What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is an ancient personalised form of holistic medicine that focuses on diet and lifestyle changes, and often integrated with the practice of Yoga.
Ayurveda does not oppose or replace modern medicine; it enhances modern medicine by focusing on improvements to nutrition, daily routines, and understanding your body. Practiced with care and safety, Ayurveda improves health outcomes such that the severity of chronic diseases can become reduced. For instance, for some long-term conditions, Ayurveda can alter the terrain—the biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors—that influence development, progression, and recovery.
Modern science increasingly supports Ayurveda, with controlled studies and real-world observations showing physical and mental benefits. Besides lifestyle adaptations, Ayurveda safely uses high-quality, carefully selected herbs to boost short-term relief.
To understand Ayurveda’s scientific basis, it is important to understand how it differs from modern (“allopathic”) medicine. Modern drugs require proof of safety and efficacy at the molecular level in controlled pre-clinical and clinical trials before doctors prescribe them. Ayurveda cannot be tested in the same way for efficacy, however, safety and effectiveness in the real-world is the reason it has thrived in the long history of the science and practice.
When practised properly and with professional guidance, Ayurveda is both safe and effective. In fact, many Ayurvedic herbs, like turmeric and ashwagandha, are now widely used in modern healthcare and wellness approaches. However, herbs can be harmful if poorly manufactured or used without proper guidance, so safe products and qualified practitioners are equally essential.
At the centre of Ayurveda is the guiding principle of the three forces, or the doṣas (pronounced "doshas"):
Vāta
Pitta
Kapha
This principle explains how the body and mind function and change, with these forces governing physiological processes which together help to describe:
- Personal constitution: our baseline tendencies across life.
- Current functioning: how those baseline tendencies shift with diet, habits, stress, age, illness, etc.
- Digestive/metabolic activity: modeled as Vāta–Pitta–Kapha regulation of digestion, assimilation, and related bodily functions.
- Rhythms of living: doṣa patterns (both baseline and shifts) correlate with time-of-day (e.g. circadian rhythm) and seasonal cycles.
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As with any other wellness product or practice, Ayurveda is also now becoming a trend, and sometimes even peddled by social media influencers who don’t always respect the real science and care that is needed in practising it.
Paisley House aims to provide clear, practical and scientifically-grounded health and wellness education on Ayurveda.
