Posted by Debbie Luyo on Mar.31, 2009

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The ancient Indian healing science known as Ayurveda is increasing in popularity as a program for natural weight loss. In Sanskrit Ayurveda means the “science of life.” To an Ayurvedic practitioner, obesity is a critical indicator of a person’s susceptibility to disease and poor health outcomes, due to strain on body organs and joints. The Ayurvedic system is designed to foster physical, mental, and emotional balance to achieve healthy, gradual weight loss. Ayurvedic practice takes a whole person approach to health and well-being.

In Ayurveda there is no standard, one-size-fits-all solution  to weight management. Instead, a weight loss program is designed based on an individual’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual characteristics and needs. Ayurvedic practice emphasizes balance, and the connection between mind, body, and spirit. An Ayurvedic weight management program incorporates diet, exercise, and meditation to enhance the function of metabolic, digestive, and excretory systems. The body will adjust to a natural weight when all systems are balanced.

Internal cleansing is a crucial step in an Ayurvedic weight loss program. A clean system begins with the elimination of all non-organic and artificially processed foods. Herbal formulas can also be a part of the internal cleansing process to remove toxins from the body, in order to ensure efficient delivery of nutrients to cells and tissues. Taste bud retraining is part of the program, so that nutritious foods become more desirable, and junk foods, as well as foods that are unsuited for an individual’s constitution, become less tempting. An Ayurvedic practitioner can design an eating plan based on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual characteristics, eliminating foods that are not do not meet each individual’s nutritional needs.

An Ayurvedic diet includes small meals at breakfast and dinner, with a larger lunch. Stomach juices that digest food, also known as digestive agni, or “body fire”, are most active at noontime. Portion control is encouraged, and a healthy portion is the amount of food that can be held in two cupped palms. This way you are not quite full when leaving the table. A typical vegetarian meal includes cooked vegetables, lentils, and whole grains. Foods that are easy to digest are recommended at breakfast and dinner. A typical breakfast might include fruit and cooked cereal, with a light one-dish meal for dinner, or a vegetable or lentil soup. Almonds or walnuts provide a nutritious mid-morning or afternoon snack. This healthful Ayurvedic eating plan is designed to avoid overburdening the digestive system.

Exercise is a crucial component of weight management. Exercise burns off impurities that can hamper flexibility and ease of movement. Exercise that is suited to the individual enhances digestive function, metabolism, endurance, and muscle tone. Adequate sleep is also important. Poor sleeping habits are associated with obesity, inadequate nutrition, slow metabolism, and increased susceptibility to disease. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend lights out before 10 p.m., with a wakeup time before 6 a.m. Relaxation and stress reduction is also important. Meditation helps to cultivate a calm demeanor, so that temptations are easier to resist.

Ayurveda offers a balanced plan for weight management that is designed to encourage gradual, healthy weight loss and weight management. The result is a calmer nervous system, enhanced digestion and metabolism, and more efficient energy and fat storage within the body. Ayurveda follows no universal approach, but focuses rather on individual need to promote weight loss and weight management that works in harmony with mind, body, spirit, and nature. If you have tried everything else to lose weight, an Ayurvedic program for weight loss may be worth a look. What have you got to lose?

Here are some links to additional information on weight management with Ayurveda.

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/ss_ayurvedicweight.html
http://www.downtoearth.org/articles/ayurvedic_weight_loss.htm
http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/weight/weight_ayurvedic-remedies-for-obesity.htm

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Posted under Fitness For Body & Mind, Health & Fitness.