A textbook on Principles and Practice of Integrative Ayurveda for physicians, scientists and health professionals

Ayurveda is one of the World’s oldest and most complete system of natural health care. This textbook on Principles and Practice of Integrative Ayurveda is meant for physicians, scientists, health professionals and those interested in learning about the principles and practice of Integrative Ayurveda. The book is published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), one of the oldest University Press and one of the largest medical book publishers in the World.

Robert Schneider, MD FACC - Editor

Dean, College of Integrative Medicine, Maharishi International University

Director, federally-sponsored Institute for Disease Prevention Research, Fairfield, Iowa

Internationally-renowned leader in evidence-based integrative medicine

Mahadevan Seetharaman, PhD - Associate-Editor

Duke Integrative Healthcare Leader

Founder of AYUSH Living, AYUSH Global

Adjunct Professor, Transdisciplinary University (TDU)

Satyanaryana Dornala, MD(Ayu), PhD

Panchakarma Specialist at Swami Vivekanand Ayurvedic Panchakarma Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi.

Recipient of Dhanwantari Award (2018) for Excellence in Ayurvedic Practice by Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA)

Features of the book

Clinically oriented and easy to understand
Personalized, preventive, predictive, proactive
Whole person health of mind, body and environment
Accessible & integrates into modern medical practice
Backed by scientific evidence
Correlations with latest discoveries in modern medicine
Comparisons with other systems of complementary, alternative and integrative medicine
Resources for further training and clinical practice

Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (TCAM)

The global trends in health seeking behavior show that pluralistic choices are being exercised by people for fulfilling different health needs. At a time when non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disease globally, people worldwide are exploring other medical knowledge systems for more effective healthcare solutions. This trend towards medical pluralism signifies the societal realization that no single system of healthcare has the capacity to solve all the contemporary health needs of the society and that therefore the future of healthcare will be based on medical pluralism. Traditional medical systems of healthcare like Ayurveda and Yoga will have an important role to play in this emerging pluralistic healthcare ecosystem.

Despite advances in modern medicine, contemporary society has experienced epidemics and pandemics of both non-communicable-chronic diseases and communicable-infectious diseases. These public health epidemics and pandemics are related, at least in part, to behavior and lifestyle. Emerging scientific evidence suggests that the integration of conventional medicine with traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine (TCAM) may be useful for the prevention and treatment of chronic and infectious diseases related to behavior and lifestyle. TCAM is a group of diverse medical and health care approaches that are not presently considered part of conventional, modern medicine. TCAM includes a range of systems and modalities, such as Ayurveda, Yoga, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), other traditional systems of medicine, meditation, herbal medicines and nutritional supplements, movement therapies, and other mind-body practices.

Trends Driving Integration of TCAM in Contemporary Healthcare

High rates of chronic disease – according to the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases continue to rise globally
Chronic diseases are not adequately prevented or treated by modern medicine
High rates of adverse side effects of modern medicine – with ageing population on multiple drugs, adverse events are also increasing
High costs of health care - chronic disease accounts for approximately 75% of the nation's aggregate health care spending according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
High utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by the general public
Most patients use CAM in conjunction with modern medical care and majority of them do not inform their primary care physicians about the use of CAM modalities
Inadequate education of physicians and other health professionals about CAM methods
High interest about medical professionals in CAM education, e.g., academic consortium for integrative medicine and health
New clinical practice guidelines from conventional medical organizations recommend consideration of CAM practices, e.g. cardiovascular health, pain, cancer, mental health

Case for Integrative Ayurveda

Out of all these TCAM approaches, Ayurveda stands out as the one approach with the most potential to address lifestyle disorders and chronic diseases. Ayurveda has long held the view that specific stressors at the root of degenerative processes and driving its progress must be identified and removed. Not only that, Ayurveda believes that if newly emerging disorders or health indications are not identified and treated at the right time, they progress into becoming chronic disorders that are more difficult to treat or manage. In most cases, the manifestation of an indicator is not what originated in the body recently but has been building up over a period of time. To counter that these problems, Ayurveda does not give immediate relief like how modern medicine pills work on symptoms like pain, but it goes down to the root cause thus ensuring there is no relapse of the disease. Another basic principle followed by Ayurveda is that the mind and body are intricately connect and that healing is based on the belief that our well-being is a result of a fine balance between the body, mind and spirit. At a time when 70% of global deaths are being attributed to NCDs, the potential that Ayurveda offers to help solve the global crisis in chronic disease needs to be recognized and better understood. With over 5,000 years of history, Ayurveda is a time-tested holistic system of that has the potential to not only prevent but also treat chronic and lifestyle diseases.

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A textbook on Principles and Practice of Integrative Ayurveda for physicians, scientists and health professionals

Robert Schneider, MD FACC - Editor

Dean, College of Integrative Medicine, Maharishi International University

Director, federally-sponsored Institute for Disease Prevention Research, Fairfield, Iowa

Internationally-renowned leader in evidence-based integrative medicine

Mahadevan Seetharaman, PhD - Associate-Editor

Duke Integrative Healthcare Leader

Founder of AYUSH Living, AYUSH Global

Adjunct Professor, Transdisciplinary University (TDU)

Satyanaryana Dornala, MD(Ayu), PhD

Panchakarma Specialist at Swami Vivekanand Ayurvedic Panchakarma Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi.

Recipient of Dhanwantari Award (2018) for Excellence in Ayurvedic Practice by Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA)

Features of the book

Clinically oriented and easy to understand

Personalized, preventive, predictive, proactive

Whole person health of mind, body and environment

Accessible & integrates into modern medical practice

Backed by scientific evidence

Correlations with latest discoveries in modern medicine

Comparisons with other systems of complementary, alternative and integrative medicine

Resources for further training and clinical practice

Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (TCAM)

Trends Driving Integration of TCAM in Contemporary Healthcare

High rates of chronic disease – according to the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases continue to rise globally

Chronic diseases are not adequately prevented or treated by modern medicine

High rates of adverse side effects of modern medicine – with ageing population on multiple drugs, adverse events are also increasing

High costs of health care - chronic disease accounts for approximately 75% of the nation's aggregate health care spending according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

High utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by the general public

Most patients use CAM in conjunction with modern medical care and majority of them do not inform their primary care physicians about the use of CAM modalities

Inadequate education of physicians and other health professionals about CAM methods

High interest about medical professionals in CAM education, e.g., academic consortium for integrative medicine and health

New clinical practice guidelines from conventional medical organizations recommend consideration of CAM practices, e.g. cardiovascular health, pain, cancer, mental health

Case for Integrative Ayurveda

College of Integrative Medicine

Maharishi International University (MIU)

2100 Mansion Drive Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52556-9073

rschneider (at) miu.edu

AYUSH Global, Shaded Arbor Way, Sugar Land, TX 77479

mahadevan (at) ayush.global