Ayurveda Blog by Ralph Steuernagel

Specialist articles. Guest contributions. Fact checks. Columns.

Exhaustion from an Ayurvedic perspective

A guide for therapists and sufferers | by Ralph Steuernagel I can't go on. I'm burnt out. I'm always tired. I have no more energy. This...

Through difficult times with Ayurveda

I am ashamed! For what is (not) happening in our country right now. For the lack of compassion. For a lack of equanimity. For the lack of respect. For the lack of harmony. How could it...

Inflammation from an Ayurvedic perspective

Have you also thought like this so far? „Inflammation is a Pitta disorder, just as constipation is caused by increased Vata and obesity by Kapha.“ Unfortunately, none of these...

Healing power of Ayurveda: More than a placebo!

Is it all just a question of faith? Evil tongues do not see Ayurveda as an effective system of medicine, just as they do not see potentised homeopathic remedies („there's nothing in it“) or the...

Ayurveda: Vaccination is not unayurvedic!

It is now the middle of July. And things are still going wrong in the country. Hardened fronts are bitterly opposed. The subject of the dispute: the issue of vaccination against...

Panchakarma: the royal road to holistic health

Panchakarma: In India, the Ayurvedic cleansing cure is carried out according to strict rules that have been laid down in detail in classical literature. And in Europe, too, the once...

Ayurveda for women - Balanced through every phase of life

Gender equality may be politically and socially desirable, but it is far from being a reality. On the contrary. According to the new role cliché, the modern woman...

The gut in Ayurveda: tips for gut health

As long as 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates coined the famous phrase: „A healthy gut is the root of all health.“ And Ayurvedic teachings also recognise the gastrointestinal tract as the...

Fascinating organ: the thyroid gland in Ayurveda

The thyroid gland has fascinated me for 25 years like no other organ. It is as small and delicate as a butterfly and at the same time so important for our health....

Back to the centre: What we can learn from the coronavirus with Ayurveda

It's Thursday 10 December and I'm reading the following headline: „Despite partial lockdown: new coronavirus infections peak again“. After a good 5 weeks of massive contact restrictions, the Federal Republic...

Crisis as an opportunity: the coronavirus pandemic from an Ayurvedic perspective

I've just come from the weekly market and the atmosphere is bizarre. People are waiting in long queues in front of the stalls, more than two metres separate them from the person in front...

Food supplements in Ayurveda

Some call them herbal pills, others spice powders, healing schnapps or medicines. No matter what name we want to assign to Ayurvedic products, one thing is certain: no health care system in the world has a...

Sariva: A portrait of the versatile medicinal plant

On a study trip to the south-west coast of Sri Lanka a good 20 years ago, I got to know and love it under the Sinhalese name Iramusu: SARIVA, also known as Indian...

The lungs in Ayurveda: focus on the respiratory organ

Breathing is life energy. Life begins with the first breath and ends with the last. In between, after 100 years of life, there are around 788 million breaths and 500 million...

Presence, mindfulness and meditation in Ayurveda

Our mind is constantly producing thoughts. Some of them relate to our past and experiences associated with it - we reminisce. Some of them relate...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 7. the anamnesis

Our tour of Ayurvedic examination methods and diagnostic techniques began with pulse diagnosis and led us through tongue inspection, analysis of excretions, examination by hearing and hearing, and...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 6. reading the eyes and face

It only takes 100 milliseconds: the first, decisive impression. We look into the eyes and face of our counterpart and immediately make an intuitive judgement about trustworthiness, likeability, attractiveness...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 5. palpation - seeing with the hands

Ayurvedic diagnostics begins with the first handshake when greeting a new client. How does it feel? Is it firm or tentative, hard or soft, warm...

Headaches in Ayurveda: diagnosis and therapy

It throbs, it stings, it presses or simply hurts. Be it tension headaches, migraines or cluster headaches - many sufferers are at a loss, frustrated and feel in...

Ayurvedic treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis

It has an exotic name, was discovered over 100 years ago by a Japanese pathologist and is one of the most common causes of hypothyroidism in adulthood: in the...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 4. listening to health and illness

In ancient India, there were no diagnostic imaging techniques such as ultrasound, X-rays or magnetic resonance imaging. Traditional Ayurvedic doctors were therefore specialised in examining health and illness using their...

Osteoporosis: Ayurveda therapy options at a glance

It usually begins unnoticed until the first unexplained fractures occur from everyday movements that are slow to heal. Or back pain doesn't get better, perhaps even your height shrinks. Also...

Turmeric in Ayurveda: the yellow gold

Curcuma has been used as a spice and medicinal plant in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for over 5000 years. Over 3,000 scientific studies prove that curcuma is one of the three most important medicinal plants...

Ayurvedic treatment of thyroid diseases

Small organ - great importance: The thyroid gland influences the metabolism and functional state of almost all organs and its health is therefore of paramount relevance from an Ayurvedic perspective. Hardly any...

Determining constitution in Ayurveda: more than just „typing“

Vata, Pitta or Kapha - who am I? For many people interested in Ayurveda, this question is the starting point for booking an appointment in an Ayurveda practice. Which...

