I think that I have tried just about every fad diet out there. With each diet comes the weight loss that is promised, but then the weight returns after the initial shock to the system. I can’t seem to shake these 30 lbs that have taken up residence on my body. No amount of physical exertion or caloric control seems to keep it off. Yet, for some strange reason, I can’t accept this. I can’t accept my weight or my recent string of health issues, it makes very little sense to me. I have cut out red meat, pork, overly processed foods, and most dairy. Still, the weight remains and the health issues persist. My boyfriend disagrees, he thinks that if I workout more I will be fine, but he is forgetting that good health starts in the gut. If I eat crappy food, no amount of exercise is going to change the fact that I am not supporting my body properly. Eating good food and not overeating is essential for good health.

I have high blood pressure so I eat the appropriate foods for someone suffering from high-blood pressure, and I make it a point to walk at least 4 times a week. The doctor has told me that I should lose weight with a proper diet and a little exercise, and it still hasn’t happened for the past 6 months. Why am I stuck in this rut? Why do the extra 30 pounds refuse to budge? I have no idea. Instead of focusing on the weight I want to lose though, I have decided to work on my health. I want to be healthy, or at least healthier than I have felt for the past year. I refuse to try another a fad diet, instead, I want nature to work for me. High hopes I know. I can hear my father in the back of my head telling me that I’m wasting my time. But I can’t accept that either. I am not wasting my time.

Fad diets are new and modern, so I decided to start looking for something old and ancient. Something that has been around longer than it has been in writing. There wasn’t much to find surprise surprise. But then I found something that was actually surprising. Something that is tied to a form of exercise, yoga, that many people are finding successful. It’s Ayurveda.

Ayurveda has been around for over 5,000 years. Yes, you read that right. This system of health management has been around for five thousand years. When I read that I was floored. That can’t be right. But it is. Ayurveda was created by a group of sages who were trying to create a disease-free world thousands of years ago (Gerson 12). The first major text about Ayurveda is called the Rig Veda, and this includes Ayurveda, meditation and yoga as a way of promoting good health (Gerson 9). The combination of eating for your specific body, centering exercise, and meditation makes more sense than starving oneself or overworking your body to maintain a certain weight.

The major thing about Ayurveda that appeals to me is the belief that a healthy body starts with a healthy mind, body and spirit. While I have yet to explore yoga, I like the idea of it. I like the idea that the human mind already has everything necessary to bring it into optimal health, both physically and spiritually (Gerson 6). This is reason enough for me while it may not be enough for some. I have always believed in the power of the mind, and the fact that this health management system operates with a healthy mind, body and spirit as a point of focus really draws me in. Now, I am not saying that it is possible to accomplish full health without meditation. I am just saying that meditation of some sort is essential for real mental health, and I think that mental health will allow for a healthy body and spirit. Meditation allows you to clear your head and focus your energy properly.

In Ayurveda, there is a belief in five elements: ether, air, fire, water, and earth, that effect each of the five senses (Gerson 13). Each of these five elements are the building blocks of life, and from there the elements form three doshas, Vata, Pitta, and Kapha which can be combined in different ways for each individual (Gerson 15). The reason why these doshas are important is because they describe your constitution. Weird, I know. But considering that many people who follow an Ayurvedic lifestyle combining yoga, meditation and diet are happy and healthy is something that speaks the truth of Ayurveda.

So I took four quizzes to determine my primary dosha, two of which I found in my books, two which I found online through internet searches. I have found that I am tridoshic, which from my understanding is a blend of all three doshas. At first, I was confused, which is why I took multiple. Turns out, I have two primary doshas, Vata and Kapha, followed by a close second, Pitta. From here, I am slowly forming an understanding of myself. Which foods work best for me is going to be a matter of trial and error, but this is a journey. One that I will continue for the foreseeable future, and one that I hope will end with a better version of me in a year. This is my primary goal of starting a journey in Ayurveda, and one that I think the true nature of Ayurveda is about.

So for next week, I plan to further my studies of the doshas and what this means for me. I am also planning a cleanse, which Amrita Sondhi outlines in her book The Modern Ayurvedic. Ayurveda is a wealth of knowledge that can not be described in one week, and I will unfold my understandings of it each week.

Works Cited

Gerson, Scott, MD. Ayurveda: The Ancient Indian Healing Art. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1993.

Sondhi, Amrita. The Modern Ayurvedic. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007.