What is the cause of illness?

“May noble thoughts come to us from all sides.” (Rig Veda)

Ayurveda believes that all illnesses originate from an imbalance of the three body fluids (doshas) Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These doshas play a role in both physical and mental illnesses. The aim of Ayurveda is to restore this balance and thus harmonize the disease process.

The focus is not primarily on the search for external disease-causing factors. These are considered less important from an Ayurvedic point of view. If only external triggers or individual symptoms are treated, the actual cause of the disease is not considered.

Today's way of thinking, just like modern medicine, on the other hand, often assumes that the causes of illness have an effect on people from outside and, accordingly, healing must also take place from outside. This understanding applies in particular to infectious diseases, such as bacterial or viral diseases, but has also been applied to general living conditions, social relationships and social conditions.

In many ways, this gives humans a more passive role in the course of illness. If illness is understood exclusively as caused from outside, it seems logical to expect healing, especially externally. Accordingly, medical research has long focused on so-called risk factors and external influences that can promote illness. The question “What makes you sick? “is often in the foreground.

Recently, however, scientists have also increasingly been looking at a different perspective: “Why does a person remain healthy? ” or “Which internal resources help people maintain health? ”

A closer look at the development of diseases reveals a central idea: Every disease can also be understood as a disorder of internal regulatory processes. But what does that mean exactly? What role do our thoughts, our consciousness and our inner attitude play in this?

This is not only about mental intelligence in the sense of the mind, but also about the “intelligence” of the body  the nervous system, cells, enzymes, hormones, genes and the immune system. All these systems are in close, fine-tuned communication with each other.

The question is therefore: How strongly does our mind influence these processes? Can thoughts and emotions actually affect physical processes?

From a holistic perspective, it can be said: Yes, our emotional state can influence physical processes. Thoughts of satisfaction and inner peace can trigger biochemical changes in the brain, which have a positive effect on the entire organism. Emotions such as love, compassion, connection and trust can strengthen the inner balance and help the body to regulate it.

Negative thoughts, on the other hand, such as anxiety, anger, or prolonged stress, can trigger physical reactions. Among other things, they influence heart rate, blood pressure and hormonal processes. Anxiety can be expressed, for example, through inner restlessness, tension or stomach problems.

Fear plays an important role in today's society. It comes in many forms: fear of change, of illness, of death, or of life itself. This list could go on and on.

Anxiety can be understood as a lack of trust. Trust, on the other hand, is a central basis for inner balance, trust in yourself, in others and in life.

Our thoughts can be consciously influenced to a certain extent. It can therefore be helpful to develop mindfulness and to become more aware of your own mind, for example through meditation or other forms of inner training.

Health and illness therefore also arise from the sum of our internal impulses, both positive and negative. When we become aware of these connections, we recognize how important our world of thought can be for our well-being.

It is therefore worthwhile to cultivate peaceful, friendly and positive thoughts as often as possible and to pass on this inner sense of well-being to other people as well.

Because:

“The best things about life are the people we love, the places we belong to, and the memories we've made along the way. ”

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(Source: Yoga Vidya - Gisela Peterhoff)