Being very familiar with Western herbalism, I was fascinated with the Ayurvedic tradition. In India, students must take a very competitive exam to pursue further education in medicine. One student explained that her grades weren’t quite good enough to go to modern medical school, but she was given the opportunity to learn Ayurvedic medicine. Apparently, there was a tradition of this in her family and although she wasn’t excited at the time, she now knows she made the right decision. Although she grew up in Delhi, she traveled south to a very traditional school, even learning Sanskrit “songs” so that she could read traditional books and recite cures. As you can tell, we had a wonderful conversation. 

My diagnosis was determined by pulse analysis as well as a written questionnaire to determine my health habits, the kind of person I am and how my body was working throughout the day. It turned out that I am to eat a Pitta Kapha diet. This means:

- I take an astringent, bitter, sweet (fruit) tastes to pacify the Pitta

- I take bitter, chilly, astringent tastes to pacify the Kapha. 

The hotel also had an Ayurvedic chef on staff, so I ordered the diet to accompany this recommendation for dinner, giving them about 4hours notice. I wish I knew what the foods were, because they were delicious. Unlike other medical ways of doing things, the Ayurvedic way is to use food and herbs in food to balance the body and encourage health.

More next time.

Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt