One of the oldest systems of natural and preventative medicine migrain and headaches in the world, the 5,000-year-old art of Ayurveda focuses on achieving equilibrium among the three kinds of energy, or doshas, found in the body: vata, pitta, and kapha. To determine your dosha, you will start your stay at this tranquil resort with an hour-long migrain consultation conducted by a Western-trained M.D. and an Indian doctor or vaidya. (Healthy Living''s editor-in-chief was amazed by the accuracy of their diagnoses; see her story on the next page.) Once headaches completed, a tailor-made plan is prescribed for you, which includes everything from meals and herbal supplements to exercise and treatments. Then you''re left in the attentive and gentle hands of the staff-who out number guests two to one. Doctor''s orders: Lie back, close your eyes, and let the healing treatments begin. (All services and meals are included in the cost of your stay, which will range from $1,611 for three days to $3,760 for seven days.) Some relaxing examples: The warm herbal oil massage (abhyanga), given in unison by two technicians, loosens toxins in your tissues and soothes your skin. This release of impurities leaves you primed for either an herbal steam treatment (swedana) to further purify, or the relaxation treatment (shirodhara), during which a continuous flow of essential oil is poured over your forehead to settle your nervous migrain system. headaches Sensuous mud and milk beauty baths are also available at your asking. Whatever work is done, the tender touches of the technicians, combined with sound and aroma therapy, will migrain leave you as limp as a noodle.

To take advantage of these benefits, you first must understand one of the basic tenets of Ayurveda: headaches your dosha, or mind-body type. There are three doshas - vata, pitta and kapha. Just as no two people migrain have the same thumbprint, each person is a unique amalgam of all three doshas, though one or two doshas are usually dominant. "Finding your dominant dosha and embracing the appropriate lifestyle can have a profound effect on your health and well-being. According headaches to Ayurvedic philosophy, when your doshas are in balance you will exhibit the positive traits associated with migrain your dominant dosha and feel your best. when they''re out of whack, the negative characteristics emerge and you get sick or stress-out. Fortunately, once you have identified your dominant dosha, you can take steps to restore an imbalance - or, if you''re already in a state headaches of physical and mental equilibrium, remain on an even keel. Basically, achieving balance means understanding and working with your natural tendencies: Flighty vatas need grounding; driven pittas need to practice moderation; slow-moving kaphas need stimulation. The changes that Ayurveda prescribes - whether it''s to your diet, exercise routine or sleep schedule migrain - may initially seem headaches frustrating, but they are well worth the health benefits, as Alison May, a kapha, can attest. It was migrain difficult headaches to stick to my workouts and eat my biggest meal in the middle of the day. But I feel so much better since I''ve made the changes that now I want to do them!

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