Ayurveda and Mental Health
Although Yoga and Ayurveda are always used together in the treatment of mental illness, their approaches are quite different (Frawley, 1999 & Lad, 1984). These differences must be understood to have a better knowledge of how Eastern healing modalities work. Yoga is, fundamentally, a process of self-realization. Yoga practices such as meditation, pranayama (breathing practices), and asanas (physical postures) will in and of themselves not create a cure. Yogic practices are always best used with individuals who have some stability of physical and mental health (Frawley, 1999). This stability is achieved through Ayurveda, which systematically removes excesses from the body to establish a state of physical and mental equanimity (Kumar, 1997 and Frawley, 1997).
The mind is understood as a tool for creating order or chaos. An Ayurvedic practitioner begins the process of assisting the individual to understand him or herself - why they make the choices they do and redirecting them to healthier habits. Responsibility for mental wellbeing is believed to occur through the individuals understanding of themselves. It is the Ayurvedic physician's role and responsibility to facilitate this understanding (Majumdar, 1999).
Ayurvedic physicians are not trained to separate physical medicine from psychology. The body and mind are understood to be so vitally interconnected that one cannot be understood without the other. While some diseases may have an entirely physical cause, all long-term illnesses have psychological effects. Moreover, chronic psychological imbalances will always have physical effects (Frawley, 1997 & Sharma and Dash, 1986). Physicians, while vigorously trained, are not meant to work wonders or perform miracles. "A true physician is a teacher who helps his or her patients work through their problems at all levelsÉ" (Svoboda, 1989:2).
