Swasthavritta and Yoga

The ayurvedic lifestyle followed during the yester years and the vitality of the people living then is proof in itself on how beneficial following a healthy regime is.

The rules and regulations in respect to maintaining proper well being of the physique are two-fold: i) Consumption of diet and ii) Observance of personal, moral, seasonal and spiritual conduct.

Swasthavritta mainly emphasizes on following a proper daily regime as well as seasonal regime. Daily regime deals with instructions for day-to day living like morning routine, basic cleanliness, natural urges, evening routine etc. Apart from this there are added features like the importance of medicinal smoking and tambula chewing. The seasonal changes and climatic changes also have a particularly important effect on the health. Hence Ayurveda has recommended a seasonal specific conduct. These activities help us to cope up with the changes in the environment.

Swasthavritta also includes Sadvritta that can be classified into five types i.e. Good mental conduct, Good social conduct, Good religious conduct, Good personal conduct and Good moral conduct.

Food, Sleep and controlled sex are regarded as the pillars or tripods holding life and health. Timely intake of suitable and good quality food, regular sleeping habits and controlled indulgence in sex ensure long and healthy life. Maintenance of one’s mental balance is also equally important and Ayurveda offers spiritual and mental treatments for ailments in which no physical relief can be offered.

Thus , Swasthavritta  means the behaviour or act by which a person can maintain health and lead a healthy life. Health and Longevity are certain to follow, if the rules of maintaining health, as given in Ayurveda, are strictly followed.

Yoga (Sanskrit: योग) is a commonly known generic term for the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India with a view to attain a state of permanent peace.[1][2] Specifically, yoga is one of the six āstika (“orthodox”) schools of Hindu philosophy. One of the most detailed and thorough expositions on the subject is the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, which defines yoga as “the stilling of the changing states of the mind”[3] (Sanskrit: योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:). Yoga has also been popularly defined as ” with the divine” in other contexts and traditions.[4] Various traditions of yoga are found in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism.[5][6][7]

Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga.[8][9] Pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[10] By the turn of the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and marks the development of asanas into the full body postures now in popular usage[11] and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.

Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercises across the Western world. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo–skeletal and mental health improvements.[12]

As opposed to the traditional practice, physical focus on yoga became popular in the West beginning in the second half of the 20th century, and is often referred to simply as “Hatha Yoga” in the context of yoga as physical exercise.

Preventive medicine or preventive care consists of measures taken to prevent diseases,[1] (or injuries) rather than curing them or treating their symptoms. This contrasts in method with curative and palliative medicine, and in scope with public health methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual health). Occupational medicine operates very often within the preventive medicine.