In 1996 I was fortunate to get acquainted with the basics of Ayurveda, I communicated with the great professor Agnivesh (Kottakkal University, Kerala, India). His students are successfully working in Moscow now.
They are Dr. Mohammed Ali – Chief Doctor of the Ayurvedic center “Kerala” and Dr. Noushad Ali –Head Doctor of “Atreya Ayurveda” center. With Professor K.V. Dilipkumar we met a bit later, I consider him an outstanding expert in the field of yoga therapy and meditation. Many of my patients have been sent for consultations and treatment to Ayurvedic centers in Moscow.
I want to tell you about a unique collaboration with doctors from India within walls of Research Institute of pediatry. For two years 105 children with different types of diseases such as bronchial asthma, gastroduodenitis, cerebral palsy and other had been receiving a treatment course under the supervision of Russian pediatrician and doctor of Ayurveda. Within these two years we’ve learned how to combine methods of Ayurveda and medicine which conventional for Russian people.
Medical system, if it’s correct, will be roughly similar in all approaches. It’s necessary to rethink your lifestyle, the diet, make changes to daily routine and choose the appropriate types of physical activity. After all, in order to be free from diseases and get on the path of healthy lifestyle not only a doctor but also a patient needs to be competent. Ayurveda suggests that each individual can be healthy and happy; for that you need to find out the causes of diseases, go through them in details, acting on all sides. But we usually wish an eternal youth from one tablet.
In Russian medicine, as well as in western one, we’ve headed toward standards: patterns of examination and treatment are the same for everyone. Ayurveda has essentially opposite approach. Ayurvedic doctor will never prescribe the same treatment to all patients: it is always individual. Doctor takes into account the constitution, age, season and many other factors. Another one difference is the duration of therapy. In Russian medicine it’s common to have one visit of doctor, which usually ends up with prescription of strong medicine that relieves the symptoms. And doctors with a holistic approach will scrutinize, give advices, make corrections and search for the cause of disease. We are just learning how to influence disease, content with only removing the irritation. And we need to remove the cause of disease –not to visit doctors continuously.
Ayurveda increases the internal capacity of the body on the somatic and spiritual levels. Many Russians already use Ayurveda’s practices in daily life: visit ayurvedic centers, do panchakarma, yoga and meditation. But still the psycho-emotional pressure is growing, the ecology is not getting better and there are lots of junk food and chemicals in domestic life. Therefore, the integration of Ayurveda in our lives is a vital necessity. As never before, we need knowledge and applying the principles of this ancient medicine. The more we talk about a healthy lifestyle, the less we get sick. We need to examine together different approaches and unite achievements as each medical breakthrough happens at the interface of two sciences.
Olga V. Gryazina, Physician of Superior Merit, Honoured Doctor of Russia
