5 Sense Therapies

[JaneSmith105]

When we think about treatment we think about the management of imbalances existing in the body. However, in Ayurveda the same principles apply to the management of a person's constitution and the prevention of disease. This is the basic principle behind learning to live in harmony with the environment.

The basic principle of all Ayurvedic management is that

	Like increases like; and
	Opposites reduce each other

i.e. treat heat with cold, dampness with dryness, lightness with heaviness. This simple, common sense system of management is the basis of the five sensory therapies utilized in Ayurveda for both maintaining health and for treating disease.

It is most important to treat imbalances that reside in the digestive system all disease has its physical origin here it is the root of all physical pathology.

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Taste diet and herbs
Food and herbs are the most gross form of therapy - they work mainly on the physical body. Food is the keeper of all five elements; in its transformation the body of life is formed.Our need for food makes us dig into the land, feast on her bounty, and expel our bodily wastes back into her, so this Earth may continue to enrich herself. The food cycle is our complete memory. It is the constant remembering of our body. Food is memory. Memory is being. Eating is remembering.

Touch Massage
Snehana is the Ayurvedic term for oil therapy. Snehana means "to love". Abhyanga is the Sanskrit word for Ayurvedic massage. The purpose of Abhyanga is the application of herbal oil to the body and its subsequent absorption into the body. When you add oil to the body, you are showing your body a great deal of love. Oleation is a great way to nurture yourself and it will help you develop self-love and self-esteem.

Visual Colors
Chromotherapy is the use of colors for healing. Colors work more directly on the mind and subtle body. Color therapy, like each of the five sense therapies, is an effort to expose you to your ideal environment. Through the eyes you take in impressions from your environment into your body, mind and consciousness. If what you take in is harmonious to your nature, the natural result is health and well-being. If what consumed is disharmonious, the natural result is disease. We are as much what we see as what we eat.

Sound Mantra and music
Mantras are to the mind what Asanas are to the body. Music and Mantra therapy restores, maintains and improves emotional, psychological and physiological well being.

Smell - Aromatherapy.
Aromas work more directly on the mind and subtle body, they have a great effect on our moods and emotions. During breathing of air, the aroma molecules are translated into signals by the receptor cells in the nose. This signal is sent to the olfactory bulb and then on to the limbic and hypothalamic parts of the brain. It is believed that the essential oil aroma activates the `pharmacy' within our brains - neurochemicals such as serotonin and endorphins etc. Studies done on effects of essential oils on brain waves have shown that a rhythm exhibiting calmness was produced when a oil with sedative potential was inhaled and a stimulating aroma caused an alert response. Our minds can thus play an important role in our well being.

Our physical body is Earth and its fluid is water; the acids and enzymes of the body is fire; Prana and breath is air, and Space is the vibration of all vital systems together.

We hold the memory of the five elements in our physical body.

	The memory of Earth is kept in the heart;
	the memory of Water is stored in the kidneys;
	the memory of Fire is kept in the intestines;
	the memory of Air is held by the lungs;
	the memory of Space is stored in the brain.