What Is Ayurveda?
The word Ayurveda comes from two Sanskrit words - Ayur meaning life, and Veda meaning knowledge. This traditional Indian life science is the oldest form of medicine known to man; its guiding principles are said to have been handed down from the Hindu gods, and written texts date back 3500 years. Ayurveda still forms the basis of much medical practice today in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, where Orthodox doctors work alongside ayurvedic physicians. Following an Ayurvedic diet is considered to be an important way of maintaining health and preventing illness and disease.
Ayurvedic medicine is a complete healthcare system and involves detoxification, diet, exercise, use of herbs and techniques to improve mental and emotional health.
Your individual constitution and how it relates to your energies is the key to understanding Ayurvedic medicine.
Ayurveda aims to prevent disease by working with your body rather than trying to change it.
Each of us has a unique constitution, determined by the balance of three vital energies in the body, known as the three doshas or 'tridoshas'. The three doshas are known by their Sanskrit names of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Everyone's constitution is governed by tile three doshas in varying degrees, but each of us is also controlled by one or possibly two dominant doshas, so that you are classed as either vata type, pitta type or kapha type or a vata/pitta, pitta/kapha etc.
You keep healthy when all the three doshas are in balance. Each one has its role to play in the body. For example, vata is the driving force; it relates mainly to the nervous system and the body's energy. Pitta is fire; it relates to the metabolism, digestion, enzymes, acid and bile. Kapha is linked to water, mucous membranes, phlegm, moisture, fat and lymphatics.
In Ayurveda good digestion is considered tile key to good health. poor digestion produces 'ama' a toxic substance believed to cause illness. 'Ama' occurs when the metabolism is impaired due to an imbalance of 'agni'. Agni is the fire which, when working normally maintains all functions. Imbalance agni is caused by irregularity in the doshas and such things as eating and drinking too much of the wrong food and repressing emotions. Agni affected by too much Kapha can slow the digestive process making you feel heavy and sluggish, while too much vata can cause wind, cramps and alternating constipation and diarrhoea.
Toxins which cause illness can be produced by emotional as well as physical factors. For example, fear and anxiety relate to vata and the large intestine, when held inside these emotions can cause bloating and intestinal pain.
Food allergies can also develop because of poor, emotional health. Failing to express your emotions can start cravings for foods likely to cause imbalance. Yoga and meditation can help you to understand and deal with negative emotions.
Is Ayurveda Safe?
Ayurvedic consultation, Panchakarma, Marma Therapy, Ayurvedic preparations are safe as long as they are prescribed by the qualified registered practitioner. Most members of the Ayurvedic Medical Association have completed 5-6 years full time training in universities or colleges in India, Sri Lanka or Pakistan and some members have qualified from colleges approved by the Association. All practising members are covered by professional indemnity and public liability insurance and come under a strict code of ethics and a code of practice
What Conditions Can Ayurveda Help?
Ayurveda is a complete health care system. It has an explanation for all modern conditions or diseases, how the disease process started, what caused it and how much help or control you can get from Ayurveda. Generally the Ayurvedic physician can treat : Gastro-intestinal problems; disorders of the circulatory system; metabolic disorders and disorders of the nervous system and other symptoms like insomnia; headaches; tension, anxiety, high blood pressure; blood sugar problems and injuries etc. Ayurveda does not offer cures for cancers, Aids and some mechanical lesions and conditions requiring surgery. Ayurveda will benefit the day old infant to the very elderly person.
What Are The Treatment Modalities In Ayurveda?
After an individual assessment, the Ayurvedic physician may prescribe a variety of treatment modalities according to the need of the patient. They may include Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations: all Ayurvedic preparations are herbal and mineral products. Most preparations prescribed in Europe are herbal products which are legally imported into the UK by well known government licenced producers in India. Ayurvedic preparations go through a very long manufacturing process that was set out 3000 years ago and prepared using modern technologically advanced techniques. Some preparations take up to one year to produce. These preparations are in the form of liquid, tablets, powders or paste. The practitioner may give or prescribe raw or powdered herbs that patients have to make a decoction each day. No chemicals are used in ayurvedic medications.
