Ayurveda In 2020: Why This 5,000-Year-Old Practice Is Still As Relevant As Ever

If you're an avid yogi, swear by oil pulling, practice intermittent fasting, or sip warm lemon water first thing in the morning, you're one of many people subscribing to the ancient practices of ayurveda. 

Ayurvedic values can be applied to every aspect of life—from physical health to mental well-being, beauty rituals, and diet. "The literal definition of ayur is 'life' and veda is 'knowledge,'" ayurvedic health counselor and Yoga Medicine instructor Cristina Kuhn tells mbg. "[It] is the knowledge of life or the knowledge of how to maintain health in daily life and therefore support longevity." 

And it's hardly a recent development. Ayurvedic expert Shrankhla Holecek, MBA, tells mbg that the first teachings of ayurveda are documented in the vedas—Indian scriptures on spirituality and life that trace back over 5,000 years. They describe what modern medicine is just beginning to grasp: That the mind and body are intricately connected, and one of the most effective ways to heal and transform the body is through the mind.

You know the saying "the eyes are the window to the soul"? Well, according to ancient Indian practices, the mouth is the mirror that reflects a person's general health, which is where oil pulling comes in. Cited in ancient ayurvedic texts Charak Samhita1 and 1Sushruta Samhita1, oil pulling is the act of swishing oil in the mouth to promote oral cleanliness.

"[Oil pulling can help with] ridding the mouth of ama (excess impurities and toxins), freshening breath, and even whitening the teeth," explains Holecek. "It can also feel like a massage on the gums and tongue." It's recommended that oil pulling be done first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, for up to (ideally) 20 minutes straight. 

According to ayurvedic protocol, gulping down ice water is a no-go. "Ayurveda does recommend sipping water during meals," Holecek says, adding that the temperature of that water depends on your dosha, or energetic type—preferably warm for kaphas and vatas, room temperature water for pittas. "[But] sipping is the operative word here as the ideal state of your stomach post-consumption of a meal should be a third each of water, air, and food."

Unlike oil pulling, the benefits of jiwa prakshalana, or tongue scraping, are backed by scientific evidence and encouraged by health experts. 

Eating an abundance of whole foods is one of the most foundational elements of the Ayurvedic diet. However, unlike most ways of eating, ayurveda's system focuses on not only what we eat but how we eat it.

Those practicing ayurveda try to live in alignment with their circadian rhythm. This internal clock tells us when to go to bed at night and wake up in the morning, and it cues us to eat our first and last meals of the day.  

"[According to ayurveda,] we are best served to align our daily routines, as well as modern wellness strategies to leverage these default functions," certified yoga and ayurveda health coach Carly Banks tells mbg. One of these strategies is intermittent fasting, which requires eating during a time-restricted window. (You could eat for eight hours, then fast for 16, for example.) Recently, Western culture especially has embraced this way of eating as a tool for weight loss, glucose tolerance, immune system support, and brain functionality.  

Ayurveda educator Salila Sukumaran tells mbg that while dry brushing isn't directly an ayurveda ritual, it is a Western interpretation of the ayurvedic practice called udwarthanam. 

"Udwarthanam or ubtan is the equivalent [of dry brushing]," says Sukumaran. "It is a massaging of the body with dry powders made of sweet spices and mung pastes, mustard paste, etc., to wash off the excess oils, to soften and reduce cellulite, and to help strengthen the body."

Although acupuncture is a kind of alternative medicine rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), experts consider the practice complementary to ayurvedic beliefs. This is because a) acupuncture, like ayurveda, dates back over 5,000 years, and b) TCM is rooted in similar beliefs to ayurveda. 

This list wouldn't be complete without the inclusion of yoga. In Western society, yoga has evolved, expanded, and been re-imagined. Things like drunk yoga, goat yoga, AcroYoga, and SUP Yoga are all examples of the ways Western culture has put its spin on the practice, for better or worse.

In a word: nature. 

Whatever is to come in the next 5,000 years of ayurveda, one thing experts seem to agree on is that it will reflect what we as a society, and as individuals, need from the ayurvedic practices. 

"Ayurveda will see expansion over the globe and each region will discover their own ayurveda from the past," Sukumaran tells mbg. "This is the ayurveda that will work for the people of that region. While it may benefit a Westerner to incorporate food and supplements that grow in India in abundance, this is not a sustainable practice as each region has its own ancient wisdom, its own plant medicine to rediscover."