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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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What is Ayurveda?

Mar 01, 2021 10:38AM ● By Nicole Zornitzer

In Sanskrit, Ayurveda is the science of life, it is the sister science of yoga. Both yoga and Ayurveda developed together and have influenced the other through history. It has long been thought that Ayurveda is one of the most remarkable holistic medical systems in the world, having been in existence for thousands of years.

Ayurveda’s purpose is to look at the bodily and mental diseases and prevent them versus the Western view of treatment of disease. In today’s society we are accustomed to taking medications to mask illness when in fact according to Ayurveda we can take actionable steps to prevent dis-ease before its onset. In holistic terminology, dis-ease is spelled correctly: dis (not) – ease (a state of balance). Dis-ease is a state of imbalance in the body, mind or spirit. The goal of Ayurveda and yoga is to find ease. Ayurvedic practices promote physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological well-being. 


Three Basic Ayurvedic Constitutions/Doshas:

Vata = Element Air/Ether

Pita = Element Fire/Water

Kapha = Element Earth/Water


The first step in Ayurvedic treatment is determining one’s dosha/constitution. At the moment of conception, our birth constitution is determined (prakruti), our vikruti is how we have been culturally conditioned and becomes are current constitution. Over our lifespan our constitution becomes imbalanced and the purpose of Ayurveda is to rebalance the dosha. These imbalances occur due to diet, stress, life stage and season. 

An Ayurvedic practitioner looks at all aspects of the individual. A unique understanding of one’s constitution is taken into consideration and a treatment plan that includes diet, herbs, exercise and lifestyle routines including yoga and meditation are carefully executed to bring about wellness and balance. 

What Ayurveda teaches us is our connection to our ancestry, our interaction with the earth elements and how we can affect change, balance and connection with self through understanding we are all part of a great system of Vedic knowledge which states that all the universe is one.

Being part of a global community of Ayurvedic counselors and healers is one of my most honorable accomplishments. Ayurveda has caused me to look at myself and others with a different lens and this lens offers compassion and a knowing that dis-ease is preventable and our mission is to prevent versus treat disease.

Nicole Zornitzer, Ayurvedic counselor, ERYT 1000, yoga therapist, founder of Niyama Yoga & Wellness Shala, located in Randolph, New Jersey, and Upper Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey. NiyamaYogaShala.com. See ad, page 25.


Niyama Yoga Welleness - 1250 Sussex Turnpike, Randolph, NJ

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In-Print March 2021
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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