DIETARY ADVICE An individual diet may be prescribed to suit you and your problem.
LIFESTYLE The Ayurvedic physician may check on your life style and habits and advice will be given accordingly.
YOGA - EXERCISE Yoga forms a part of Ayurvedic medicine. 'Veda' the book of knowledge explains the benefits of yoga positions in controlling medical conditions and as an aid to staying healthy and preventing illnesses.
MEDITATION This is a very important area in gaining self control, confidence, overcoming anxiety, tension, stress, insomnia etc. It is always advisable for everybody to practice meditation both at the beginning and the end of the day.
What Will Happen On My First Visit?
Your first visit may take from 30 minutes to one hour depending on each individual. Your physician will go through your past history: lifestyle, your family history and present health problems. This is mainly to identify your original constitution type (Prakriti) and a very important part in Ayurveda to check your dosha levels. A physical examination involves checking your skin, hair, nails, tongue, eyes and other areas according to the need of each individual.
Ayurveda in Ulpotha, Sri Lanka
Ulpotha has recently introduced an exciting program of Ayurveda treatments since it possesses the ideal climate and environment for the practise of this deeply traditional art. Until recently, Ulpotha had offered non-specific and general native treatments such as steam and infused water baths. The main reason for the absence of Ayurveda in Ulpotha was that the founders wanted to wait until the right person crossed their path to carry out what is a very specialised therapeutic practise. Ayurveda does not rely purely on knowledge, but includes the spiritual and the intangible in a holistic approach to good health and healing.
Hence, when the founders of Ulpotha met Dr. Srilal Mudunkothge B.A.M.S., they believed they had found the person they could place their confidence and trust in to establish an ayurvedic practise in Ulpotha. They felt that his qualifications and credentials, combined with his understanding of the profound importance that a healthy and natural environment has to the process of healing, make him the ideal practitioner to re-introduce Ayurveda to Ulpotha.
As an integral part of the arrangements made with Dr. Srilal, a local Ayurvedic clinic was established in August, 2005, to treat local villagers free of charge. This initiative, which includes free medicines, takes us back to the traditional way Ayurveda was dispensed, where patients rarely if ever paid in cash for the medical care they received. Instead they would make a symbolic offering of betel leaves to the doctor at the time of consultation and make their own services in kind available to the doctor.
Ayurveda Treatment Programmes
The primary aim of ayurveda is to balance the body’s energies and thus restore one’s health and vitality. Ulpotha is a particularly suitable place in which to undergo ayurvedic treatment, as the food and the environment complement the therapies and serve to underscore the holistic approach of AYURVEDA itself.
Subject to availability, all guests may consult Dr. Srilal, Ulpotha’s resident ayurvedic doctor, to learn about their state of health from an ayurvedic perspective or to simply satisfy their curiosity. This first consultation is free.
If a treatment programme is desired, Dr. Srilal will prepare a personalized detoxification and rejuvenation treatment plan for each individual. Central to the drawing up of a program is the consultation. Through this the doctor will get a sense of what imbalances are present, what type of body type is involved and which of the therapies described below need to be administered.
The Ayurveda programmes begin with detoxification therapies, which consist of preparatory and specialized elimination treatments. Preparatory treatments are called oleation and fomentation therapies and consist of oil applications, massage, steam and medicinal bath therapies. Specialised elimination therapies on the other hand consist of emesis, purgation and inhalation treatments among others. All of these are used to bring the body’s energies into balance, though not all of them will be necessary in all cases.
Once a balance is achieved, nourishing therapies are administered to maintain that balance. These rejuvenation treatments consist of traditional ayurvedic remedies using organic ingredients.
What You Can Expect...
