An intro to Ayurveda with Ruth Perelstein
For this blog I interviewed Ruth Perelstein, a long time student of Ayurveda, to enlighten us on “Yoga’s Sister Science”. Philosophically, both yoga and Ayurveda spring from the common ground of Sankhya philosophy.
Sierra: What is Ayurveda?
Ruth: Ayurvedic medicine (“Ayurveda” for short) is one of the world's oldest holistic (“whole-body”) healing systems. It was developed more than 3,000 years ago in India. It’s based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. It’s main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. But treatments may be geared toward specific health problems. In the United States, it’s considered a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Sierra: What common mental or physical health issues Boomers have can an Ayurvedic diet address?
What person, Boomer or not, doesn’t want good health? Discovering what body type you are, which is a combination of kapha, vata, pitta, will give you direction about the best ways to support your mind/body and bring it into balance. Ayurveda is really a lifestyle that includes diet. It has a very deep seat in terms of learning so it could be diet or becoming a traditional Yogini or Yogi, which surpasses diet into a devotional lifestyle.
Ayurveda addresses many health issues through diet and gives guidelines about what foods to eat that will support healing and what kinds of food cause problems. Each person is unique so there is no cookie cutter answer. It also offers remedies using foods and spices to address common problems like nauseous, upset stomach or insomnia.
Also as a senior, we are concerned with inflammation and Ayurveda does address this with use of herbs such as turmeric and ginger which can be added to food and taken as teas. There is a lot of information on the internet about these remedies but for correct dosage as well as other anti-inflammatory herbs find an Ayurvedic practitioner to discover your dosha and give you a life plan that is right for you.
Sierra: What got you interested in Ayurveda?
Ruth: I am 65 and have spent many years searching and learning about the best ways to take care of myself. That was largely driven by my desire to lose weight, except for a small period of my life, which has been healthy and normal but I felt the pressure from society for the bikini body which I never was going to have. I used Ayurveda for physical and emotional balance because I learned that diets really don’t work.
My sister introduced me to Dr. Vasant Ladd from the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque. I read Dr. Ladd’s books and took a class from him about Nutrition and Ayurveda. I have used Ayurveda with more and less investment over the years. In the beginning of my research I did Panchakarma and enjoyed the cleansing process very much and integrated the daily ritual for some number of months. I have used the diet recommendations to achieve more balance and have found some happy mediums that work best for me. In the beginning I was up 5:30am for ritual cleansing and meditation to now, a more relaxed practice doing the parts I like in my daily routine.
Sierra: What resources would you recommend for anyone interested in learning more about Ayurdeva?
Ruth: I still use “The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies,” by Dr. Vasant Lad, regularly for upset tummies, colds, etc. My first book that really got me started was “Ayurveda, The Science of Self-Healing” by Dr. Lad. Below is a great website to find more information about Ayurveda.
https://www.ayurveda.com/resources/articles/the-daily-routine