“It tells you how to live in harmony with nature to maintain health and wellness, and it focuses on preventing diseases and treating not just symptoms but the root of the cause. If you can remove the cause, that’s the whole idea. And if you can’t remove it, it teaches you how to live with it and still have quality of Iife,” said Dhaval Dhru, MD, an Ayurveda and yoga practitioner with Three Trees Yoga & Healing Arts Center in Federal Way (threetreesyoga.com) and a presenter at Ayurvedic retreats at Harmony Hill Retreat Center in Union, near Belfair.
Unlike other forms of complementary medicine, Ayurveda has its own pathology, physiology and anatomy. The approach looks at each person as a unique expression of the universal image and as being part of nature, Dhru says, and considers health as a dynamic state of body, mind and spirit (soul/consciousness) balance.
Its principles are based on body constitutions, which take into account more than genetic makeup but also how universal energy, along with the five elements — water, air, ether, earth and fire — impact the person. The constitution, called dosha, and any of its imbalances guide each individual’s therapies, which could include detoxification, herbal supplements and lifestyle changes.
“If you understand it a little bit, you see that the philosophy makes sense,” Dhru said. “…It’s a common-sense approach.”
He says most people come to Ayurvedic medicine for two reasons, and the primary one is their frustration with the Western medicine approach.
“Western medicine is good for acute illnesses but after that, it’s like a Band-Aid,” he said, adding that it’s the same case with chronic conditions.
The other group of people who like the Ayurvedic approach are those who are conscientious about their health and are interested in a preventative lifestyle that is not a “one kind fits all.” He says even yoga, which is an exercise used in Ayurveda, has different kinds and each kind is beneficial for different people.
The lifestyle principles of Ayurveda are based on establishing a regime and regularity (such as eating meals at the same time, for example), moderation and variation.
“It’s a self-empowering wellness field where you take responsibility for your health. The Ayurvedic practitioner is there as your guide and can suggest treatment but it’s you who’s in the driver’s seat,” Dhru said. “You make the choices and Ayurveda gives you the tools, and not all of them resonate with everybody.”
The Harmony Hill (www.harmonyhill.org) weekend retreats where Dhru has been presenting for several years are sponsored by the Franciscan Auxiliary and hosted about three times a year. The auxiliary provides scholarships for cancer patients to attend for free but the retreats are also open to the general public. Patti Wolfrom, an East Asian medical practitioner (EMP) who works at the St. Francis oncology clinic, organized the first retreat as part of a class project when she was studying Ayurveda at Bastyr University. When she suggested to other oncology nurses the idea of continuing the program, she said they loved it, and the auxiliary became a sponsor.
“I think people realize health is individualized but they don’t realize why it’s individualized and what makes us different,” she said. “This is a format to look at those differences and what we can do (for our health). I think it gives people a basic framework to know why something would be good for them or not good for them.”
She says the practices are especially beneficial for cancer patients because they are simple and things like breathing exercises or yoga are easy for anyone to do.
The nonprofit Harmony Hill Retreat Center, which also has its own programs for cancer patients, is looking at the idea of incorporating Ayurveda into its options as well. Program Manager Cindy Shanks says many of the nutrition and other principles are similar to Harmony Hill’s approach.
“It’s an area where we’ll probably see a lot of growth in the next few years,” she said. “A lot of our faculty is becoming more interested in it.”
One challenge for this ancient system in the United States is lack of regulations. Unlike naturopathic medicine, Ayurveda does not have standardized guidelines or requirements, and in most states — Washington included — the practitioners cannot be licensed to practice it alone. Many are massage therapists, or even physicians as in the case of Dr. Dhru, who offer Ayurvedic treatments as part of another practice.
But Dhru, who is on the board of directors for the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (ayurvedanama.org) and an international speaker, says he hopes that will change soon. A NAMA committee (of which he is a member) is developing a set of standards with the goal of legalizing the field nationwide. That could also open more opportunities for education for practitioners.
“Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are going through similar steps,” he said.
In Washington state, the Ayurvedic community is represented by the Washington Ayurvedic Medical Association (www.ayurvedawama.com), which also provides education such as a national conference coming to Bellevue in April. The association currently lists 24 members who are Ayurvedic practitioners in the state, and only one on the entire Olympic Peninsula.
Dhru says for employers, being educated about complementary medicine such as Ayurvedic is also beneficial. “If their staff are incorporating some of these (health) practices, health care costs can go down,” he said. “It’s been proven to improve employee health, productivity and morale.”
By:RODIKA TOLLEFSON
Source:Business Journal
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