History: Ayurveda is the ancient holistic medical system from India which has been practised for more than 5000 years. Ayurveda means “science of life” (“Ayu” meaning life and “Veda” meaning science).

Holistic approach: Ayurveda is prevention-oriented, is free from harmful side-effects and treats the root cause of a disease rather than just the symptoms. Ayurveda views illness as caused by an imbalance in a person’s bodily or mental constitution. Ayurveda is also applicable to healthy individuals because use of Ayurvedic techniques maintains good health.

Principles: Ayurveda sees everything in the universe, including human beings, as composed of five basic elements: space, air, fire, water and earth. These five elements in turn combine with each other to give rise to three bio-physical forces – Vata (air & space), Pitta (fire & water) and Kapha (water & earth). Every individual has in him or her all three bio-physical forces, but it is the dominance of any one or two or all three that makes up a person’s individual constitution.