AYURVEDA
About Ayurveda
Introducing an Ancient Science
The word Ayurveda derives from two Sanskrit root words: Ayu refers to “life” and veda refers to “knowledge.” It is “knowledge of life” as a whole that Ayurveda elaborates, and through its name, Ayurveda’s wide scope as a science is clear. Hence, Ayurveda should not be seen as merely another natural system of “fighting” disease. Rejecting a disease-based mind-set, Ayurveda promotes vigorous and joyful health consciousness, first and foremost, by enriching the quality of our lives.
In Ayurveda, health is a state of wellbeing due to a balance of the physical body, the senses, psyche, and the spirit.
Ayurveda’s definition of health – perhaps the oldest definition of health we have from a systematic medical paradigm – goes well beyond the scope of Western medicine’s definition of health as “the absence of disease.”
Awakening Health
Ayurveda awakens us to our own natural wholeness and teaches us ways to reclaim health from inside us. Ayurvedic principles remind us that we are self-healing beings and that we can maintain—or regain—good health by choosing healing foods, a balanced lifestyle, including adopting daily and seasonal rituals, and inner calm.
Ayurveda sages from India observed Nature deeply, meditating on her rhythmic changes – the days, the seasons, the phases of life in birth, aging, and death.
They concluded that while change is the essence of life, it is possible to adapt to these changes artfully, and, by so doing, to reap abiding health. Balance in our adaption to change means health, and the lack of balance translates as ill health.
Ayurveda is conceivably the best-kept secret of humanity.
Ayurveda’s lifestyle wisdom is tried and tested. It is, above all, an economical solution to the epidemic of wide-ranging lifestyle disorders like hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and psychological/stress-induced disorders, including depression, that humanity is facing today.
Vedika’s Unique Approach to Ayurveda
Ayurveda is brought alive at Vedika at our Northern California center. We offer experiential Ayurveda education in a sacred, mindful environment.
Students learn, cook and eat Ayurveda recipes (more than 200 recipes taught till date), hand craft kitchen and garden remedies, and live and learn Ayurveda lifestyle that continually awakens health and prevents disease.
Ayurveda teachings at Vedika come from authoritative source texts (called Shastra) written by Vedic sages from ancient India.
Continuing a Living Tradition
Vedika’s awakened classroom culture was pioneered ten years ago by Vedika’s founder Acharya Shunya, an ordained lineage holder from India.
Acharya’s students, graduates from various programs who have been mentored over several years by the Acharya herself to ensure continuity of the awakened culture, are now taking Ayurveda forward alongside the Acharya.
Reclaiming Health
Countless individuals with beginning, chronic, or advanced disorders are reclaiming health and well-being, simply by instrumenting lifestyle changes impacting core personal areas of food, rest and sleep, sexual and behavioral self-regulation and, in the overall context of prescribed daily regimen (dinacharya) and seasonal regimen (ritucharya).
These lifestyle practices, imparted through the Alchemy through Ayurveda course are even improving the wellbeing of people with terminal diseases, and some reported outliving the prognosis or at least feeling more at peace until the last day.
It is no wonder, then, that Vedika’s founder Acharya Shunya, says:
Health is not just a probability that you might achieve. It is a reality, an underlying natural state of being. Health will manifest once you begin to live in alignment with nature’s intelligence. This is the promise of Ayurveda at Vedika Global.
