Ayurveda is not merely a treatment by a Science of
Life. More than 5000 years old, it is said to have passed from
generation to generation since the days, when writing was not even
invented and knowledge had to be passed down orally. The well-researched
and practiced therapy has now come a long way and now it is being taught
as a parallel stream to other medical sciences in the Ayurveda Colleges
of Kerala, the Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation Capital of South India. It
is based on the principles of Atharva Veda and is more a preventive
therapy than a curative one. Ayurveda treatment is individualistic and
recently, it is gaining popularity all over the world. Patients and
health enthusiasts from all over the world come to Kerala for Ayurveda
treatment and learn yoga and meditation exercises.These therapies and exercises aim at detoxification of the body and strengthening the immune system of the body using herbal extracts and food supplements and tries to abstain from drug and treatment dependency. It aims to bend the habits and lifestyles of a person to a healthier one. While treatment of Ayurveda is both external and internal, Yoga and meditation exercises help the person to develop both the body and the mind. It also has an aspect of psychotherapy, fasting, sunbathing and exposure to wind. The most popular treatments of South India involve specialized oil massages, oleation and sweating, application of mud and clay packs in a specific manner and other forms of natural healing treatments.
Vipassana, one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation, which was discovered by Gautam Buddha, 2500 years ago, it aims at healing of human suffering. Since then, it has been passed from generation to generation. Some of the renowned Vipassana Centers in South India are in Hyderabad, West Godavari and Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore in Karnataka. Most of these centers offer ten-day residential courses, during which the participants are taught basics of the method, live in discipline and require hard, serious work.
There are three steps to the training. The first step is to follow the moral rules and abstain from killing, stealing, sex, telling lies and using intoxicants during the period of the course. The next step is to learn to concentrate on the process of breathing and observing and understanding sensations throughout the body and last of all to learn meditation for love and compassion for all. The entire practice of meditation is actually a mental training to relieve oneself from stress and train our mind to its fullest potential.
Kerala has developed its own Ayurvedic treatment modalities like Dhara, Pizhichil, Navarakizhi, Elakizhi, Sirovasthi, Thalapothichil which are said to be highly effective in curing various diseases such as motor neuron diseases, heart diseases, arthritis, skin diseases, asthma, peptic ulcer, peripheral vascular diseases and gynecological disorders. 'Agastyakoodam' situated on the Western Ghat ranges is said to be the home of many useful herbs and having the most perfected herbal health care system. Some of the most well reputed Ayurvedic centers in Kerala are Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Centre, Kalady, Sera Sankara Ayurveda Vaidyasala, Perunnai, Changanacherry and Kairali Ayurvedic Health Resort, Palakkad.
