By Sophie Holloway
Yerevan hosted its second Ayurveda Day on 29 October – a global celebration of traditional Indian medicine that has been running for the past nine years. The event was organized by the Indian embassy in Armenia.
India’s Ambassador to Armenia, Nilakshi Saha Sinha, opened a talk at the University of Traditional Medicine in Yerevan, expressing delight at Armenia’s emerging interest in the historical treatment.
An Indian practice dating back 7000 years, Ayurveda was first shared by sages orally and later written down in Vedic Sanskrit, texts that have endured for millennia. The term translates as the ‘science of life’ and is built on principles of harmony and interconnectivity.
Its comprehensive, holistic approach to health – taking into account mind, body and spirit – is one of its defining features.
“Ayurveda is based on the idea that each person has certain life forces, called ‘doshas’,” said Ambassador Sinha. “An imbalance in one area can affect the other, and can lead to disease.”
According to her, the Indian government has supercharged its commitment to mainstreaming Ayurveda and introducing it to a wider, global audience in recent years.
The focus of this year’s Ayurveda Day has been to establish the treatment’s relevance in modern-day healthcare and build on its scientific validity. Currently, the practice is recognized in 24 countries; its products are exported to over 100 countries.
Ayurveda’s sustainability and inexpensiveness are just a few of its important advantages.
“Ayurveda is non-invasive and chemical free,” said Rita Minassian, a holistic lifestyle expert and co-editor of AyurvedaMantra magazine. “This means you limit the secondary effect – on mankind but also the planet.”
“It’s very trendy to talk about things like detox these days,” Minassian said. “But 7000 years back, these sages were already aware about the importance of reducing inflammation – the mother of any disease.”
Ayurveda encompasses several healing systems. Siddha, which is the most ancient, focuses on the interconnection between the external elements and our bodies, and uses certain metals for preventative treatments.
Other aspects of Ayurveda treatment include yoga, homeopathy and unani, a medicine that concerns principles of healing and balance.
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