Ayurveda and Healthy Ageing–Dr Rammanohar
‘Ayurveda and Healthy Ageing’ was a four-part online series, organised by NAMAH, the Journal of Integral Health and facilitated by Dr Rammanohar. All the sessions were incredibly revealing and provided great insight into many facets of Ayurveda’s holistic approach to healthy ageing and dying naturally. Besides explaining the underlying concepts as described in ancient Ayurvedic and other Indian knowledge system texts, the facilitator also enriched his explanations with important relevant field-studies and extracts from modern medical science. Based on years of professional experience as an Ayurveda practitioner, the facilitator shared many real-world examples and case studies to illustrate the practical effectiveness of Ayurvedic methods.
The first session described the timely and untimely modes of death as per Ayurveda. We were made to understand that the goal of Ayurveda is to enable us in living a a full lifespan, culminating into a timely death where we give up our body with full awareness after it has become unfit to hold the spirit.
The second session focused on healthy and successful ageing. We learnt that it is not enough to live longer, we also need to achieve successful ageing where we remain all-round healthy as we age and evolve psycho-spiritually. We learnt about the importance of early detection of ageing signs so that we can adopt appropriate Ayurvedic methods aimed at slowing down the ageing process.
Third session explained the Ayurvedic approach to achieving longevity and extending the life span. We learnt about how to apply various Ayurvedic practices and dietary guidelines in our daily life for achieving a healthy and purposeful long life. We also learnt about the strong interdependence that exists between planetary health and longevity for all.
The final session discussed various tips which Ayurveda offers to prepare us better for facing the ultimate reality of death with grace. We learnt about the cyclical nature of birth and death and became familiar with the process of death and subsequent afterlife. We also learnt about how to live a worldly or a spiritual life and how Chaturashram Dharma serves as an effective framework to prepare ourselves for dying gracefully.
The facilitator kept the participants highly engaged and motivated throughout the course by providing detailed responses to all the questions and comments which were raised via Zoom’s chat. The weekly format of the series allowed participants to sufficiently reflect on the previous week’s content ahead of the next session. Overall, the series was very effective in providing a comprehensive all-round understanding of all that Ayurveda has to offer in support of healthy ageing.
Feedback
“Excellent, very interesting and inspiring.”
“Please have more sessions from this speaker.”
“It deepened my understanding of death. Loved the 4th session the most.”
“I got a clear idea about proper ageing, lifestyle, food in Ayurveda perspective, which is immensely helpful. Many thanks to Dr Rammanohar and the whole team for all your efforts.”
“The importance of looking after yourself as you mature not just when you get to a certain age.”
“If one keeps oneself active both physically and mentally there should not be disease necessarily. We don't have to be thinking old age is going to mean hip replacement knee replacement, as this is not necessary.”
[Helpful intro to Ayurveda?]
“Very much so, I would like to pursue doing some sort of Ayurveda course.”
[Addressing concerns about old age?]
“Understand the importance of dying gracefully and in a timely manner.”
[Practical Take-homes?]
“Trying to modify Thought process, lifestyle and food habits.”
“Lead a life of Dharma and prepare for the inevitable gracefully. Caloric restriction and eating two times a day.”
