Dr. Jai, my physicians at Ananda had been a great help as he informed me about every tits bits of Ayurveda. " Dr. what rules you follow during the treatment as Ayurvedic treatment is quite different from others" I asked." Good questions, Bill" praised Dr Jai.

" See, the key Ayurvedic belief is that everything in this universe, including man, is made up of five elements called panchamahabhutas -akasha or thr space, vayu or air , agni or fire , jala or the water and prithvi or earth.", informed Dr. Jai. " These panchamahabhutas combine into three doshas or the tridoshas, namely vata, pita and kapha. The tridoshas are vital energies responsible for all psychological and physiological processes in the body." He added.

In fact, Ayurvedic medicine is based on the belief that every individual is a unique combination of the tridoshas. Our constitution or our prakriti is determined by our dominant dosha. Each of us was born with a certain prakriti and it remains with us for life.

It was intresting for me to know that when all doshas work in balance, good health reigns. This balance depends on various factors like diet, digestion, elimination of body wastes and emotional and spiritual states.

He also aquainted me with other principles of Ayurveda that are listed below:

1.Dhatus- These are the basic tissues which maintain and nourish the body. They are seven in number namely- rasa(chyle), raktha(blood), mamsa(muscles),meda(fatty tissue), asthi(bone), majja(marrow) and sukla(reproductive tissue). Proper amount of each dhatu and their balanced function is very important for good health.

2.Mala- These are the waste materials produced as a result of various metabolic activities in the body. They are mainly urine, feaces, sweat etc. Proper elimination of the malas is equally important for good health. Accumulation of malas causes many diseases in the body.

3.Srotas- These are different types of channels which are responsible for transportation of food, dhatus, malas and doshas. Proper functioning of srotas is necessary for transporting different materials to the site of their requirement. Blockage of srotas causes many diseases.

4.Agni- These are different types of enzymes responsible for digestion and transforming one material to another.