| Headaches, insomnia, anxiety and constipation | | | | medicine has looked at individual organs in isolation, |
| have the same root cause which is a vata | | | | as separate from one another and from the mind |
| imbalance according to ayurveda. Until recently | | | | and spirit. By way of contrast ancient civilizations |
| modern Western medicine believed that health | | | | were intimately in touch with their nonphysical |
| was simply the absence of disease. Illness was | | | | selves and had rich inner lives. They knew what |
| caused purely by something outside the body, the | | | | modern science is just now starting to realize: |
| way a hammer hitting your toe causes | | | | The mind and body are so connected as to be |
| pain-viruses caused colds, allergens caused | | | | indistinguishable from each other.In many ways |
| allergies, stress caused anxiety, carcinogens | | | | modern science is only beginning to catch up with |
| caused cancer, and so on. The solution was to | | | | Ayurveda. In many ways modern science is only |
| find the right pill and the disease would be cured. | | | | beginning to catch up with Ayurveda. For example |
| But today we know that the seeds of illness are | | | | research is discovering that certain people are |
| sown way before obvious symptoms appear. The | | | | constitutionally prediposed to certain illnesses, and |
| absence of a readily diagnosable disease is no | | | | proving that lifestyle practices and gentle herbal |
| longer the definition of health-people want to feel | | | | medicines can make a huge difference in our |
| good, not just "not bad." The | | | | ability to resist disease, recover from illness, and |
| hammer-hitting-the-toe model of disease doesn't | | | | extend our lives. That's exactly what the ancient |
| explain the wide variation in people's abilities to | | | | science of Ayurveda has been saying for |
| resist illness or recover from illness. When you | | | | thousands of years. Headaches, insomnia, anxiety |
| encounter a cold virus, you have only one chance | | | | and constipation have the same root cause which |
| in eight of getting a cold. Seven out of eight times | | | | is a vata imbalance and this is an example of |
| your mind-body is able to defend itself. Clearly the | | | | genetic predisposition according to body type. |
| virus is only one small factor-the state of your | | | | Copyright © Dr.Helen Thomas 2007. All rights |
| general health is paramount. | | | | reserved. |
| By focusing on physical cause and effect Western | | | | |