The original article is on https://artoflivingretreatcenter.org/blog/consciousness-based-medicine/
In recent years, pop culture has turned to Ayurveda as a way to create dietary guidelines for ourselves based on our unique body type, or “dosha”. This is wonderful press for Ayurveda, or consciousness-based medicine, which can absolutely provide specific guidelines for healthy eating – but this ancient Vedic science goes far beyond which foods to select or avoid.
Consciousness-Based Medicine
Ayurveda is consciousness-based medicine. It is about coming back to your True Nature, and back to Nature itself. Ayurveda views the body as a sacred temple and helps us understand that keeping the body properly nourished is of utmost importance to physical health. Ayurveda gives us tools not only to nourish our physical bodies but to unlock deeper meaning in our lives through coming to know ourselves and the world around us. Meditation is clinically proven to be the best tool for coping with stress, and daily meditation practice is essential to keeping the body free of disease and the mind at ease. By acknowledging the value of keeping stress levels low and optimizing health for the body, we can simplify the goal of Ayurveda into two vital concepts: improving digestion and meditating.
What is “consciousness-based medicine”? Consciousness means, simply, the state of being awake. Medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Given those definitions, consciousness-based medicine is a diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease through the state of awareness. Cultivating this awareness through developing a meditation practice is absolutely essential in Ayurveda. Far more important than a set of instructions for healthy eating, Ayurveda teaches us how to heighten our consciousness and improve our physical and mental health, improving the health of the planet along the way.
The Essential You
Coming back to your true nature means going deep within, and discovering that essential being that is YOU. The person you used to be before becoming a parent, before paying bills, before sickness and loss, before you built walls around your heart. It means to fully participate responsibly in this amazing, challenging, beautiful, difficult, wondrous life that you lead. Through a series of meditations, journaling, sound healing experiences, and a walk in the labyrinth, you’ll have an opportunity to fully explore your true nature and learn ways to nourish yourself while honoring and embracing the multi-faceted responsibilities you have accrued.
The Universal Pharmacy
Ayurveda is not a diet trend. It is not a list of restrictions. Ayurveda asks us to redefine our relationship to hunger and to the food itself. In this workshop, you’ll come to an understanding of your own dosha type, as well as how to use every experience as an opportunity to heal and grow. We place a huge emphasis on being kind and forgiving to yourself, and perhaps an even larger emphasis is placed on taking pleasure in eating, which sometimes includes pizza at midnight or ice cream at the park. Remember – eating isn’t the only way we take things in. We digest anything we take in with our eyes, ears, mouths, and skin. In this way, Ayurveda examines all of our experiences and teaches us to use every food or experience in the universe to create health and happiness. We call this effect the Universal Pharmacy.
– Deepak Chopra
Our Thoughts Become Our Reality
The most well-known name in the West when it comes to Ayurveda is Deepak Chopra. He is a true sage living in contemporary times. The above Chopra quote thrills me! We are, indeed, creating ourselves as we go through life! We have choices, we have chances. Our thoughts become our reality. Creating a life of peace, joy, purpose, and deeply loving connections is accessible to us. My mentor, Carey Smith of Body Therapy Institute Center for Somatic Education, says, “when we create peace inside, we will have peace outside.”.
These concepts are simple, but not easy. It does take practice to cultivate peace. During this workshop, in our short time together, you will learn how to access the tools for peace and create bliss with Ayurveda.
By focusing on these two main themes of Ayurveda – improving digestion and meditating – I guarantee that you’ll leave the retreat with a feeling of deep-seated peace. You’ll find a fresh way of looking at the world that invokes a sense of excitement and inspiration in your heart of hearts.
Sally Raspberry is an Ayurvedic practitioner and Educator with a background in Therapeutic Massage and Yoga.
Join Sally at the Art of Living Retreat Center.
The original article is from artoflivingretreatcenter.
