There are many different cultures and belief systems that surround tea. One of those is Ayurveda. Ayurveda (eye-your-vay-duh) is an ancient Hindu system of health care. In Sanskrit, Ayuh means life and Veda means knowledge. Thus, Ayurveda is the science of life. It’s a lifelong practice where the individual is an active participant in their own healing.
Ayurveda is balancing the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether within your body and mind and understanding how that balance affects your health. This balancing act is a form of lifestyle management.
“It’s a practice that’s not intended to be a short-term healing or preventative approach, it’s a practice that you want to incorporate the majority of the time to see benefits, to see results. It’s a slow process, you’re not going to see results in a day like pharmaceutical medicine. It’s a practice, a lifestyle that you choose to help yourself from a health perspective,” said Kunall Patel, co-owner of Davidson’s Organics.
Patel has a personal connection to Ayurveda. He grew up on homeopathic medicine, “I have changed my lifestyle in how I eat, how I sleep, how I travel, the choices that I make, the drinks that I choose, what food I buy, based on the lifestyle of Ayurveda.”
“We wanted to introduce a line of functional teas to our customers.” Patel continued, “We don’t want to be another name brand on the market that calls themselves ‘Davidson’s Wellness Tea’ or ‘Davidson’s Medicinal Tea.’ We wanted to introduce wellness tea lines but we wanted to do it with a twist. We wanted to introduce it with a practitioner, with a practice that’s been done for thousands of years.”
Davidson’s Organics worked with Dr. Suhas Kshirsaga and Dr. Manisha Kshirsaga to market Ayurvedic teas to Western culture. Both have been Ayurvedic physicians with over 25 years of experience and are directors of Ayurvedic Healing, a clinic offering panchakarma, diet & lifestyle consults, Vedic astrology, Vedic counseling, and medical dietology & herbal medicine in Santa Cruz, California.
Dr. Suhas organized Ayurveda into two main beliefs:
- The mind and body are closely linked
- The mind has the power to heal and transform the body
Ayurveda is a personalized, consciousness-based approach to health that factors in one’s specific mind-body type, or dosha, which affects one’s choices about diet, exercise, supplements, and overall lifestyle.
Dr. Suhas explained that while modern systems of medicine tend to target one’s specific ailment, “Ayurveda instead acts as a comprehensive system of medicine that focuses on full-body health and wellness, promoting balance. As a healing system, Ayurveda ultimately aims to help people achieve a vibrant and joyful state of health – mentally, emotionally and physically.”
“Our years of market research and combined expertise resulted in Davidson’s Ayurvedic Infusions: De-Congest, Detox, Digest, Energize, Laxative, Sleep, and Slim. Each blend benefits all three “doshas,” or mind-body types,” Dr. Suhas continued, “This is achieved through the inclusion of dosha-balancing ingredients in each Ayurvedic Infusion.”
Patel concluded, “Our teas are not designed to cure you in one day. Our teas are designed to balance your lifestyle choice, your mind, body, and spirit. We want to help you select and make the right lifestyle decisions and choose our tea as a management tool to make those healthier choices.”
Take this quiz as a preliminary step to learn which dosha you are!
All photos were provided by Davidson’s Organics.
