Ta-da, Ta-da-da: it's really all about rhythm!

Ayurveda gives you some very happy messages. It tells you that you are, quite literally, one in six billion, because you—complete with your looks, build, skin texture, food preferences, reactions to situations, talents, emotions, and ideas—are like no other in the world. And that is why, you can understand and heal yourself better than any physician or one-size-fits-all prescription can. (An ayurvedic physician, known as a vaidya, doesn’t specialize in any one aspect of your physiology or psychology—he is dentist, dermatologist, cardiologist, neurologist, and counsellor—all in one. A holistic healer, whose laboratory is the earth and whose pharmacy is Nature.)

More than anything else, Ayurveda awakens you to the concept of rhythm.

5000 years ago, sages roaming the jungles of India slowly homed in on a simple connection: just like nature had a rhythm—sunrise, noon, eventide and night; summer, winter, autumn, spring—human life also followed a set pattern: birth, growth, old age, and death.

But while the sun never decided to stay a little longer on the horizon, and the birds always returned to their nests at eventide, human beings tended to stray from their natural rhythm quite often—staying awake till late, pushing themselves hard, eating at odd times—causing themselves all sorts of discomfort and ‘dis’ease. A large part of ayurvedic teaching focuses on ways to reset this timeless rhythm.

A doctor friend of mine in Toms River, New Jersey said it best. “Say that you are a guitar. A beautifully made guitar with the best strings and the best seasoned wood. But, you’re not playing the most moving music, because you have been neglected. So, Ayurveda gives you a tuning fork. Bing! And then you say, ‘Oh, that’s what the E string is supposed to sound like. This is how C Minor goes. And slowly and steadily, you are back in tune and melody pours forth. ”

This ‘tuning’ is what Ayurveda does for you: a tweak here (going to bed just ten minutes before your usual time), a gentle tug there (drink a glass of warm water to get those toxins moving)—and you’re ready to make music!