All treatments, regardless of the personalized elements of a treatment that stem from a personal consultation, contain preparatory and elimination therapies. The preparatory therapies are the ones everyone likes and most ayurveda is known for - massages, oil applications, steam baths, saunas and herbal baths. Elimination therapies on the other hand, are the ones that some - if not most - people will find a little bit more challenging to accept. They consist of what is more commonly known as panchakarma (ie. the five specialized elimination therapies): emesis (vomiting), purgation, inhalation, enemas and blood-letting.
If a treatment is short in length, say one week or ten days, then you only have enough time for preparatory treatments that would support inhalation as an elimination therapy. If you have two weeks, then you can also undergo purgation. For emesis, enemas and blood-letting you need at least three weeks and ideally four weeks. However, the consultation is critical to determine which of the elimination therapies are required. If someone is particularly weak, then they will be subject to much more of the preparatory treatments and very little of the elimination therapies regardless of how long a program they have chosen. In other words, while you need to be on a long program to get into say emesis or enemas, it's not necessarily the case that you will definitely be subject to them if you choose a three or four week program if the consultation determines otherwise.
For the one week and ten day programs, guests will receive treatments every day. Each day will consist of roughly two hours of treatments. The two week program will have one or two rest days, the three week will have two or three rest days and the four week will have three or four rest days.
If we take an example of a one week program, the first day will consist of a full head and face and body massage (superficial tissue, or relaxing massage) followed by a herbal bath. Guests will also be given appropriate remedies to take, starting the first day for each day of their treatment - these remedies are meant to facilitate the treatments being received. The second day will consist of intensive, deep tissue body massage (no head and face) followed by a sauna or steam bath. The third day will consist of a relaxing body massage followed by shirodara oil application. The fourth day will consist of an inhalation therapyaccompanied by a head and face massage and a face steam. The fifth day will be a sarvangadara oil treatment (from a layman's terms, this is a shirodara but one for the whole body) followed by a steam bath. The sixth day will be a full body massage carried out using poultices made of a special milk rice made using medicinal decoctions followed by a warm water bath. The seventh day is a herbal facial treatment consisting of cleansing scrub, face steam, massage and herbal pack.
Treatments will be scheduled either in the morning or in the afternoon. Guests will have the rest of each day to hang out and do other things, including the optional yoga classes. Guests having treatment will be able to attend at least one yoga class a day. Sometimes they may prefer to just relax after treatments which is fine. The doctor says the more relaxing the yoga the better, which means astanga yoga would be better avoided.
Costs
At present there are five different programme periods on offer at Ulpotha: One week, ten day, two week, three week, and four week treatments, costing £200, £300, £400, £600 and £800 respectively. On your arrival in Ulpotha you will be introduced to Dr. Srilal, who can book you in for a consultation. Depending on your suitability for treatment and availability, he will administer the programme length of your choice and/or needs.
A little History of Ayurveda in Sri Lanka
In ancient times, when Sri Lanka was called ‘Thamrapanee’, its inhabitants discovered that there were certain plants which, if boiled with water, crushed, powdered, or used internally or externally, relieved pain or had other beneficial effects on various disorders.
Through time, many other plants with medically useful properties were discovered and incorporated into therapeutic recipes. These properties were used to influence the functioning of various specific internal organs and to cure disease. The practice of this indigenous medicine was based on observation and clarity of recording, rather than theory and symptomology.
In the 6th century BC, Prince Vijaya came to the island from India with a group of people and became its king. He renamed the island Singhaladveepa and ruled for nearly 40 years. He was the first king of the island and was reputed to have been an expert in the Sixty Four Arts (Siwsata Kala), one of which is Ayurveda.
It was Prince Vijaya, together with his personal physician who came with him to the island, who introduced Ayurveda to Sri Lanka. Ayurveda is the codified, indigenous medicine of India that is based on Indian Samkya philosophy. It is a complex therapeutic and medicinal system encompassing philosophy, psychology and spirituality together with a deep understanding of the nature of disease.
Over the centuries, Ayurveda incorporated elements of native treatments indigenous to the island and this knowledge was honed and handed down through the ages.
