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Ayurveda gains converts
Bodies of knowledge: Ayurveda gains converts who are looking for ways to balance and maintain health
San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 25, 2002
http://www.sfgate.com/
Ulysses Torassa, Chronicle Medical Writer
Pratichi Mathur sits behind a large teak desk in her flaming red sari, a flowering orchid at her side, as she talks animatedly about Ayurveda, the ancient Indian healing tradition she practices in Los Altos.
“We believe that there is a continuity between all we see, and that we are all living gods and goddesses,” said the 35-year-old from the Uttar Pradesh region of India.
“It’s a way of living in the balance; not against the tide, but with the tide. We -don’t ‘fight’ disease. We work on balancing the body, and the disease takes care of itself.”
Mathur arrived in the United States four years ago, when her husband got a job in finance in Silicon Valley. Not long after, she opened the Ganesha Institute – a mostly one-woman operation that consults and counsels many of the valley’s stressed-out Baby Boomers looking for an alternative avenue to better health.
Her advice is grounded in her training in Ayurveda, which developed during the Vedic period in India, which dates back 5,000 years. It is one of the many “Vedas” – or bodies of knowledge – that were compiled at that time, covering religion, science and other aspects of the universe.
Like many forms of alternative healing, Ayurvedic medicine has recently found a receptive audience in the United States. Author and physician Deepak Chopra popularized many Ayurvedic concepts through his best-selling books, and celebrities such as Ralph Fiennes and Cher have reportedly consulted with Ayurvedic practitioners. Former supermodel Christy Turlington has a skin-care line based on the tradition’s practices.
Although there is little in the way of evidence from Western science to endorse Ayurvedic approaches, practitioners such as Mathur say it would not have survived so many centuries unless it was grounded in timeless truths about the workings of the body and human nature. And while Ayurvedic practitioners in India staff hospitals and perform surgeries, Mathur focuses more on wellness, and -doesn’t claim to be able to treat or cure any specific disease or disorder.
Ayurvedic medicine shares similarities with traditional Chinese medicine – both are types of “energy medicine” which teach that the key to good health is a proper balance of energy within the body. They
also correlate many human traits to natural elements such as fire, earth, water and air.
Central to Ayurvedic medicine is the concept that there are three governing forces at work inside the body, called doshas. Each corresponds to elements found in nature, and each is present in all of us to varying degrees.
It is when our doshas get out of balance that trouble strikes, and Ayurvedic medicine then uses various means, including diet, behavior changes and body treatments, to pacify an overexpressed dosha.
Most of Mathur’s clients are aging, well-off Americans, often with conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia that have become more prevalent in modern society and for which Western medicine usually has little to offer. She also sees many women struggling with infertility.
“I have so many people come to me and say ‘I want a child – my eggs are getting old,’ Mathur said. She frequently sends them to an astrologer to try to divine whether giving birth is really in the cards. Sometimes it’s not, she said.
“It’s not goal-oriented medicine,” she said. “What they get from us is a deeper understanding of the journey.”
Mathur spends at least an hour talking to clients about their concerns and usually takes their pulse, which is one of the main diagnostic tools in Ayurveda.
It is believed the pulse reflects fluctuations of energy and whether doshas are balanced Mathur then spends time meditating and reflecting on the case before coming up with a specific plan for each person.
For instance, people who are dominated by the air (vata) dosha might be told to avoid lamb and pork, focus on beef and seafood, and to save their most important activities for the hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. She’ll also explain what kinds of hurdles and obstacles are unique to their type (vatas tend to be restless and anxious), and suggest other behavioral changes and body treatments that may be helpful.
In fact, Mathur’s institute offers a wide variety of massages, hot oil treatments and other relaxing or “rejuvenating” techniques meant to help bring people into better balance.
[...]
On the Web
For more information on Ayurveda, visit the following Web sites:
– www.healingmission.com: Official Web site of Ganesha Ayurveda.
– www.ayurveda.com: Information on the Ayurvedic Institute, based in Albuquerque, N.M.
– www.ayurveda-herbs.com: Describes traditional herbs used in Ayurvedic medicine.
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