Ayurveda - the old Indian art of healing in the spa town of Bad Bocklet

Healing for body and mind

India is considered a cradle of wisdom. Here, Buddha attained enlightenment under a bodhi tree, Patanjali wrote the Yogasutra, and the Bhagavad Gita was written down. India is also the home of Ayurveda, an art of healing that dates back to over 5,000 years. If you want to get to know it, you do not have to travel to faraway India. The biosphere reserve Bayerische Rhön is home to the small spa town of Bad Bocklet. There you will meet Indian doctors and therapists who use this art of healing to give guests their strength and vitality back. Those who visit them will experience a mixture of warmth and competence that is typical of healers from India. A wise man once said that the best doctor is not the one who cares for most of the sick. Rather, one would recognise him by having the healthiest patients. A saying that can be used for the wisdom of Ayurveda. Knowing how to treat grievances is therefore not the main thing, but the art of managing one's own life in such a way that illnesses do not even arise. Therefore, the healer does not treat the illness, but the person as a whole. As a result, symptoms diminish or disappear completely.

The science of a good life

According to Indian sages, a good life includes a number of things:

• Peace with the family
• Peace with the environment
• Material well-being
• Closeness to the divine
• Individual spirituality

Ayur means life, Veda knowledge and wisdom

The teachings of Ayurveda consider good health as the result of harmony between the body and mind as well as of the social environment. Thus, Ayurveda goes hand in hand with the German saying, which, for example, points out that some things or people "cause an upset stomach". Also, the Bavarian saying "sorrow that has eaten into one's face" is consistent with it. Since external influences do not seldom cause harm to health, one speaks in Ayurveda of good interaction with parents, teachers and the responsibility that each person bears towards the environment and the divine. How successful the system is in practice can also be demonstrated by the fact that it is part of the medical care of about 1.3 billion people in India.

The doctrine of the doshas

With Ayurveda, people are divided into three groups or doshas, which correspond to the respective main constitution. Thus, gentle, intelligent people with sensitive and sometimes nervous behaviour belong to the Vatha. Energetic personalities of medium build who pursue their goals aggressively and with sharp minds are the Pittha. Kapha stands for good-natured people, who are characterised by warmth and reliability, sometimes slow, but also persistent. The question of the doshas that work in a person then influences therapeutic measures.

Recovery by returning to balance

The doctrine of the doshas does not mean that a person only has the attributes of a dosha. In fact, the system considers an imbalance within the doshas a cause of illness and suffering. Maintaining or restoring this balance is the foundation of all therapeutic methods within this art of healing. Therefore, Ayurveda is both prevention and healing. The methods used are divided into three main elements:

• Change of lifestyle
  This includes the art of relaxation and tension that may be necessary to accomplish achievements. The treatment uses traditional Indian methods such as yoga.
• The right choice of diet
  This depends on the doshas. Thus, a Vatha personality is advised to focus on hot food and drinks, while Pittha people are likely to be recommended colder food. Kapha personalities should pay attention to more spicy foods and be cautious with sweet things.
• Cleansing and detoxification
  Here, methods such as sweat baths, massages and enemas are used. There are also massages where different oils are used. These have medicinal herbs, among other things.

The Ayurvedic art of healing is especially recommended for chronic illnesses. It achieves impressive results for back pain, migraine, fibromyalgia and atopic dermatitis. In addition, it is recommended for burn-out illnesses.