Ayurveda Glossary - Ayurvedic Terms Explained

Vedas: sacred Hindu writings; any of the four holy books of the Veda.

Ayurvedic Facial: Purportedly, a "therapeutic skin care experience" that involves the use of "dosha-specific" products and a facial massage focusing on "marma points."

Dosha : In Ayurvedic philosophy, the five elements combine in pairs to form three dynamic forces or interactions called doshas. It is also known as the governing principles as every living things in nature is characterized by the dosha.

Ayurvedic Nutrition (Ayurvedic Diet) : Nutritional phase of Ayurveda. It involves eating according to (a) one's "body type" and (b) the "season." The alleged activity of the doshas--three "bodily humors," "dynamic forces," or "spirits that possess"--determines one's "body type." In Ayurveda, "body types" number seven, eight, or ten, and "seasons" traditionally number six. Each two-month season corresponds to a dosha; for example, the two seasons that correspond to the dosha named "Pitta" (see "Raktamoksha") constitute the period of mid-March through mid-July. But some proponents enumerate three seasons: summer (when pitta predominates), autumn, and winter (the season of kapha); or Vata season (fall and winter), Kapha season (spring), and Pitta season (summer). According to Ayurvedic theory, one should lessen one's intake of foods that increase ("aggravate") the ascendant dosha.

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