Introduction to Ayurveda – A two hour talk with Dr Rajvinder Kaur
INTRODUCTION TO AYURVEDA
WITH DR RAJVINDER KAUR
At – The Ananta Yoga Studios, 5, Wentworth Place, Wicklow Town
On – Friday 6th April
Time – 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Cost – €15
Bookings – Booking is essential!
Call/Text Liz Richards – 086 8963425
Email – anantawicklow@gmail.com
DR RAJVINDER KAUR
We are delighted to welcome Rajvinder to our The Ananta Yoga Studios! It is hoped that following this Introductory talk she will start an Ayurvedic clinic in our studios offering Private Consultations, Ayurvedic treatments & massage and also Ayurvedic Cookery classes. This talk is open to everyone. You do not have to be a yoga practitioner to come along. 
Dr Rajvinder Kaur BAMS attained her Bachelor Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery from “Shri Krishna Government Ayurvedic College” in the state of Haryana in India. This is a six year degree course covering all aspects of Ayurvedic Medicine. She also has a diploma in Naturopathi and Yoga science and is a qualified Yoga teacher.
Rajvinder worked in General Medicine in India and specialised in women’s health care. She came to Ireland in 2007 and has become an integral part of the “Ayurveda Centre” . She trained under the guidance of Dr Donn Brennan. She specalises in Ayurvedic treatments and consultations. Rajvinder also runs cookery courses, where her knowledge of herbs, spices and healthy eating comes to the fore.
Rajvinder is also an expert in Yoga, and runs one to one classes, teaching Yoga postures for back pain, healthy heart, weight loss and General pain. She travels to India frequently to update her knowledge and skills.
AYURVEDA
Ayurveda (Sanskrit for “knowledge of life” or “knowledge of longevity”) is a comprehensive system of traditional health care that emphasizes the relationship between body, mind, and spirit. It is considered to be the traditional system of medicine of India.
It is a qualitative, holistic science of health and longevity, a philosophy and system of healing the whole person. Historians have not pinpointed the exact time Ayurveda came into being. Most agree that Ayurvedic classical texts were written in India between 3,500 and 6000 years ago. It is certainly the worlds most ancient system of natural health care. 
Over time much of the knowledge of this system became fragmented but, more recently, leading Ayurvedic experts pooled their knowledge into a comprehensive body of knowledge called Maharishi Ayurveda – A prevention oriented, time tested and holistic natural health system.
Ayurveda helps you take control of your life by:
*Giving you understanding of your particular physical and psychological needs.
* Explaining the effects of foods, environment and experiences on your mind and body.
*Providing better understanding to give you the motivation to make the changes needed for better health
* Knowing where you are going wrong, how it affects you, and how you can restore health.
*Offering many strategies for health such as food and lifestyle changes appropriate to you: Transcendental Meditation, yoga, cleansing treatments, specific herbal and mineral preparations, aromatherapy, music therapy, etc.- to suit your needs.
*Helping you co-operate with your own innate natural healing mechanisms.
AYURVEDA & YOGA – TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN
The wisdom of Ayurveda determines that each of us are very unique in our constitution and makeup and therefore we all have specific and different needs in the management of our overall health and wellbeing.
Thanks to Swami Vivekananda, yoga came to the West in 1893 and was welcomed by a very receptive audience. While people embraced yoga, its counterpart Ayurveda, was left behind in India. Yoga and Ayurveda are two very similar paths sharing a close relationship, so closely related that they are often described as two sides of the same coin. Both these sciences, which have their origin in the Vedic texts, address health and health practices. If Ayurveda is the healing aspect, yoga is the spiritual/practical side of the Vedic teachings. Together they emphasize a complete approach to the well being of the body, the mind, and the spirit. In fact, their close relationship has even led to some scholars arguing that Patanjali, considered by many to be the father of yoga, and Charaka, often considered as the father of Ayurveda, may have in fact been one and the same person known in Vedic India by different names during his travels to spread the teachings of these ancient sciences.
Both sciences have common underlying principles: the well being of an individual at the level of body and mind and the aim of helping an individual re-connect to their true nature through direct and personal experience (pratyeksha in Sanskrit). While yoga prepares the body and mind of the individual for eventual liberation and enlightenment, Ayurveda describes the various ways to keep the body and mind healthy. Both sciences emphasize our close relationship with the environment and how to alter our environment in such a way that it is harmonious with our deepest nature.
In today’s world, yoga is often thought of as “asanas only,” something like a stretching tool to keep the body limber and agile. People are drawn to yoga as a way to keep fit even though the idea behind the physical practice of yoga is to help the mind to become clear or pure and develop deeper mind-body awareness. A clear mind is not affected by stress and a clear mind produces a healthy body thus creating a greater connection with one’s own pure, essential nature.
Similarly, Ayurveda brings with it the knowledge of how to keep the physical body healthy and how this relates to one’s spiritual journey. It addresses our entire lifestyle, including exercise and yoga. However, Ayurveda is highly individualistic and sees each individual as unique and an individual’s path toward perfect health as a unique path. Hence, what is right for each individual is unique to that individual alone. This could be described as person’s unique genetic background or constitution or dosha in Sanskrit. An individual’s constitution describes who the person is at the most fundamental level.
The above concept is remarkable because as a result of this understanding, Ayurveda prescribes a unique, “tailor-made” program to each individual based upon his/her constitution and the nature of the imbalance, and avoids the “one size-fits all” concept that is followed in many systems of healing.
Thus, Ayurveda is based upon understanding individualized needs and what is right only for the individual – not the masses – and fulfilling those needs to bring complete harmony.
As with diet, herbs, colors, aromas, etc, Ayurveda sheds light on which specific yoga asanas are best for each individual based on his/her constitution. With the knowledge of Ayurveda, a practitioner of hatha yoga can refine his/her practice so that it is in harmony with their internal balance of energy. Some yoga postures are best for one person while others can cause greater imbalance. By knowing one’s constitutional balance, an individual can use constitution-specific asanas to reverse their imbalances and improve their health and wellbeing. Indeed, if we can understand our constitution, we can control our choices and choose only those that will lead us toward optimal health.