Ayurveda is an Indian holistic system of medicine that uses a constitutional model. It aims at providing guidance regarding food habits and lifestyle to ensure that fit people stay well and those with health challenges improve upon their health.

Now that we have a better understanding of what comprises life, let's look at some of the principles of Ayurveda and how they might affect us. In Ayurveda we view a person as a unique individual made up of five primary elements. The elements are ether (space), air, fire, water, and earth. Just as in nature, we too have these five elements in us.

Ayurveda is an intricate system of healing that originated in India thousands of years ago. We can find historical evidence of Ayurveda in the four ancient books of wisdom known as the Vedas.

In the Rig Veda, over 60 preparations are mentioned. These can be used to assist an individual in overcoming various ailments. Though the Rig Veda was written over 6,000 years ago, Ayurveda has been around even longer than that.

Ayurveda is made up of two Sanskrit words: 'Ayu' meaning life and 'Veda' meaning knowledge of. To know about life is Ayurveda. To fully comprehend the vast scope of Ayurveda let us first define "Ayu" or life. According to the ancient Ayurvedic scholar Charaka, "Ayu" is a combination of four essential aspects: mind, body, senses and soul.

Over 6000 years ago, before civilization embraced those parts of the world we today know as "the developed nations" a great civilization existed in Asia. A vibrant social structure evolved in time and with it the classification of individuals according to the the tasks they performed.