Over the years I have conversed with many students and clients about our approach to Ayurveda. They have many times asked me to write this down and share more about it, and that finally comes to pass here. For most people it may be too much information. It is primarily aimed at those interested in Ayurveda or in our tradition and how our approach relates to the greater field of Ayurveda.

Origins
Ayurveda is the science of living. It comes from the Himalayas and its teachings were carried to many other places, until it finally reached the West. Our practice of Ayurveda is based on the Ayurvedic wisdom of the Buddha's physician Jivak, who was the most celebrated doctor during his time. His emphasis was to practice Ayurveda in the way that works to remove the blockages to health. These teachings were hand carried by Padmasambhava, the Tantric Buddha, to Tibet and passed to the teachers that we studied with in India, Drs Naram.

Our Method of Approach
The Ayurvedic approach we take is parallel to the approach we take to our spiritual practice in Buddhism. In Buddhism there are two different approaches to the spiritual tradition. One approach is based on the Sutras - the written down teachings of the Buddha which were recorded, memorized and passed on over and over again, practiced to the letter, exactly as they were written down. Another kind of approach is in that of the Realization tradition of the MahaSiddhas in the Tantric school of Buddhism. In this case, the teachings the Buddha passed on were mastered, realized, understood and developed by his disciple. They were then passed on again and again in the same way. The passing on of teachings was focused on the mastery of the essence of those teachings rather than the memorization of protocols. This is the practicing lineage - the tradition in which the teachings have been understood in their essence, so they can be expressed in unlimited form. This lived understanding is passed on in a continuous chain until the present time. In the same way, there are the original texts of Charak, the great Ayurvedic masters, which according to Sutra, have been written some 1600 years ago and have been then followed to the letter. And there is is the practicing lineage of Charak, in which Charak's knowledge was passed onto his disciple who realized those teachings and further added to those teachings and then passed them onto his disciple and so on until the present day. In a practicing lineage, the emphasis is what actually works, rather than only what was originally written in the ancient text. When Dr. Naram was training us in the practicing lineage approach to Ayurveda, he told us that the way of the Siddha in Ayurveda utilizes methods, "that may not have been written in the ancient texts, but actually work." He also told us many times that people would say to him, "but that is not what Charak says..." and his response would be to show them the direct teachings of Charak that his teacher had handed down to him in thousand year old texts. These ancient texts had been passed down, master to disciple for over a thousand years. Each Master added to the text, adjusting, refining and expanding the knowledge. New remedies had been tested and discovered during that time, new diseases, new challenges. Each master's wisdom added to the previous masters and passed down to the next disciple. More importantly than that, was that what was passed was an understanding of the principles of Ayurveda and how to apply them; a living wisdom that allowed the practitioner to function in unlimited circumstances. In a practicing lineage the body of wisdom of Ayurveda keeps growing and is demonstrated through unlimited means.

In a practicing lineage, the emphasis is the understanding of the principles of the practice and the ability to apply those principles in every situation that may arise according to what would actually work. When Derrick and I discovered this approach to Ayurveda, we immediately took to it, since it not only mirrors our approach to our spiritual practice, and not only because it also was taught by the Padmasambhava himself, the pre-eminent master of our spiritual tradition, but because we experienced the efficacy of such an approach ourselves. I have been given repeated traditional remedies and formulas by the most prominent Ayurveda Masters of our day that have provoked and upset me. I have been traveling many times with Derrick when someone falls ill and we are in a hotel or in some strange village in some strange place or country. At that time, Derrick has not asked "What would Charak give?" In fact, many times he has said that a skilled Ayurvedist can treat anyone at anytime using whatever is available, herbs, food or otherwise. At such moments, Derrick would head to the kitchen or nearest supermarket and emerge with some spontaneously concocted remedy that may have never been used before - but would actually work. In a short time our friend would be feeling better - and that to us is true Ayurveda. This worked not because it was based on a written formula in Ayurveda (Sutra), it worked because it was based on the understanding and harnessing of Ayurvedic principles (Practicing Lineage).

A masterful application of the principles of Ayurveda is crucial since culturally we face many unique health challenges that our predecessors did not. Over the last thirty years, 20,000 new chemicals per year have entered into our environment (1). There has been a 50% reduction in the antioxidant nutrition in our food in the last 25 years, depleting our body's major nutritional defense resource. 100% of Americans tested by the EPA were shown to have toxic plastics in their fat tissue which increase the risk of cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and more. In 1936, American soil mineral content was declared to be at a crisis point and 99% of Americans were considered to be mineral deficient (2) - generations of mineral deficiency is what we are dealing with now. "The 1992 Earth Summit soil mineral depletion report showed soil depletion in North America to be at 85 percent, the highest in the world." (2) I could go on making the case for the poor state of health and nutrition that we are currently facing and the unique challenge of dealing with modern toxicity and pollution. But the point seems to be that whatever challenge we face - we can see the Ayurvedic principles at hand and find ways to appropriately address the unique issues of our time. In this way the practicing lineage continues to develop focusing on what actually works to restore health.