In 1790, during the reign of the last king of Sri Lanka, King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, a son of the king’s personal physician became a monk and built a temple in a village called Neelammahara, where he practised indigenous Ayurvedic medicine. This was the beginning of the now-famous Neelammahara medicinal heritage, which specializes in the treatment of mental illness. Over the next two centuries the tradition was passed from generation to generation as its reputation grew throughout the island.
Our Doctor's Ayurveda Heritage
In 1942, a young boy by the name of Sooriya Arachchige Amaratunga went with his mother and brother to see the island’s leading practitioner of the Neelammahara tradition, Dr. Ven. Dehiwela Dhammaloka Thero, for the treatment of his brother. He was immediately captivated by the art and science of ayurveda as practised by the Thero. So much so that the Thero decided to take the young man under his wing and to become his mentor. After a long and illustrious period of study under the Thero, he went to study under another famous physician specializing in the Elvitigala tradition, which covers general indigenous medicine.
After obtaining honours in Neelammahara and Elvitigala traditions, Dr. Amaratunga came into his own, practicing the rare combination of the two. Dr. Amaratunga enjoyed a long and illustrious career as both a practicing physician as well as a teacher.
As his life matured, he looked for a suitable candidate to whom he could pass his unique knowledge. In 1997, Dr. Amaratunga anointed a third year student, who was studying indigenous medicine at the University of Colombo at the time, to carry on his rare heritage. That student was Srilal Mudunkothge. Srilal completed his formal studies by obtaining a Bachelors Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and thereafter registering as a general and special doctor with the Ayurvedic Medical Council of Sri Lanka in 2002 and 2003 respectively. He is also registered as a Pharmacist with the Sri Lanka Medical Council.
After practicing as an Ayurvedic physician in Colombo for the past four years, Dr. Srilal is now based in Ulpotha. He intends to establish a unique practise in the tradition of his illustrious ayurvedic forebears, Dr. Ven. Dehiwela Dhammaloka Thero and Dr. Amaratunga. To facilitate him in this, Ulpotha has set up a free Ayurveda clinic where Dr Srilal diagnoses and dispenses free medicines to over 100 local villagers weekly. The cost of this is paid for by the money raised from the ayurveda treatments paid for by guests to Ulpotha. Guests are encouraged to visit the free clinic during their time at Ulpotha where they can learn about some of the plants that are commonly used in Ayurvedic treatment. Many of the medicinal herbs and plants used in Ayurveda are grown in the compound surrounding the clinic.
Source:www.ulpotha.com
Ulpotha has recently introduced an exciting program of Ayurveda treatments since it possesses the ideal climate and environment for the practise of this deeply traditional art. Until recently, Ulpotha had offered non-specific and general native treatments such as steam and infused water baths. The main reason for the absence of Ayurveda in Ulpotha was that the founders wanted to wait until the right person crossed their path to carry out what is a very specialised therapeutic practise. Ayurveda does not rely purely on knowledge, but includes the spiritual and the intangible in a holistic approach to good health and healing.
Hence, when the founders of Ulpotha met Dr. Srilal Mudunkothge B.A.M.S., they believed they had found the person they could place their confidence and trust in to establish an ayurvedic practise in Ulpotha. They felt that his qualifications and credentials, combined with his understanding of the profound importance that a healthy and natural environment has to the process of healing, make him the ideal practitioner to re-introduce Ayurveda to Ulpotha.
As an integral part of the arrangements made with Dr. Srilal, a local Ayurvedic clinic was established in August, 2005, to treat local villagers free of charge. This initiative, which includes free medicines, takes us back to the traditional way Ayurveda was dispensed, where patients rarely if ever paid in cash for the medical care they received. Instead they would make a symbolic offering of betel leaves to the doctor at the time of consultation and make their own services in kind available to the doctor.
