wellness health - center for integrative...
TRANSCRIPT
Stuart Rothenberg, M.D. National Medical Director,
Maharishi Ayurveda Association of America
Creating Health from Within Ayurveda’s Approach to Wellness and
Healing
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
AyurvedaTraditional Medical System of India
• Oldest continuously practiced medical system
• Oldest extant medical texts: Charaka, Sushruta, Vagbhatta
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Ayurveda
Key Features• Prevention-oriented
• Holistic: includes mind, body, behavior, environment
• Generally free of side-effects
Ayur + Veda = Ayurveda
Life + Knowledge = Science of Life
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Ayurveda
• Health is a state of balance of consciousness, mind, body, and environment
• Ayurveda teaches how to live in harmony with natural law• To enliven the body’s internal self-
repair and balancing mechanisms• To prevent disease and create health
and healing from withinHealth & Wellness
Conference 2015
Comprehensive Revival of Ayurveda: Maharishi Ayurveda
• Holistic re-formulation of Ayurveda in accord with the classical texts
• Under the direction of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and leading Ayurvedic experts
• Multi-modality / Holistic
• Emphasizes mind-body balance as key to creating healthHealth & W
ellness Conference 2015
The Body’s Inner Intelligence
The body has an inner intelligence that underlies all physiological structure and function (“biological memory”).
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
The purpose of all wellness and treatment approaches
is to enliven the body's inner intelligence, to promote homeostatic and self-repair mechanisms
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
The Three Doshas
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
The Three DoshasAssessment of health in terms of the degree of balance or imbalance of
3 fundamental operators
Vata Pitta Kapha
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Doshas are three: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. In their balanced state, they maintain the body. When imbalanced, they afflict the body with imbalances and diseases.
—Charaka Samhita,Vimanasthan, 1.5
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Vata Dosha:Movement and Transport
Constituent elements: Space and Air
Qualities: Quick, Light, Cold, Moving, Dry
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Pitta Dosha:Digestion and Metabolism
Constituent elements: Fire and Water
Qualities: Sharp, Hot, Acidic, Intense
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Kapha Dosha:Structure and Fluid Balance
Constituent elements: Water and EarthQualities: Heavy, Oily, Slow, Cold,
Steady, SoftHealth & W
ellness Conference 2015
Doshas and Gene Expression
Recent studies have indicated that the three basic governing principles of Ayurveda (the Doshas) are correlated with specific groups of genes and physiological functions in the body.Prasher B, et al. Whole genome expression and biochemical correlates of extreme constitutional types defined in Ayurveda. Journal of Translational Medicine 2008;6:48.
Patwardhan B, et al. Ayurvedic Genomics: Establishing a Genetic Basis for Mind–Body Typologies. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. June 2008, 14(5): 571-576.
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Constitutional Type:Biological Individuality
Prevention and treatment should be tailored to the individual’s constitutional type- including
food, spices, herbal preparations, lifestyle routines (Personalized Medicine). What will promote balance for one constitution may
produce imbalance for another.Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Kapha
VataPitta
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Vata
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Pitta
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Kapha
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Take the Dosha Quiz
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Maharishi Ayurveda:Prevention and Treatment approaches
• Mind-body balance, stress-reduction• Diet: general and specific factors
(constitutional type, imbalances)• Digestion: involved in most chronic
disorders• Herbal preparations• Detoxification• Lifestyle imbalancesHealth & W
ellness Conference 2015
Diet and Digestion
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
“Without proper diet, medicine is of no use.With proper diet, medicine is of no need.”
-Traditional Ayurvedic aphorism
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Digestion: Key to Health or Disease
Digestive Power
Proper Digestion
Ojas
Good Health
Improper Digestion
Ama
Poor Health
Or
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
General Dietary Recommendations
• Favor fresh foods, freshly prepared—avoid packaged/highly processed foods, and leftovers or reheated foods (to the extent possible)
• Favor whole foods—avoid refined foods
• Avoid cold foods and beverages
• Eat as low down on the food chain as possible. Lacto-vegetarian diet is preferable. Poultry and fish are better than red meats (better to have them at lunch than supper).
Crowe FL, et al. Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Mar;97(3):597-603.
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Top Behaviors for Good Digestion
• Regular mealtimes, around the same time each day: breakfast, lunch, supper and (optional) afternoon snack.
• Take enough time to eat, avoid rushing meals:• Eat in a quiet, settled atmosphere with settled mind• Chew food well—digestion begins in the mouth• Take a few minutes to sit quietly after eating
• Eat to about ¾ of capacity; satisfied but not feeling “full”
• Make lunch the main meal of the dayJakubowicz D, et al. High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences
weight loss. Obesity, 2013 Jul 2.Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Dietary Use of Spices
• Natural medicinals that aid digestion and metabolism; they are abundant in phytonutrients
• They are documented to have numerous health benefits: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, cardio-protective, anti-diabetes.
• A variety of spices should be included in the diet on a daily basis
• Average American diet does not include sufficient amount or variety of spices
• Premier spices: ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, fennel, cinnamon, black pepper, fenugreek, cardamom, mustard seeds, saffron, basil.Health & W
ellness Conference 2015
Mind-Body Balance
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Transcending
From Charaka Samhita (principal text of Ayurveda):
• “Direct contact with the least excited state of awareness (Atma) is the most powerful means of promoting health.”
• “Complete transcending (of mental activity) is the best among the sources of health and happiness.”Health & W
ellness Conference 2015
The Transcendental Meditation Technique
“Yogas chitta-vrtti-nirodhah” Patanjali Yoga-Sutra, 1.2 250 BC
“Yoga is the least excited state of consciousness, pure consciousness”
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Ris
k of
Eve
nts
(Exp
ecte
d N
umbe
r of E
vent
s pe
r Yea
r per
100
0 Ev
ent-f
ree
Pers
ons)
Effects of Transcendental Meditation Program on Death, Heart Attack and Stroke
Schneider RH, Grim CE, Rainforth MV, et al. Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: randomized controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation and health education in Blacks. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 5:750-758, 2012
Health Education TM
48% lower ratein Transcendental
Meditation practitioners over 5 years follow-up
(p =.025)
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Transcendental Meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure and may be recommended for inclusion in clinical treatment programs for high blood pressure. All other meditation techniques, including MBSR, received a 'Class IIIC, no benefit, Level of Evidence and are not recommended in clinical practice to lower blood pressure at this time.
AmericanHeart
AssociationLearn and Live
®
Brook, R. D., Appel, L. J., Rubenfire, M., et al (2013). Beyond medications and diet: Alternative approaches to lowering blood pressure : A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association(61)
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Lower blood pressure through Transcendental Meditation practice is also associated with substantially reduced rates of death, heart attack and stroke.
AmericanHeartAssociation®Learn and Live
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015
Ayurveda Training Program at UM Center for Integrative Medicine
• Health Professionals track: a 66-hour program for physicians and other health professionals to incorporate Ayurvedic medicine into their practices
• Wellness Education track: a 56-hour program for non-health professionals who wish to be trained as Ayurveda wellness educators, or who wish to take the program for their own enrichment and knowledge
Both tracks are available online, with optional live weekend modules: Module 1 at UM-Baltimore on June 13-14, 2015.Health & W
ellness Conference 2015
For more information and to enroll
• Website: www.ayurveda-courses.org/umd.html
• Email: [email protected]• Phone (toll-free): 877-540-6222
Health & Wellness
Conference 2015