We have especially seen the differences in temperature and intensity between many traditional Ayurvedic formulations and what the chronically ill (1 in 2 people in the US) clients can actually tolerate based on the unique sensitivities they face in their bodies. The intensity of metal poisoning, parasite infestation, pesticides, pollution and nutritional deficiency demand to be addressed gently and intensively. In such cases we have worked with our suppliers to remake these formulas for what actually works for our clients.

Emphasis; Not Just Body-Typing
Though popular Ayurveda is often reduced to determining body-types (vata, pitta or kapha), as a system of health and well-being it is a much more vast and precise a science than merely determining what body type was at birth or is now.

The emphasis of our Ayurveda practice is determining where your blocks to health and well-being are NOW and how best to remove those blocks while promoting balanced body ecology (doshas).

From our point of view, what is most important is:
where the blockages to health are
and how to best remove them
while promoting optimal body ecology.

Ayurvedic body type at birth is interesting to know and you are welcome to ask this during the course of your consultation. However, for health and well being in the present, one's current body-ecology (doshas) is even more important to understand. Even more important than that is the understanding of where blockages and toxic accumulations are causing imbalance in the body's ecology and natural health. Once these blockages are removed and proper nutrition is given, the body ecology returns to a state of natural health and radiance.

Lasting results require that we focus
on removing the toxic blockages in the body.

If we try to focus primarily on balancing the body ecology (doshas)
instead of first removing the blockages
that created that imbalance in body ecology in the first place
- then we will may feel slightly better,
but the serious or long-standing conditions will remain largely unaffected.

In Ayurvedic Consultations We are Focused on the Following:
About Consultations

1. Identifying blockages.

Blockages are toxic build-ups and/or pranic derangements which are the cause of imbalanced body-ecology. This shows up as deficiencies, dehydration; inflammation/infection; and congestion (Vata, Pitta, Kapha).

• Pulse Assessment and brief interview are utilized.

2. Identifying how best to support your body to rapidly remove these blockages through herbal nutrition and detoxification.

• Muscle Testing or Interview are utilized to determine the specific dosages that the body can utilize.
  
• Panchakarma - clinical detoxification, cleansing and rejuvenation - is recommended.
  
• Home Detox Techniques are also recommended
  

3. Identifying crucial diet and lifestyle changes to support the removal of blockages and the rejuvenation of affected areas.

• Diet and Lifestyle changes are addressed in the Comprehensive Consultation. Specific dietary and life-style protocols for your specific case are suggested.
  
• In the Basic Consultation, relevant educational diet and lifestyle documents are emailed to you. We have spent years preparing these texts in order to guide you in the best diet and lifestyle protocol for your specific case.

Removing Blockages & Body Ecology
Ayurvedic wisdom points to removing blockages to health. Specifically we do this without provoking the body's unique ecology (doshas) and while promoting that ecology to come into balance.

Many times people get minimal results from detoxification and cleansing because they do not take into account their body's ecology and especially how to detoxify without upsetting it. Keeping the body's ecology in balance is an art. It involves understanding the elements and how they interrelate (Doshas). At a basic level, it is intuitive. If we are cold (too much air) then we use something warming (fire). However at the level of Ayurvedic science, this basic thinking is barely the beginning. If the cold is caused by excessive heat that has burnt out the body's minerals, oils and nutrients, leaving the tissues dry and dehydrated - then heat is not the appropriate answer - it would only exacerbate the problem. The situation is increasingly meticulous as we deal with ecological imbalance that affect different organs and tissues in different and contradicting ways! This is where the art and science of herbalism is so useful as we use herbs, nutrition and supplements to migrate to the specific organs and tissues in question. This is why we use formulas rather than only singular, dried or powdered herbs. The herbs potentiate each other and create different effects to different areas of the body based on how they are used together. For example, a cooling herb may be used in conjunction with a heating herb to carry the digestive property of the heating herb to the targeted organ site where it can break down toxins.

Another example is that when people want to loose weight they often attempt to avoid eating all fat. However if the deficiency in healthy oils that caused the digestive system to shut down and accumulate un digestible fats is the problem, then avoiding fats will not help the matter. It will actually make it worse, the body will cling to the indigestible fats more fiercely in it's desperation for fats. For this reason, in our Ayurvedic practice, we focus on identifying the root cause of the issues at hand - and dealing with that. What is the blockage to good health. How can we remove that blockage in a way that actually works so that the body can return it's own natural health again. What are the blockages that have caused the body to lose it's natural vitality and intelligence in the first place? By addressing the root cause, we eliminate the issue at hand and many other issues as well. The Ayurvedic wisdom of the elements is utilized to keep the body ecology as balanced as possible as these blockages are removed.

1. PR LABS, Superior Whole Body Detox, Frequently Asked Questions

2. http://geneticcodechart.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. None of this information is meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical conditions or disease. Ayurveda is a spiritual tradition of wellness and longevity meant to educate about foods (herbs/supplements), and meditation. This information is not meant to replace or in any way substitute for medical advice. For medical advice consult a licensed allopathic medical physician.