Ayurveda in Clinical Practice – 9 hours
Fundamentals of Digestion and Diet Part 1
The lesson introduces three fundamental concepts to understanding digestion
• Agni – the digestive fire
• Ama – accumulation of toxins and blockage from poor digestion
• Ojas – the special quality the body has when digestion is balancedNatural Medicine recommendations are explained to enhance Agni and prevent and eliminate the accumulation of ama. Included is a description of the proper eating behavior, food preparation and a balanced diet. The lesson concludes by describing the types of symptoms that occur when there are Vata, Pitta or Kapha imbalances in digestion.
Fundamentals of Digestion and Diet, Part 2
This lesson begins by going more deeply into the structure of the digestive fire, Agni, and describes 13 types and 4 states of Agni. The concept of Ama is also described in greater detail including symptoms of ama accumulation, discussion of a questionnaire to determine the level of ama in the patient and a review of recommendations to remove it.
The Ayurvedic concept of tissues or dhatu is introduced including the understanding of the sequential development of tissues in the body and the importance of this understanding for proper diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Introduction to Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations
The lesson begins with a series of practical points a practitioner should understand when using herbal preparations including:
• Handling possible side-effects
• Achieving the correct quantity in herbal recommendations
• Quality control issues especially regarding proper testing of herbal compounds
• Changes in dosage for children and the elderlyDescriptions of the two major categories of Ayurvedic herbal preparations is given:
• Rasayanas: Combinatory herbal formulas recommended for overall balancing and strengthening and that can be taken for most people for long periods of time
• Shamana (Herbs for specific imbalance): These herbs are for specific imbalances, are not recommended for all people, and are usually only recommended for about 2-3 months of time before the regimen is reviewed.The main areas of actions of Ayurveda herbs are reviewed including discussions of the most commonly used generic, Ayurvedic herbs.
Use of Spices and Aromatherapy
This lesson starts by describing the special features of nasal inhalation and the Ayurvedic statement that “the nose is the gateway to the brain” and supporting it with the modern physiological understanding regarding the connection of the nose with the olfactory cortex and the limbic system. The main essential oils used in Ayurveda are then described along with potential effects and quality issues to take into account with essential oil use.
The spice use section reviews the most common spices in Ayurveda and their use and provides relevant scientific research findings.
The Ayurvedic Diagnostic Approach
This lesson describes the main principles of Ayurvedic diagnosis including:
• Discussion of assessment of the patient and assessment of the disease
• Evaluation of body type (prakriti) and imbalance (vikriti)
• Description of the practice and role of pulse diagnosis
• Characteristic of main Ayurvedic body types
• Evaluation of imbalance in digestive disorders
Digestion Clinical Protocols
This lesson goes into greater detail regarding eating behavior, proper food preparation and a balanced diet. It also describes the types of digestive disorders that come when Vata, Pitta and Kapha imbalances occur and when Ama increases.
Topics covered include:
A. Vata Digestive Imbalance
• Symptoms, Pathogenesis and Causes
• Diet and Regimen
• Use of Spices
• Herbal Preparations
B. Pitta Digestive Imbalance
• Symptoms, Pathogenesis and Causes
• Diet and Regimen
• Use of Spices
• Herbal Preparations
C. Pitta Digestive Imbalance
• Symptoms, Pathogenesis and Causes
• Diet and Regimen
• Use of Spices
• Herbal Preparations
Etiology of Disease
This lesson describes the Ayurvedic view of the sequential development of imbalance from it’s beginnings that are not detectible by exam or symptoms to the development of an advanced chronic disorder. The discussion starts with the understanding that all disease has it’s roots in pragyaparadha “mistake of the intellect” whether it be the conscious human intellect or inner intelligence of the body.
The lesson then describes the 6 sequential stages of disease development according to Ayurveda:
• Accumulation of Vata, Pitta and Kapha in their own place
• Aggravation of Vata, Pitta and Kapha
• Movement, spreading of vata, Pitta and Kapha
• Localization of Vata, Pitta or Kapha in a particular part of the body
• Manifestation of a specific disease
• Disruption and complication of bodily functions – chronic condition developsThe lesson continues with a discussion of mind-body medicine and the role the experience of pure consciousness plays in mitigating the formation of disease. Also presented are lists of the behaviors that create chronic conditions and those that are rejuvenative and balancing to the body
Veda and Maharishi AyurVeda®
This lesson describes the foundational principles of the ancient Vedic knowledge of India from which Ayurveda arises. Veda is the field of intelligence at the basis of all the laws of nature. The Vedic Rishis experienced this field deep in their meditation as a field of pure consciousness. The Rishis described how this one primordial source of natural law field manifest into the grosser fields that create and organize the natural world. This Vedic description of nature’s functioning is similar to the modern quantum physics description of the world that describes subtle non-physical fields that are at the basis of natural law.
The lesson describes the details of how Ayurvedic principles of Vata, Pitta and Kapha arise from the the field of Veda and are at the basis of health and healing
Women’s Health
The lesson starts with a discussion of the issues involved during the period of life with menstruation and then deals with the health issues involved in menopause and beyond. The Ayurvedic view of the factors involved in menstruation is discussed and then the various symptoms of menstrual imbalances are divided into the classes of Vata, Pitta and Kapha related disturbances and the Ayurvedic protocols for each type is given. Emphasis is given to diet, cleansing, lifestyle and herbal recommendations in the protocols.
The lesson then provides the Ayurvedic view on fertility and infertility and provides recommendations to improve fertility.
The lesson closes with a thorough discussion of the Ayurvedic understanding of menopause and it’s approaches to the various symptoms women go through during the menopausal period.
Ayurvedic Approach to Mental Health
The lesson provides the Ayurvedic description of how the various levels of the mind sequentially express themselves from their source in Veda, or pure consciousness. The details of this description are compared to how modern quantum physics describe the fundamental forces of nature sequentially expressing themselves from the Unified Field. The lesson then describes how different mental disorders occur as the different doshas become imbalanced in the mind. The classification of mental characteristics also is expanded to include the status of the three unique mental characteristic or gunas, called sattva, rajas and tamas. By understanding the status of the doshas and the gunas one is able to understand the deepest source of mental imbalance and apply the required dosha balancing and guna balancing natural medicine recommendations.