Be Well: Ayurveda 101

An Intro to the Ancient, Holistic Health System.

Learning about the ancient wellness system of Ayurveda is a little like studying the universe: vast, beautiful, complicated—yet once understood, completely sensical. Stick with it and Ayurveda (pronounced eye-yur-vay-dah) might just reveal knowledge about yourself that could surprise, enlighten, and help prevent future health problems. In fact, Ayurveda—developed over 3,000 years ago in India—means “knowledge of life” in Sanskrit.

The goal of Ayurveda is to get to know who you are and recognize when you’re in an imbalanced state “so you can function in your limitless potential,” says Dr. Amrit Devgun, naturopathic doctor and applied Ayurvedic practitioner at Northwestern Health Sciences University.

Whether you’ve heard of it or not, curiosity about Ayurveda is growing, as evidenced by CNN’s “Chasing Life” episode about Ayurveda with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Devgun, too, has noticed a marked rise in Ayurvedic interest since she first began her naturopathic medical practice years ago.

“Ayurveda is a whole-body system,” says Devgun. “It treats all three parts of the trinity: the mind, body, and soul. They each stand within one another’s support. If we have cohesion between the mind, body, and soul, everything that rests on top of that is in a place of cohesion and balance.”

Read the full article from Minneapolisl, St. Paul Magazine’s Be Well online here.