, start hosting superbowl parties and playing poker,

etc. etc.

 

thus prakriti is really a reflection of your consciousness, and because

consciousness does not remain static, neither does your prakriti

 

to this end each one of you has an endless opportunity to harness the

power of change, within certain limits, to become somebody different -

it simple takes a decision and a commitment

 

my definition of prakriti is that it is the embodiment of factors that

generated and the embryo and fetal development, the nature (soul) of

the individual consciousness that is embodied, the season of

conception-gestation and birth, the consciousness and reproductive

tissues of the parents, the mother's diet during gestation, the

specifics of the labor and delivery, etc... right up until we have a

fully formed little baby

 

just as none of you are still nursing on your mother's breast, no

longer are any of you the total embodiment of your prakriti, no matter

how much we may long for the past

 

you may still have blue or brown eyes, big hips or narrow shoulders, a

long nose or a wide mouth, but you are not this-

these is the ripples upon the lake, moving in the _direction_ of the

prakriti, the _initiation_ of who you were

 

anyway, here is my quick and dirty guide to clinical excellence in

Ayurveda:

 

diagnosis

1. understand the difference between health and disease

2. understand which factors in which combinations are responsible for

disease or preventing disease

3. understand the symptoms and qualities of the doshas, i.e. the

tridosha lakshanas

4. use your five senses to quantify these symptoms in your patient

5. review the status of ama, ojas and agni

 

treatment

1. remove ama

2. restore agni

3. correct dysfunctional body systems, i.e. the role of vata, pitta and

kapha in certain tissues

4. rejuventation

 

sometime 3 and 4 are done at the same time, but 1 and 2 are the basis

and must be done first, and is often more complicated than just using

trikatu

 

with this, you will not go wrong

Caldecott