What is Ayurveda and where did it originate?
Ayurveda is the ancient medical science from India. It is the sister science of Yoga. In fact, in ancient many different sciences were studied and practised covering all aspects of life including the science of mantras, meditation and astrology. An Ayurvedic physician would generally be well versed in many different sciences. They did not look at life in a segmented way that we do in the west – they looked at life in its entirety and when treating someone they looked at the whole person. The whole person consists of body, mind and emotions.
An Ayurvedic physician is a master of many sciences
An Ayurvedic physician also possessed knowledge of different geographies and climates, plants and trees, fruits and vegetables and the medicinal benefits of everyday spices and condiments used in the Indian kitchens. He was also adept at psychology in a sense. He had knowledge of different types of psyches and temperaments. In fact, Ayurveda classifies people into VATA, PITTA and KAPHA categories and an ayurvedic expert can quickly determine your body type. This body typing tells him about your body, mind and emotional makeup.
Ayurveda wants to minimize inflammation in your body
Ayurveda has long known about inflammation and its effect on aging and is focused on minimizing inflammation through various means. It teaches you about how to make food choices that are beneficial to your body based on your body type, your way of life and where you live. Ayurveda also provides a lot of knowledge about avoiding food combinations that are harmful to your body.
The various recommendations of Ayurveda about diet, exercise and way of living are designed to help a human being live in harmony in with nature and in accordance with one’s circadian rythms.
Ayurvedic influences on Hylunia Skin Care
Dr. Lingam, the co-founder of Hylunia Skin Care grew up in a family of Ayurvedic physicians in Sri Lanka. It is a small country near the southern tip of India. It was also known as Ceylone. It is features prominently in the great Indian epic Ramayana and also the “The Three Princes of Serendip.” We get the English word, “Serendipity” from Serendweepa which means “the island of silk” in Sanskrit. Serendip is the corrupted version of that word. It is a beautiful country with abundant wildlife, forests and beaches.
Dr. Lingam has been greatly influenced by his upbringing in Sri Lanka. He later moved to UK to get his degree in chemical engineering. After his education in UK he moved to Canada to work as a rocket scientist for oil companies. He was invited to the United States to work on jet fuel for the Tomahawk cruise missile. While he is steeped in modern science, he never forgot the many life lessons and secrets of mind and body that he learned while growing up in Sri Lanka. Ayurveda had definitely left its mark on him. In India and many Asian countries Ayurveda is not an esoteric science to be practised only by physicians in clinics. It is woven into their way of life. And so, it was for Dr. Lingam.
The key tenets of the Hylunia philosophy based influenced by Ayurvedic principles
Later in life he combined principles of Ayurveda with modern science to develop the Hylunia Philosophy.
Here are some tenets of the Hylunia Philosophy:
- Prevention combined with happiness is the best anti-aging medicine
- When you are happy, your immune system is strong and can help to fight free radical damage, stress and premature aging
- Inflammation is the real enemy of healthy, graceful aging
- The sun, the pollution, the ingredients are not the enemy, but the inflammation caused by them is the enemy. You can prevent damage by preventing inflammation.
- Your daily routine is more important than what you do occasionally.
- We look at the whole person, not just the skin and the whole person consists of the mind, body and emotions.
- Environmental, Emotional and Toxic Stress contribute to INFLAMMATION and sleep deprivation can lead it to become continuous inflammation. To prevent inflammation, prevent stress.
- To combat stress, learn to RELAX and address MIND, BODY & BEAUTY.
- Boost the immune system by living a balanced life, maintaining equanimity in all situations and achieving a state of happiness.
- Activate the body’s self-healing capabilities by supporting it with vitamins, anti-oxidants, plant stem cells and plant peptides.
- Purpose of living is enjoyment – do something you enjoy.
- Master your mind – the conditioned response of your mind must be changed, and all negative things must be converted into positive.
