What is Ayurveda - Ayurvedic Medicine - Dr. Erika Helene, Bad Neuenahr, Germany

What is Ayurvedic Medicine?

Ayurvedic Medicine is recognized by the World Health Organization as a complete system of natural medicine with a history of thousands of years of traditional use in India. It provides the methods to maintain health by addressing all aspects of life: environmental, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.



The fundamental principles of all those aspects lie within the field of pure consciousness. Consciousness contains within it the underlying intelligence that is responsible for perfect functioning of our body, mind and heart. According to Ayurveda diseases arise whenever the body’s inner intelligence is covered or hidden. There are many ways we may disturb the body’s inner intelligence. Stress is definitely one of the most significant factors. Smoking, alcohol abuse, pollution, processed foods, as well as overeating, lack of exercise, fears, and anxieties all contribute to the overload of allostatic systems that maintain balance in our physiology.

Modern health care is well aware that we can only stop the epidemic of chronic disease through lifestyle changes. However, research has shown that this is very difficult. It is only difficult because people try to change their lifestyle on the level of behavior. Behavior is based on thinking and thinking is based on the body’s inner intelligence or consciousness. Thus it is more effective to enliven this subtlest level which will increase a more health-supporting lifestyle, naturally. The Ayurvedic physician, once discovering the root cause, stimulates the inherent healing mechanisms of our body through different treatment modalities such as: herbal supplements, diet, yoga, meditation, purification treatments, exercises, etc., all dependent on the patient’s diagnosed strength and level of disease.

The doctor does not heal the body. The body heals itself. All the modalities of Ayurveda, and the Ayurvedic doctor have one goal, to awaken and support the bodies own innate intelligence. Disease is simply defined as a lack of flow of intelligence or a breakdown in communication between the inner field of pure intelligence or consciousness, the reservoir of health, and the diseased area of the body, mind or heart.

The Ayurvedic doctor is not satisfied with the absence of disease but seeks to coach the patient to the state of bliss, which is defined as the state of perfect health according to the ancient Ayurvedic texts.