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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, January 26, 2004: After experiencing heart palpitations Jon Mejia’s doctor diagnosed abnormal heart rhythm and sent him to a specialist at a prestigious Los Angeles medical center. Although his doctor told him that beta blocker drugs could control the symptoms, Mejia, 49, didn’t want to take them because of concerns about side effects. So Mejia turned instead to practitioners of the ancient Indian medical system ayurveda. After some dietary changes and three days of massage and purification treatment called panchakarma at Surya Spa, an ayurvedic center in Pacific Palisades, “the heart palpitations are almost gone,” he says. Mejia is one of a growing number of Americans taking an interest in ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old holistic system of health that in Sanskrit means “knowledge of life,” explains this L.A. Times article. It uses combinations of herbs, purgatives, rubbing oils and other elements to treat diseases. The California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, a professional group based in Foster City, California, is sponsoring its first Ayurveda Awareness Day on February 13. Research into ayurveda is in its infancy in this country, but as interest grows, so does funding. The National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine allocated $3.5 million in grants last year to study its safety and efficacy. Ayurveda treatments are becoming popular in spas, medical clinics and wellness centers. And like Mejia, many people are finding their way to ayurvedic medicine through the practice of yoga. Ayurveda holds that health and well-being of the body, mind and spirit is our natural state, experienced through proper diet, herbs, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises called pranayama and other daily routines. Ayurveda is used to prevent disease and boost the immune system so the body can heal itself from illness. To read the full, informative article, click on “source” above.

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