Myths busted by the ayurvedic specialist about the ancient discipline

Ayurveda was once treated as a science, has now become an elusive and complex discipline. While this is in part because of the Sanskritic medium of instruction, it is also because of westernisation of our lifestyles, leading to the field becoming almost mythical in the way people perceive it. Things like kumkumadi, jwalini, nalpamaradi make no sense to us laypeople. Beauty brand Kama Ayurveda held a session with ayurvedic specialists and doctors, trying to acquaint the public with the basics of ayurveda, especially in terms of skincare, regardless of the brand in question.

Myth: Ayurveda is slow.
Ayurveda is deemed painstakingly time-consuming by many because it doesn’t involve the use of pharmaceutical drugs, which we tend to equate with effective medicine. However, when we spoke to Dr Kulkarni, he told us that this is a myth: “I can cure illnesses in a day or two with lifestyle changes, remedies, and exercises. Plus, allopathy is also slow in curing many illnesses. So it is not that only ayurveda takes times time to work.”

Myth: Ayurveda is all about herbal remedies.
When many of us think of ayurveda, we picture a mortar and pestle, and someone grinding herbs in it to make pastes and potions to apply. However, that is one small portion of ayurvedic healing. According to Dr Kulkarni, everything begins with treating internal concerns with lifestyle changes. To him, treating the internal cause of any skincare or haircare problem gives long-lasting results. External remedies in jars and bottles only prolong and enhance the effects of those internal changes.

Myth: Natural foods like honey and curd are good for everyone according to Ayurveda.
Contrary to popular belief, not everything that grows on trees or comes from nature is good for us - not even according to ayurveda, which we associate with all things natural. There is a time, place, and situation for every food, be it natural or not. Drinking lemon water in the morning, described by many as an ayurvedic ritual, is actually harmful for you because it causes acidity!