Ayurveda, health, acupuncture

Ayurveda (Sanskrit: आयुर्वेद; Āyurveda, "the knowledge for long life"; or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words āyus, meaning "longevity", and veda, meaning "knowledge" or "science".The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,i.e., in the mid-second millennium BCE. The Suśruta Saṃhitā and the Charaka Saṃhitā are encyclopedias of medicine compiled from various sources from the mid-first millennium BCE to about 500 CE. They are among the foundational works of Ayurveda.

Current practices derived from Ayurvedic medicine are regarded as part of complementary and alternative medicine.

At an early period, Ayurveda adopted the physics of the "five elements" earth, water, fire, air and Sky — that compose the universe, including the human body. Plasma (called rasa dhātu), blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen or female reproductive tissue (śukra dhātu) are held to be the seven primary constituent elements – saptadhātu of the body. Ayurvedic literature deals elaborately with measures of healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Ayurveda stresses a balance of three elemental energies.: Vāyu vāta (air & space – "wind"), pitta (fire & water – "bile") and kapha (water & earth – "phlegm"). According to ayurvedic medical theory, these three substances —doṣas (literally that which deteriorates  are important for health, because when they exist in equal quantities, the body will be healthy, and when they are not in equal amounts, the body will be unhealthy in various ways.

http://www.holistic-online.com/ayurveda/ayv_home.htm       - Ayurveda info center, survey and remedies

http://www.ayurveda.net.nz/       - CD-ROM with comprehensive introduction to Ayurveda

http://www.ayurveda.com/       - Ayurvedic Institute

http://www.drpaneri.com/       - Sharma Ayurvedic clinic

http://www.ayurveda-herbs.com/       - Ayurvedic remedies and consultations

http://www.naturalhealers.com/        - Directory for alternative medicine (inc. Ayurveda)

http://ayurvedicscience.com/       - Ayurvedic news

http://www.jiva.com/       - Jiva Ayurvedic Research Institute

http://www.ayurvedhealthcare.com/        - Articles about Ayurveda (inc. consultations)

http://www.acupuncture.com/       - Info on Chinese medicine and acupuncture.

http://www.qi-journal.com/       - Journal's interactive acupuncture chart of points

http://www.naturalhealers.com/       - List of alternative medicine schools

http://lifepositive.com/        - Search for anything you wish to know in the area of body, mind or spirit.

http://www.ayurvedahealthretreat.com/        - Ayurveda health retreat – purification and relaxation

http://www.spiritweb.com.au/       - Ayurvedic medicine program