Treatments And Methodologies In Ayurvedic Medicine Programs

By Catherine Kennedy


Healthcare, wellness, and their corresponding ways and means have been around since time immemorial. They also differ greatly in each time and place. In India, for example, there are Ayurvedic Medicine Programs.

The aforementioned is among the worlds oldest medical systems. It probably came into being in India about more than three thousand years ago. Nevertheless, it still remains as one of that countrys primary leading traditional health care systems.

Nonetheless, it is not recognized as actual science per se, for obvious reasons. Conventional medical practitioners perceive it as a kind of alternative medicine, and even a proto science. This is because some methods of the Ayurveda actually glean meritorious results, but they are attributed rather to external or alternative factors rather than through the process itself. It is dubbed proto by some since, according to them, it holds the trappings of recognizable science, although it wasnt originally intended to be so.

Ayurveda isnt recognized as a science per se, and thats for obvious reasons. Modern doctors see it as a kind of complementary or alternative medicine, that which the patient can take or practice should he choose to. However, it doesnt boast the patronage of leading medical research centers. Therefore, its not at all recommendable and guaranteed to forego conventional medicine in the place of these mere integrative approaches.

Ayurvedic practices are so ancient that they predate even written records and were therefore handed down to posterity through word of mouth. That said, it may be gleaned from this fact that some adhered to methodologies are embellished, misunderstood, or interpolated. Because of its antiquity, it has also been widely criticized as obsolete.

In fact, Ayurvedic medicine claims to cure almost anything, from rashes to anorexia. The most often adhered to practices include yoga, herbal remedies, special diets, various therapies, and rasa shastra, which involves treating diseases with certain metal substances. Lifestyle recommendations are also included in this all around treatment.

More specifically, treatments include panchakarma, which professes to clear the body of toxins and energy blocks. More invasively, there is bloodletting and leaching. The first is supposedly meant for anything from excessive drowsiness, rashes, eczema, enlarged liver and spleen, and even tumors. The second allegedly cures the much dreaded condition among middle aged men, baldness. There is also vomit therapy, for cough, asthma, anemia, bronchitis, diabetes, epilepsy, and much questionably, anorexia.

Ayurvedic schools provide education and training in the philosophy, medical theories, and treatment modalities of Ayurveda. Students are indoctrinated about herbal nutrition, rejuvenation therapies, meditational yoga, purification techniques, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling. Theres a strong foundation in classical Sanskrit texts, as well as lessons in anatomy, physiology, mind body medicine, and botanical medicine.

Its saying something about Ayurveda that its continued patronage says much about its reliability and effectiveness. As with all things unproven in science, its always recommendable to not throw caution to the winds. It wouldnt to put your healing efforts in one basket. In which case, it should be integrated and alternated with conventional medical practices.




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