Ayurveda is the oldest practiced system of medical treatment in the world. Its recorded origins go back thousands of years. It is a holistic system of medicine aiming to provide individually styled guidance regarding food and lifestyle. Ayurveda’s philosophy encompasses not only healing the infirm, but guiding each person to an optimum healthy balance and lifestyle based on their individual characteristics.

The Ayurvedic practioner is guided by observation, inquiry, examination, and the knowledge gained from the ancient texts. Based on personal differences, the recommendations for each person to recreate balance in the body are often quite different. Ayurvedic tradition believes there are strong energy forces influencing all nature including humans. Creating a balance between those forces, using traditional herbal medicines, dietary adjustments, and influencing the connection between mind and body are all part of the healing process.

According to Charaka, an ancient Ayurvedic practioner, "Ayurveda is the knowledge that indicates the appropriate and inappropriate, happy or sorrowful conditions of living, what is auspicious or inauspicious for longevity, as well as the measure of science itself."

The basic belief of Ayurveda holds that the entire universe, as well as the body is made up of five basic elements. These elements are Prithvi (Earth), Ap (Water), Thejus (Fire), Vayu (Air), and Akasha (Ether, Space). There are three life forces in the body called doshas, each with a different combination or tendency. The emphasis of the Ayurvedic method of healing is on restoring balance between the doshas, and therefore health, to the mind, body, and spirit.

Ayurvedic practitioners spend a great deal of time with their patients, interviewing them for history and lifestyle choices, making note of temperament and other clues to the imbalance. Once the source has been determined, a course of treatment is recommended based on the doshas involved and the individual’s other physical, mental, and lifestyle traits. It is a very holistic approach to healing, used by millions of people for several thousand years.