ayurveda, the science of life

Ayurveda is the art of daily living in harmony with the laws of nature. It is an ancient natural wisdom of health and healing, a science of life. According to Ayurveda health is a perfect state of balance among the body's three fundamental energies, or dosha -vata, pitta, kapha- and an equally vital balance among body, mind and the soul or consciousness.

Ayurveda is a profound science of living that encompasses the whole of life and relates the life of the individual to the life of universe. It is a holistic system of healing in the truest sense. Body, mind and consciousness are in constant interaction and relationship with other people and the environment. In working to create health, Ayurveda takes into consideration these different levels of life and their interconnectedness.

As a science of self-healing, Ayurveda encompasses diet and nutrition, lifestyle, yoga practice, rest and relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises, massage therapies and medicinal herbs along with cleansing and rejuvenation programs for healing body, mind and spirit. 

As you get familiar with these natural methods you can make the lifestyle choices and learn the self-healing modalities that are right for you in order to create, maintain, or restore health and balance.

According to this science, every individual is both a creation of cosmic energies and a unique phenomenon, a unique personality. Ayurveda teaches that we all have a constitution, which is our individual psychobiological make-up. From the moment of conception this individual constitution is crated by the universal energies of Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. These five elements combine into the three fundamental energies, or dosha. Each of us come to life with a unique constitution, characterized by these five elements in different percentage and that makes what can be defined our inherited genetic code. Substantially, it is our nature, our own patter on energy, our combination of physical, mental and emotional characteristics and predispositions.

As the internal and external conditions of our lives change, if we are going to remain healthy, we need to constantly adjust in order to maintain equilibrium. To maintain health and balance we have to juggle with the three doshas, taking action to increase or decrease, vata, pitta or kapha as conditions demand. This requires moment-to-moment awareness, moment-to-moment consciousness, moment-to-moment healing.

Thus healing -healthy, balanced, conscious living in the fullness of the present moment- is really a way of life. Ayurveda is not a passive form of therapy but rather asks each individual to take responsibility for her or his own daily living. 

Through our diet, relationships, our job, our numerous responsibilities and our daily life as a whole, we can take simple actions for prevention, self-healing, wholeness and growth towards fulfillment.

Abhyangam

Whole body massage with warm herbal oil.

The word Abhyangam means “everywhere”. Warm herbal oils are applied with a purposeful touch in order to create balance in the body and mind and produce a multitude of beneficial effects.

Abhyangam improves blood circulation, facilitates removal of toxins from the tissues, relieves mental and physical fatigue, improves the functions of the muscular-skeletal system, reduces stiffness and heaviness in the body. It assists the production of white blood corpuscles and antibodies, which provide more resistance against viruses and diseases. 

This helps the defence mechanism in the body and increases immunity towards environmental changes. In this way Abhyangam massage is a protector, preserver and a rejuvenator, increasing self-confidence and will power, so it can be used therapeutically within a therapeutic plan or as an occasional treat.

Benefits of Abhyangam:

• pain and stress relief,

• blood pressure modulation

• improved sleep

• flexibility

• resilient immune system

• emotional balance

• improved body awareness.

Dosha Abhyangam

Whole body massage with warm herbal oil specific for your ayurvedic constitution.

The Ayurvedic forces of life determine how we feel physically and mentally. The "doshas" - or energetic life forces - determine the entire universe as well as each individual (yourself). There are five elements - water, air, earth, fire and ether - that define the three doshas's : vata, pitta and kapha. What we see is that there is always one dosha or a combination of two dosha's more strongly present in each person, which makes this a unique pattern and explains why we are all different.

This treatment  strives to balance your "doshas" or energetic life forces, different for each person. With adapted herbal oil for each dosha type this treatment purifies, nourishes and relaxes your body and restores the balance on physical, mental, emotional and energetical level. An Ayurvedic massage will soothe, revive and rejuvenate your mind.

Ayurveda-yogin abhyangam

Whole body massage with stretching through several passive yoga asana

Ayurvedic Yoga massage is a unique style of bodywork that combines deep tissue massage with breathwork and Yoga stretching. The deep tissue massage soothes and nourishes the musculature, soft tissues of the body, releases tensions and prepares the receiver for assisted Yoga stretching. Through synchronized breathwork, the receiver is led progressively deeper into assisted Yoga postures that help correct postural imbalance and restore harmony to the body.  Herbal oils are utilized during the treatment for their healing properties. This comprehensive approach to the body dissolves physical and emotional blocks, helps eliminate toxins, promotes correct posture, improves respiratory patterns, enhances energy level and leaves you with a profound sense of wellbeing.

Pindasweda 

Whole body massage with warm oil and hot herbal bundles 

Using the standard heat and oil process at the core of the majority of Ayurvedic massage treatments, Pinda Sweda also uses ‘rice puddings’ or medicinal rice cooked with herbs and bundled into soft cotton to create heat-holding boluses.

This treatment is usually recommended for the aching joints and muscles commonly associated with arthritic conditions, back pain and muscle stiffness. It can also be used to delay the ageing process and help manage and treat:

• Insomnia

• Multiple sclerosis

• Muscle weakness and paralysis

This treatment helps promote the elimination of toxins while enhancing circulation and blood flow. Other benefits include:

• Soothe and restore dry skin

• Stress relief

• Management of inflammation, swelling and pain

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Ayurvedic prenatal and postnatal massage

Gentle whole body massage for the mum and her baby with warm sweet almond oil

Ayurveda considers the prenatal and postnatal period as a moment when the woman should be nurtured with the healing tools of hands, words, food and warm herbal oils. The "ancestral knowing" that touch has a significant effect on our lives and is recognized nowadays by researches showing that skin stimulation may support the mobilization of "mothering" hormones like oxytocin that enhances the functioning of the placenta among the others, has profound effects on the mother's physiological and emotional reaction to stress that is known to affect the in utero environment and the healthy development of the newborn.

Pregnancy massage is designed to be safe for the mother and the baby, to support better mood and sleep, lowering the blood pressure, support the lymphatic and venous circulation and preparing the body to the experience of labor. The so-called postnatal window (40 days after giving birth) and the first months after giving birth are crucial: the woman goes through profound transformations and she needs support and nourishment in a moment when she is all for taking care of the newborn not considering that the emotional and physical body both needs to find their way back into balance after the experience of labour. The benefits are not dissimilar from what said above with the added value of perceiving to be taken care of.