Snacks in Ayurveda

How many meals a day are healthy? Many nutrition experts differ on this question. Ayurveda has a crystal clear position on this. The fact is: Food is...

Sweets in Ayurveda: Are sweet sins allowed during the Christmas season?

Every year, our resistance to sweet temptations is put to the test at Christmas markets, company parties and family gatherings. Gingerbread, biscuits, stollen and cinnamon stars are a...

Ayurveda against acne: therapy tips

17-year-old Sophia has withdrawn over the last few months and no longer really enjoys life. She avoids contact with boys and also...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 3. urine and stool diagnostics

When I ask my patients in detail about their daily defecation and urination during an initial consultation, it makes some of them blush. „I was asked that precisely...

Dal and mungdal: lentil dishes in Ayurveda

Dal refers to dishes made from peeled and split pulses such as lentils or chickpeas. Dal is a delicious staple food in India and an indispensable part of Ayurvedic cuisine. As the...

Ayurveda nap

Is taking a nap after lunch a good thing or not? Opinions are divided on this. Cardiologists and psychologists recommend an afternoon nap - according to a study, this reduces...

Sadvritta: Ethics and morals in Ayurveda

Even in the otherwise rather tranquil town of Bad Homburg, there is only one topic on the streets this morning: the horrific attack in Nice, in which many people lost their...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 2. tongue diagnosis

In addition to the pulse examination, the inspection of the tongue Jihva Pariksha is one of eight classical examination procedures in Ayurveda. Already in the traditional compendium Ashtanga Samgraha Samhita, signs...

Trikatu: The three hot ones - ginger, black and long pepper

No ayurvedic kitchen or pharmacy should be without it - it consists of dry ginger (shunthi), long pepper (pippali) and black pepper (marica) and is one of the most...

Examination methods in Ayurveda: 1. pulse diagnosis

Ayurvedic diagnostics is multimodal. It consists of oral questioning in the anamnesis interview and a physical examination. All the results are then analysed in order to determine the...

Running in Ayurveda: what you need to bear in mind

Around 20 million Germans jog occasionally or regularly, and one in ten managers runs marathons. There are many good reasons for running as a popular sport: it reduces obesity, prevents cardiovascular disease...

Therapeutic fasting in Ayurveda - Things to know about Ayurvedic fasting cures

„Fasting is as old as the peoples of the earth“, wrote Otto Buchinger in his 1935 book „Therapeutic Fasting“, taking into account the three dimensions of the human being (medical,...

Communication from an Ayurvedic perspective

Communication helps us to understand each other, means exchange and participation - communication is our life. Through it, information is constantly exchanged internally and externally. You can't not...

Dementia in Ayurveda: prevention and therapy

Their personality changes, they no longer remember an event they have just experienced, feel increasingly overwhelmed and lose interest in previously enjoyable experiences. These...

High blood pressure in Ayurveda therapy

„You have high blood pressure. This is genetic. That's why you need lifelong antihypertensive medication.“ Many of the approximately 30 million Germans with high blood pressure hear these words. A disease that...

Tongue scraper in Ayurveda

It is part of the equipment of every Ayurveda devotee and should not be missing when travelling: the tongue scraper. What is the truth behind the recommendation, what advantages does it...

Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - the basis of Ayurvedic psychology

Ayurveda is more than just the body and constitution theory of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Ayurvedic psychology distinguishes between three characteristics that characterise our personality: Sattva, Rajas...

The Ayurveda medicine cabinet: help for self-help

Wait and see and drink tea. Most people prefer to stay at home at first in the event of an acute illness. Many only go to the doctor's surgery when they are...

Self-massage in Ayurveda

For many followers of Ayurveda, the daily self-massage with selected oils or dry as a stimulating „rubdown“ is part of the morning routine. For others, on the other hand, it seems extremely annoying and...

How reliable are Ayurveda constitution tests?

Vata, Pitta or Kapha - which „Dosha type“ are you? Numerous online providers and print media use questions like these to lure interested parties into answering a questionnaire in just a few minutes to find out...

Hot water in Ayurveda

„I only drink hot water!“ Many people have incorporated this „Ayurveda tip“ into their lives and developed it to perfection: they don't leave the house without a thermos flask....

Ayurvedic drinks: focus on fruit juice

When I squeezed my own orange juice from halved fruit at the breakfast buffet in a trade fair hotel a few days ago, I was surprised once again: to get a 200ml glass of...

Salads and raw food from an Ayurvedic perspective

„In Ayurveda, food is always cooked softly and raw food is avoided“ is a widespread misconception. It is true that in Ayurveda, overloading of the digestive system is the cause of many...

Day-night rhythm in Ayurveda: sleep and wake times in check

„Go to bed before 10 p.m. and get up before 6 a.m.“ - this is a common recommendation from Ayurvedic doctors and therapists. This...

Fact check: Is Ayurveda vegetarian?

India is the country with the most vegetarians in the world and hardly any Ayurvedic doctors there eat meat. Many people conclude from this that the consumption of meat in Ayurveda...

Reheating meals in Ayurveda? An analysis

Life has become faster. More and more tasks, demands and obligations have to be dealt with in less and less time. The procurement and preparation of food is also becoming increasingly rationalised...

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