To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short, a wise man once said. Wise people throughout the ages from every corner of the earth have praised the virtues of balance and moderation, and it is not difficult to understand the necessity of balance in action and the freedom that it brings. Just like standing, walking, or riding a bicycle, all of life requires balance, without which we are often powerless to move, act, and enjoy what life has to offer.  Ayuveda is a science of life that is founded on this principle, that balance bears health and health bears freedom. Whether it be freedom from bodily disease and discomfort, or freedom from depression and anxiety, this freedom is the realm of true and complete living, and it is found in a healthy and balanced lifestyle. This may be easy enough to say, but is often much more difficult to accomplish, especially for the body, which often operates in mysterious and misunderstood ways. So, how does one restore balance to the body?

Ayurveda is founded upon another principle, that all is one. Everything and everybody is an integral part of the whole of existence, and everything shares its fundamental nature with the rest of existence. This common fundamental nature is first expressed in the Five Great Elements, Ether (space), Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Every person, every plant, animal, rock and spec of space dust is constituted by some particular combination and organization of these fundamental elements. Changes in the constitution of a thing are the expression of changes in the ratios and organization of these elements within the thing. Similarly with the human body, changes in the constitution are changes in the proportions and organization of these elements. It is from this fact that Ayurvedic medicine acts to restore balance to the body.

Ayurvedic treatments can take forms as vast and variant as life allows, but the central science of treatment in ayurvedic medicine focuses on the use of healing herbs to subtly affect the body’s constitution and move it towards a balanced state. Ayurvedic herbs are understood through their taste, energy and post-digestive effect. These qualities are the results of the combination of the fundamental elements, and through them we can know how herbs will affect the body. Ayurvedic herbs have one or more of the six tastes, and these taste share basic qualities with the fundamental elements.

The actions of Yarrow are a good example of how the elemental properties of herbs work to bring balance in the body. Yarrow has a pungent taste. The pungent taste is hot, dry, and light. Fire also has these qualities, and the pungent taste increases the fire principle in the body. Yarrow, however, bears the uncommon combination of a pungent taste and a cooling energy, therefore it also works to increase the air and ether principles in the body, which are likewise cool. This renders yarrow a great ayurvedic herb for the treatment of fevers.

A fever is the result of the internal principle of fire moving from the center to the surface of the body, causing both an unhealthy level of body heat and a lack of appetite, for it is the internal fire that digests food. Yarrow with its pungent taste and effect ignites the internal fire but simultaneously cools the body with its cool energy, thus both reducing the effects of a fever, and eliminating its cause. Through such a process balance is restored to the body.

Ayurvedic treatments are designed to work in such ways. Imbalance in the body is the result of both excess in one regard and a correlating lack in another. Through the combination of ayurvedic herbs and anupanas, or vehicles, a treatment can treat the root cause of the imbalance and the symptoms simultaneously. Ayurvedic treatments utilize the immense variety of healing herbs the world provides to render the most appropriate blend for each and every condition.

The world is abounding with all manners of plants bearing innumerable varieties of healing qualities, and although there are many ayurvedic herbs, there is still much more to be learned and discovered about what the world has to offer. With time and attention our understanding of ayurvedic herbs will grow more encompassing and empower ayurvedic treatments more able to bring balance to the lives of humanity and the world. However, getting to know an herb is a slow and careful process, as they must be respected. We must seek patience and balance in everything to bear the fruit of health. For as an old Hindu proverb warns, even nectar is poison if taken to excess..