Preventive medicine Book

Anxious to learn more about Ayurveda, I found this book to be a wealth of information and a definite reference for the future. For me, this book was a great starting point into this amazing Eastern India concept. This is certainly a place to start if you are interested in learning more about the practices of Ayurveda.

I did notice, after completing a Metabolic Typing course that the Ayurvedic approach lists foods that my metabolic type differed from on a wide scale. For me, it goes back to listening to my body and what my inner self speaks to me. The differences in both of these typing techniques helped me realize the importance of paying attention to my body's signs, signals, and messages.

I learned a lot about the history of Ayurvedic Medicine, which entailed understanding the system as a way of preventive medicine and health that dates back to India more than 5,000 years. The word "Ayurveda" comes from two Sanskrit root words, Ayus, or "life", and Veda, meaning "knowledge" or "The science of life." Dr. Chopra goes on to say that an alternate and more precise reading would be "The knowledge of life span."

We learn that in Ayurvedic Medicine, the guiding principle is that the mind exerts the deepest influence on the body, and freedom from sickness depends upon contacting our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body. According to Ayurvedic beliefs, this state of balanced awareness then creates a higher state of health.

The book became really interesting when I was able to body type my personal dosha. I was a little confused when it came to the actual typing method, because Dr. Chopra stated that a slight margin may mean you are a two-dosha type; however, he never indicated what the parameters of the margin are. The Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas are then described in great detail throughout the book. The information is well stated and easily relayed if you are clear on your dosha type.

Dr. Chopra gave real-life cases in which people sought and achieved help from his center, the Chopra Center, in La Jolla, CA. I was intrigued to learn that this center existed and that they have a whole host of programs to help educate people seeking information into the Ayurvedic approach. They definitely offer a multitude of tools, which they make readily available to the inquiring mind.

There are practices from the Ayurvedic approach that can be done at home and explicit details are laid out. One of the oil massages, (Abhyanga) certainly caught my attention (Page 250.)

We continued to learn about our diets, eating for balance, herbs, spices, meats, beans, oils, and even more areas of specificity were covered pertaining to each dosha.

I was elated to learn about the Sun Salute (Surya Namaskara), which is a complete Ayurvedic exercise that simultaneously integrates the whole physiology - mind, body, and breath. Pictures were included of each step; however, you didn't have to guess what you were reading from the pictures because a whole section of "How To" is incorporated.

A gave this book a 5-star rating, but the only issue I have is the clarification of the margins of being a two-type dosha.