These first books provide a high level introduction to Ayurveda with a focus on practical advice. Great for those who are completely new or just starting out with ayurveda and also those who are looking for lifestyle tips and home remedies.
This book focuses on explaining digestion and its importance from an Ayurvedic perspective. You are also introduced into the three Doshas (body types) and how you can recognize these- written in a very playful way. Recommendations for rituals for each of the Doshas are also provided as well as a set of home remedies for common complaints.
Mira’s book provides a practical toolset of daily rituals, divided into morning, afternoon and evening suggestions based on Ayurveda and other influences. These include yoga, pranayama (breath work), meditation and recipes. This book focuses more on providing a lot of details for the rituals to help you get started straight away, as opposed to explaining what the Doshas are and how you can identify your constitution
Great for: Practical guide for daily rituals
Where to buy?: Amazon
The following books are also great for beginners as well as those further along in their Ayurveda journey and looking for more information and detail on the different aspects of Ayurveda. Some of the topics that they focus on in depth are mentioned in the summaries below.
In his book, A Pukka Life, (currently mainly available in E-Book format) Sebastian describes the Ayurvedic constitution, the 3 Doshas and the 5 elements in depth. In addition, he also has chapters on “nourishment”, “cleansing”, “rejuvenation”, “strength and stillness”, “Ecology” and “Relationship” He also provides a short quiz to help determine your constitution. Currently I am only able to find the e-book version of this book in addition to some second hand copies of the physical book.
Kate’s book introduces the reader into the philosophy that Ayurveda is based on (Sankhya Philosophy) and how the elements, doshas and qualities and more, fit into this. She also goes into detail into how imbalances can arise and the 6 stages of disease according to Ayurveda. The book then covers self care practises and home remedies
Many Ayurveda cookbooks also provide great introductions into Ayurveda, especially for beginners. You can find some summaries of these in my post “Top Ayurveda Cookbooks”
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