It means “science of life” and it has been practiced in India for more than 5,000 years. Ayurvedic medicine is one of the oldest and most revered forms of holistic healing, and people respond to it because it involves only natural therapies, its approach is a highly individualized one, and it combines work on both mind and body. Oh yes – and because it has a photogenic and charming spokesperson: best-selling author and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Deepak Chopra. What’s not to like (see below)?
Behind the Science
In July 1995, Jonie Flint sued Deepak Chopra and others who worked with him after her husband, David, died following an Ayurvedic consultation with them.
The reason many people lean toward Ayurvedic medicine is because it’s highly personalized. Unlike many other forms of traditional or conventional medicine, it practices on the assumption that everyone is different, and that we all respond differently to specific treatments.
Each session is geared towards an indivudual’s prakritii, or Ayurvedic constitution. That means that a myriad of things are taken into account, including exercise habits, nutrition, body type, and even – wait for it - personal hygiene (so take a shower before you go).
During a consultation with an Ayurvedic practitioner, each individual will be given his or her daily routines to follow, called dincharya, as well as specially formulated seasonal routines, called ritucharya. The trained practitioner assesses all aspects of your mental, emotional and physical well-being during a visit to him or her. He or she will concentrate on three things, including:
- Darshan (observation): Looking at all aspects of the real you, including how you look, the condition in which your skin, hair and nails are in, the contour and shape of your body, your eyes.
- Sparsha (touch): Touching you, including pressing down on specific parts of your body to ascertain specific noises your body makes (so avoid eating baked beans beforehand). They will also look at your tongue and nails, take your pulse and listen to you talk.
- Prashna (questions): Asking about your mental, emotional and physiological health.
A diagnosis is made after the practitioner discovers all he or she can about an individual. They then will prescribe a treatment which relies on the body healing itself, by strengthening the healthy elements in the body and healing harness the body’s energy to heal.
Types of Treatments
Ayurvedic medicine uses a wide base to draw on in prescribing treatments. They range from massage to diet modification, and the five main types include:
- Shirodhara (medicated oil). This makes use of the traditional third eye in the middle of the forehead. A special medicated oil is poured over the area in an attempt to cure diseases such as sinusitis, memory loss and insomnia. Is also used a way to induce natural, deep relaxation.
- Nutrition. Goes back to the idea that poor nutrition is the cause of illness, so uses food as a way to make us better. It has succeeded where others have failed because the approach is highly individualistic, but depends on the full participation of the individual for positive effect. It is claimed that by following it to the letter that people can embrace longevity without resorting to using any medication whatsoever in their lives.
- Panchakarma (detox). A five-action cleansing program that seeks to purify the body and bring the body back to its natural healthy state. Many practitioners prescribe a series of treatments designed to rid the tissues in the body of all unhealthy toxins. Programs vary, but they can include consultation, massage, herbal sweat therapy, special diet and nutrition advice, herbal teas and rejuvenatives, exercise and lifestyle advice.
- Massage. Aims to provide relaxation, improve circulation and get rid of toxins at the same time. Uses specific pressure points which are a bit like those used in reflexology. Sometimes special purification treatments are used as well. Interestingly, babies are often massaged using a specially baked dough ball dipped in massage oil that is right for them.
- Herbs. Different herbs are used to treat different conditions.
Is Ayurvedic Medicine Safe?
Ayurvedic medicine is usually considered safe if used in tandem with conventional medicine, not when is used instead of conventional medicine. While it has become more and more popular in the West thanks to Mr Chopra, it is interesting to note that more and more Indians are turning their backs on it and turning to traditional forms of medicine instead.
However, there have been concerns over the safety of some herbs which are used in Ayurvedic medicine, as they have been found to have been adulterated with toxic metals. The Indian government has said they must contain a written warning on the label, but they often don’t.
That aside, there is obviously a huge question mark over whether or not Ayurvedic medicine really works. While some of the herbs used, such as cumin, have been found to have beneficial properties, others have none at all. Still, there is no doubt that massage, good nutrition, mediation and the occasional detox can all help our health.
What about Chopra?
In July 1995, Jonie Flint sued Chopra and others who worked with him after her husband, David, consulted them for health problems he was having after he being diagnosed with leukemia. Brihaspati Dev Triguna, the man who set Chopra on his Ayurvedic path and is known as his mentor, had a consultation with David in April, 1993. Following this, he prescribed dietary changes, purification and a bunch of herbs.
Chopra, who turned to Ayurvedic medicine after leaving his job as chief of staff at New England Memorial Hospital, then met with David himself, who lived in California. Chopra performed pulse diagnosis and prescribed a specific mantra to put him on the road to health. Seven months later, Monsieur Triguna told David that his leukemia had disappeared. It hadn’t, though - a few months later David died from, not surprisingly, leukemia.
“Deepak is a fraud. He’s just a new age hippy with a layman’s grasp of quantum mechanics and genetics and as such tends to spout a load of spiritualist vomit,” wrote one decidedly anti-Chopra fanatic on a spiritualist website recently. “He is the equivelant [sic] of an astrologer. Not worthy of the paper he spreads his turds on.”
Some might say that Chopra, the son of a New Delhi cardiologist who was trained in both India and the United States and enjoyed a highly successful hospital career, turned his back on conventional medicine when the stress became too much for him to handle. Others might say he left the mundane when he opened his eyes and saw the true path of enlightenment ahead of him, and realized he had a unique calling to share it with others in his own engaging and enigmatic fashion.
Whatever you think, one fact remains: his decision to forsake the conventional for the New Age has made him millions.
“Deepak Chopra is an amazing spiritual teacher. I have learned more from attending his lectures and seminars than from anywhere else in my life. Now that some of the old previously unknown and unaccepted gospels regarding Jesus are being released and read, it becomes evident that what Deepak Choprah has taught from his own ancient religion all these years is exactly what those Gnostic Gospels teach,” another Chopra observer has written.
“That the divine is inside each and every one of us and by study and meditation and honesty about our actions and motives, each of us can personally reach that divine spark inside us and achieve the peace and joy for which each human spirit desires but few achieve.”
As always, you be the judge.