Ayurveda Treatment Programmes
The primary aim of ayurveda is to balance the body’s energies and thus restore one’s health and vitality. Ulpotha is a particularly suitable place in which to undergo ayurvedic treatment, as the food and the environment complement the therapies and serve to underscore the holistic approach of AYURVEDA itself.
Subject to availability, all guests may consult Dr. Srilal, Ulpotha’s resident ayurvedic doctor, to learn about their state of health from an ayurvedic perspective or to simply satisfy their curiosity. This first consultation is free.
If a treatment programme is desired, Dr. Srilal will prepare a personalized detoxification and rejuvenation treatment plan for each individual. Central to the drawing up of a program is the consultation. Through this the doctor will get a sense of what imbalances are present, what type of body type is involved and which of the therapies described below need to be administered.
The Ayurveda programmes begin with detoxification therapies, which consist of preparatory and specialized elimination treatments. Preparatory treatments are called oleation and fomentation therapies and consist of oil applications, massage, steam and medicinal bath therapies. Specialised elimination therapies on the other hand consist of emesis, purgation and inhalation treatments among others. All of these are used to bring the body’s energies into balance, though not all of them will be necessary in all cases.
Once a balance is achieved, nourishing therapies are administered to maintain that balance. These rejuvenation treatments consist of traditional ayurvedic remedies using organic ingredients.
What You Can Expect...
All treatments, regardless of the personalized elements of a treatment that stem from a personal consultation, contain preparatory and elimination therapies. The preparatory therapies are the ones everyone likes and most ayurveda is known for - massages, oil applications, steam baths, saunas and herbal baths. Elimination therapies on the other hand, are the ones that some - if not most - people will find a little bit more challenging to accept. They consist of what is more commonly known as panchakarma (ie. the five specialized elimination therapies): emesis (vomiting), purgation, inhalation, enemas and blood-letting.
If a treatment is short in length, say one week or ten days, then you only have enough time for preparatory treatments that would support inhalation as an elimination therapy. If you have two weeks, then you can also undergo purgation. For emesis, enemas and blood-letting you need at least three weeks and ideally four weeks. However, the consultation is critical to determine which of the elimination therapies are required. If someone is particularly weak, then they will be subject to much more of the preparatory treatments and very little of the elimination therapies regardless of how long a program they have chosen. In other words, while you need to be on a long program to get into say emesis or enemas, it's not necessarily the case that you will definitely be subject to them if you choose a three or four week program if the consultation determines otherwise.
For the one week and ten day programs, guests will receive treatments every day. Each day will consist of roughly two hours of treatments. The two week program will have one or two rest days, the three week will have two or three rest days and the four week will have three or four rest days.
If we take an example of a one week program, the first day will consist of a full head and face and body massage (superficial tissue, or relaxing massage) followed by a herbal bath. Guests will also be given appropriate remedies to take, starting the first day for each day of their treatment - these remedies are meant to facilitate the treatments being received. The second day will consist of intensive, deep tissue body massage (no head and face) followed by a sauna or steam bath. The third day will consist of a relaxing body massage followed by shirodara oil application. The fourth day will consist of an inhalation therapyaccompanied by a head and face massage and a face steam. The fifth day will be a sarvangadara oil treatment (from a layman's terms, this is a shirodara but one for the whole body) followed by a steam bath. The sixth day will be a full body massage carried out using poultices made of a special milk rice made using medicinal decoctions followed by a warm water bath. The seventh day is a herbal facial treatment consisting of cleansing scrub, face steam, massage and herbal pack.
Treatments will be scheduled either in the morning or in the afternoon. Guests will have the rest of each day to hang out and do other things, including the optional yoga classes. Guests having treatment will be able to attend at least one yoga class a day. Sometimes they may prefer to just relax after treatments which is fine. The doctor says the more relaxing the yoga the better, which means astanga yoga would be better avoided.
Costs
At present there are five different programme periods on offer at Ulpotha: One week, ten day, two week, three week, and four week treatments, costing £200, £300, £400, £600 and £800 respectively. On your arrival in Ulpotha you will be introduced to Dr. Srilal, who can book you in for a consultation. Depending on your suitability for treatment and availability, he will administer the programme length of your choice and/or needs.
