Ayurveda, translated from Sanskrit, means something like “the knowledge of life”. This traditional Indian healing art is practised above all in India and is deeply bound up with the culture there; in the European wellness world it has taken broader root only in recent decades — and has rightly found its firm place there.
In this part of the world Ayurveda was at first a rather unknown practice. Its appeal lies in its holistic approach: instead of treating individual symptoms, Ayurveda puts the whole person at the centre and looks for the causes of an imbalance. Understood as a complement to medical care rather than a substitute, this perspective has convinced many.
The foundation of Ayurvedic teaching is the balanced interplay of the three life energies (doshas):
- Vata — the principle of movement
- Pitta — the principle of metabolism
- Kapha — the principle of structure
The doshas are assigned to the five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth. Physical or mental complaints go back, in the Ayurvedic view, to an imbalance of these energies. In an individual constitutional assessment the personal energy type is determined — and from it a treatment tuned to the individual is derived.
At the centre of Ayurvedic teaching stands nutrition: depending on the energy type certain foods are to be preferred and others rather avoided. Self-tests give a first orientation — more reliable is an assessment in consultation with an Ayurvedically trained specialist.
It is not only the Far Eastern spirituality surrounding these treatments that contributes to their growing popularity. A society that demands ever more performance, constant availability and hours of scrolling through social media drive the stress level up — a state to which one should not be exposed permanently. Regular, expertly performed Ayurvedic treatments can be a soothing counterpole here: a ritual of deceleration that helps many get through demanding times more calmly.
An Ayurveda wellness holiday close by — and yet another world
You do not have to travel to India or Sri Lanka to experience Ayurveda: in Germany, Austria and Switzerland too the number of houses with a serious Ayurveda programme is growing. Even a weekend under the sign of this healing art transports you into another, Far Eastern world. Our spa hotels offer a varied range of Ayurvedic treatments and consultations — in many cases accompanied by therapists who learned their craft over years in India or Sri Lanka. Which houses run a dedicated Ayurveda concept is shown by our wellness offers.
A note on our own account: we are a wellness portal, not physicians — this article does not replace medical advice. With concrete complaints the way leads to a doctor; reliable information can also be found in the sources below.