Description

From the Preface Quote:The term “yoga” has many traditional meanings. In Ayurveda, the medical science of India, yoga refers to the “right usage” and “right combination” of herbs. A special combination of substances designed to bring about a specific effect upon the body or mind is thus called a “yoga.” This coordinated or integrated usage of herbs was based upon the ancient Ayurvedic science of herbal energetics. In this is a system for determining the qualities and powers of herbs according to the laws of nature, so that herbs can be used objectively and specifically according to individual conditions. A yogic usage of herbs implies such an harmonic application of the potencies of herbs.In this book, for the first time, this Ayurvedic herbal science is applied to western herbs, as well as to a few major oriental herbs, both Indian and Chinese. It is the purpose of this book not to present Ayurveda in the distance, as something foreign or ancient, but to make it a practically applied system of herbalism.We live in a very special, yet very dangerous time, wherein a new global culture is painfully struggling to be born. It is the challenge of our times to integrate human culture and knowledge. It is essential that this process occurs on the level of the the aling sciences also. Healing is always a matter of unification. If our healing knowledge cannot be integrated, how can we as human beings find unity among ourselves?Ayurveda is an eternal system that has already integrated eight limbs of healing within itself, from herbs to surgery to psychology. As such it offers such a point of unification. Its very basis is the spiritual knowledge of the ancient seers of India and the cosmic consciousness in which they lived.This book is not just a presentation of traditional Ayurvedic knowledge. It attempts to show living Ayurveda, its creative and practical application to changing conditions. It is meant as a bridge between east and west. In this regard, it has been a collaboration of an easterner with profound knowledge of the west and a westerner with profound knowledge of the east. It is our deepest wish that it transmits this spirit of integration and collaboration.In the application of Ayurveda to the west, most traditional Ayurvedic medicines cannot be practically used. They may consist of special tropical herbs that are largely inaccessible here, or they may contain special mineral substances that can only be used after long and difficult preparations. Hence this book has arisen as a vehicle to make the healing knowledge of Ayurveda applicable to substances that are accessible and possess few potential side-effects.At the same time, we have also attempted to preserve the integrity of the Ayurvedic healing system. For this we have included special effects of herbs upon the mind, and the deeper psychological and spiritual aspects of healing. Herbalism is part of this broader context of healing and wiuiout addressing these deeper issues of human life, no healing process can really be effective.Sanskrit terms have been kept to a minimum and have been provided with easily understandable translations. For further elucidation of some of the medical concepts in this book, the reader is referred to Ayurveda, the Science of Self Healing, which is a companion volume to it.The classification of western herbs into eastern energetics is not something that can be done once and for all. Even in Ayurveda differences of classification of herbs sometimes exist between different writers. Paperback: 251 pagesPublisher: Lotus Press (January 25, 1986)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0941524248ISBN-13: 978-0941524247ASIN: B004X2HS9C