Ayur means 'life' and veda means 'knowledge', so Ayurveda is a science of life- It is a way of preserving health, understanding what destroys health, and improving the quality of health. It encourages the elimination of disease and it increases the lifespan. The quintessence of Ayurveda lies in the unique philosophy that there is a symbiotic relationship between man and nature. This symbiosis, therefore, demands a holistic approach in treating human ailments. Ayurveda is essentially a holistic treatment method derived from nature that aims at the eradication of human sufferings, both physical and mental, through natural processes. Ayurveda believes that ailments are a natural process and their cure lies hidden in the core of nature. In Ayurveda, there is no scope for the use of any extraneous elements or factors in curing human sufferings and ailments.

Ayurveda considers that each person is influenced by a unique combination of 'elements' and 'qualities' and that good health is achieved by maintaining the best possible balance for your constitution. What is good for someone else might not be good for you. We are each unique. Elements and qualities combine to form the three doshas. These are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Everyone's constitution is made up of a combination of these three, and choices you make about food and lifestyle will influence the balance of the doshas in your constitution. Ideally, all three doshas should be equal but in most people one or two are dominant. Maintaining an optimal balance of the doshas is the key to good health. Ayurveda is essentially a holistic treatment method derived from nature that aims at the eradication of human sufferings, both physical and mental, through natural processes. Ayurveda believes that ailments are a natural process and their cure lies hidden in the core of nature. In Ayurveda, there is no scope for the use of any extraneous elements or factors in curing human sufferings and ailments. Ayurveda therefore is not simply a health care system but a form of lifestyle adopted to maintain perfect balance and harmony within the human existence, from the most abstract transcendental values to the most concrete physiological expressions. Based on the premise that life represents an intelligent co-ordination of the Atma (Soul), Mana (Mind), Indriya (Senses) and Sharira (Body). That revolves around the five dense elements that go into the making of the constitution of each individual, called Prakriti.
Over the centuries ayurveda has had a nurturing influence on ancient Chinese systems of medicine, Unani medicine, and the humoral medicine practiced by Hippocrates in Greece. The current knowledge about this ancient Indian medicine is primarily drawn from Charaka Samhita, Vagbhatta's astanga Hridaga (approximately 500 AD), and Susruta Samhita which is believed to have originated in the last centuries BC, but the date of its present version is fixed by researchers at 7th century AD. These three classic texts describe the basic principles and theories from which this alternative medicine has evolved. They reflect an overwhelming wealth of clinical as well as surgical information, enriched further by later research, on the management of a multitude of diseases and ailments.
The ultimate goal of ayurveda is to create a state of holistic health for the individual, to create, consequently, a healthy society and environment with its herbal health remedies. To attain this state ayurveda believes one's life must move in harmony with nature's rhythms and its laws. Because, ayurvedic medicine recognizes the human body is part of nature, rather a microcosm of the universe. The five great elements of the universe forms the three doshas of the human body, and a balance among the three doshas is necessary for the perfect working of the whole mechanism of body, mind and soul.
Ayurveda thus offers a unique blend of science and philosophy that balances the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components necessary for holistic health.