A little History of Ayurveda in Sri Lanka
In ancient times, when Sri Lanka was called ‘Thamrapanee’, its inhabitants discovered that there were certain plants which, if boiled with water, crushed, powdered, or used internally or externally, relieved pain or had other beneficial effects on various disorders.
Through time, many other plants with medically useful properties were discovered and incorporated into therapeutic recipes. These properties were used to influence the functioning of various specific internal organs and to cure disease. The practice of this indigenous medicine was based on observation and clarity of recording, rather than theory and symptomology.
In the 6th century BC, Prince Vijaya came to the island from India with a group of people and became its king. He renamed the island Singhaladveepa and ruled for nearly 40 years. He was the first king of the island and was reputed to have been an expert in the Sixty Four Arts (Siwsata Kala), one of which is Ayurveda.
It was Prince Vijaya, together with his personal physician who came with him to the island, who introduced Ayurveda to Sri Lanka. Ayurveda is the codified, indigenous medicine of India that is based on Indian Samkya philosophy. It is a complex therapeutic and medicinal system encompassing philosophy, psychology and spirituality together with a deep understanding of the nature of disease.
Over the centuries, Ayurveda incorporated elements of native treatments indigenous to the island and this knowledge was honed and handed down through the ages.
In 1790, during the reign of the last king of Sri Lanka, King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, a son of the king’s personal physician became a monk and built a temple in a village called Neelammahara, where he practised indigenous Ayurvedic medicine. This was the beginning of the now-famous Neelammahara medicinal heritage, which specializes in the treatment of mental illness. Over the next two centuries the tradition was passed from generation to generation as its reputation grew throughout the island.
Our Doctor's Ayurveda Heritage
In 1942, a young boy by the name of Sooriya Arachchige Amaratunga went with his mother and brother to see the island’s leading practitioner of the Neelammahara tradition, Dr. Ven. Dehiwela Dhammaloka Thero, for the treatment of his brother. He was immediately captivated by the art and science of ayurveda as practised by the Thero. So much so that the Thero decided to take the young man under his wing and to become his mentor. After a long and illustrious period of study under the Thero, he went to study under another famous physician specializing in the Elvitigala tradition, which covers general indigenous medicine.
After obtaining honours in Neelammahara and Elvitigala traditions, Dr. Amaratunga came into his own, practicing the rare combination of the two. Dr. Amaratunga enjoyed a long and illustrious career as both a practicing physician as well as a teacher.
As his life matured, he looked for a suitable candidate to whom he could pass his unique knowledge. In 1997, Dr. Amaratunga anointed a third year student, who was studying indigenous medicine at the University of Colombo at the time, to carry on his rare heritage. That student was Srilal Mudunkothge. Srilal completed his formal studies by obtaining a Bachelors Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and thereafter registering as a general and special doctor with the Ayurvedic Medical Council of Sri Lanka in 2002 and 2003 respectively. He is also registered as a Pharmacist with the Sri Lanka Medical Council.
After practicing as an Ayurvedic physician in Colombo for the past four years, Dr. Srilal is now based in Ulpotha. He intends to establish a unique practise in the tradition of his illustrious ayurvedic forebears, Dr. Ven. Dehiwela Dhammaloka Thero and Dr. Amaratunga. To facilitate him in this, Ulpotha has set up a free Ayurveda clinic where Dr Srilal diagnoses and dispenses free medicines to over 100 local villagers weekly. The cost of this is paid for by the money raised from the ayurveda treatments paid for by guests to Ulpotha. Guests are encouraged to visit the free clinic during their time at Ulpotha where they can learn about some of the plants that are commonly used in Ayurvedic treatment. Many of the medicinal herbs and plants used in Ayurveda are grown in the compound surrounding the clinic.
Source:www.ulpotha.com
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