Ayurvedic medicine has had a recent surge in popularity as people begin to look for ways to stay healthy and maintain a sense of wellness.

But what may seem like a trend that’s popping up on all of your favourite health and lifestyle blogs, is actually one of the world’s oldest practices of medicine.

Ayurvedic medicine stems from Indian cultures and primarily focuses on healing the body through a number of natural practices. It is the embodiment of beauty from the inside out and takes a holistic approach to health through stimulating your mind, body and soul. A lot of Ayurveda is about removing excess toxins from the body that make us feel sluggish, prone to colds, aching muscles and cause dull or congested skin.

There is plenty to research on Ayurveda, its history and its benefits. Diving too deep can quickly lead you to change just about every aspect of your lifestyle and diet. But it turns out that Ayurvedic practices can actually be quite intuitive. In fact, many of your current daily habits are probably stemmed from this ancient form of medicine.

SEASONAL EATING

With an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available year-round in Australia, it’s easy to forget that many of the fresh produce we love shouldn’t actually be available year-round. Of course, we see spikes in availability for particular items, especially in the Summer months. However, the increase in hydroponic growing and imported goods means that we’re not eating seasonally, the way nature intended us to. Ayurveda champions seasonal eating to let our bodies fall into a natural rhythm, taking the nutrients we need in the colder months from Winter vegetables and those we need when it warms up from Summer fruits.

DRINK ROOM TEMPERATURE WATER

A large part of Ayurveda focuses on our internal ‘fire’ that stimulates our digestive and natural detox systems. Dimming that fire with iced cold water is believed to slow our digestive systems and take energy away from detoxification in order to warm the water. Beyond that, you may find you consume more water when it’s room temperature as it’s easy to drink. And of course, the more water you drink, the better for your body.

DRY BODY BRUSHING

The benefits of dry body brushing are abundant and the simple process helps both our internal and external health. The simple act of brushing a soft but firm brush of natural bristles across your skin daily is said to boost circulation, improve the appearance of stretch marks and cellulite, improve digestion, aid the bodies detox systems and yes, sweep away all of those pesky dead skin cells. Most impressively, dry body brushing also stimulates your lymph nodes. Our lymphatic system is responsible for filtering the toxins out of our blood and transporting it around the body. By stimulating the lymph nodes, we’re encouraging the healthy filtering of the blood and improving our overall wellness.

EAT WARMING SPICES

In Ayurveda, warm, comforting dishes form the basis of diets that bring a sense of nourishment to the body. This comes back to that internal ‘fire’. Warming spices including turmeric, cumin, fennel and cayenne are believed in Ayurvedic medicine to help stimulate our digestive system and support our bodies detoxification processes. These ancient spices also have a host of other benefits including reducing inflammation and balancing blood sugars.