HISTORY OF AYURVEDA: A BRIEF HISTORY

The practice of Ayurveda as a medicine is believed to date back to over five thousand years, during theVedicperiod of ancient India. The earliest known references to Ayurveda and itssister science,Yoga, appeared in scholarly texts from the time called “the Vedas.”

“The name “Ayurveda” is derived from two words in Sanskrit, “ayuh” meaning “life” or “longevity” and “veda” meaning “science” or “sacred knowledge.” Ayurveda’s definition therefore roughly translates as “the science of longevity” or “the sacred knowledge of life.”

“In other words, Ayurveda is not simply about taking a herbal formula and waiting for the results. Instead, Ayurveda encourages you to be an active participant in your own journey toward healing.”

Ayurveda experienced a period of prosperity as the Vedic texts were taught and shared, but this was followed by an almost thousand-year struggle to remain relevant in the wake of India’s political struggles with various invading countries—most notably the British Empire.

Despite this, those who practiced Ayurveda on the fringes of society kept the tradition alive until India gained independence in 1947. Ayurveda then resurfaced as a major system of healthcare that endures in India to this day.

During the New Age movement of the 1980s, Ayurveda started to make its way westward, helped along by the expanding popularity of yoga and Eastern spiritualism.

Thanks in no small part to the teachings of respected physicians and herbalists like Drs. Vasant Lad, Deepak Chopra, and David Frawley, Ayurveda has gained notoriety among a growing population of health-conscious individuals in the United States and around the world.