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Ayurveda - Vita, Salute e Longevità: Manuale introduttivo alla medicina e all'alimentazione ayurvedica

Riconquista e mantieni la salute attraverso il triplice approccio dell'ayurveda: fisico, psicologico e spirituale.Basata sull'impiego di erbe medicinali, sulla corretta alimentazione e sulla purificazione del corpo, ma soprattutto sull'osservanza di una filosofia spirituale dell'esistenza, la medicina ayurvedica contempla non soltanto il trattamento terapeutico, ma anche la cura della persona nella sua globalità, con una particolare attenzione alla prevenzione.Robert Svoboda, uno dei massimi esperti di medicina ayurvedica, ci presenta le principali caratteristiche dell'ayurveda prendendone in considerazione i vari aspetti che vanno dalla costituzione fisica dell'essere umano (dosha) alle abitudini salutari quotidiane, dai cicli della vita (cosmici e umani) a quelli fisiologici e mentali (sonno, sessualità, digestione, psiche, gravidanza ecc.), dal concetto di samskara (“fare bene”) alla stagionalità dei cibi, dalle associazioni alimentari alla qualità degli alimenti, dalle cause delle malattie e i loro sei stadi (accumulazione, aggravamento, inondazione, localizzazione, manifestazione, specializzazione) ai metodi diagnostici ayurvedici e alle terapie secondo i dosha.L'opera, inoltre, propone:preziose schede con le qualità curative di numerose erbe riportate in ordine alfabeticouna parte dedicata alla farmacologia per la preparazione delle piante (succo, pasta, decotti, polveri, vini, compresse ecc.) e dei mineraliun prontuario terapeutico di alcune specifiche malattie (diarrea, febbre, diabete, malattie respiratorie, problemi cardiaci, cancro, malattie osteomuscolari ecc.)utili consigli alimentari, fisici, terapeutici e spirituali per ringiovanire.L'autoreIl dottor Robert Svoboda è stato il primo occidentale a laurearsi in medicina ayurvedica (presso l'Università di Pune) e a essere autorizzato a esercitare l'ayurveda in India.

407 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1982

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About the author

Robert E. Svoboda

41 books324 followers
During and after my formal Ayurvedic training I was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotisha, Tantra and allied subjects by my mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He also owned thoroughbred race horses, and I served as his Authorized Racing Agent at the Royal Western India Turf Club in Bombay and Poona between 1975 and 1985.

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5 stars
68 (40%)
4 stars
60 (35%)
3 stars
30 (17%)
2 stars
5 (2%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Ayush Ghimire.
17 reviews2 followers
July 12, 2021
This book gives you perspective on all the questions we had for the food that we made at our homes.
Profile Image for Ilana Milkes.
1 review6 followers
April 28, 2025
Sexist: read to understand how ancient Brahmans think

The information contained in this books teaches you about:
- how to switch the gender of the baby killing your daughter to enable male children to be born
- why and how women are not "allowed" to cook during their menstruation period
- how sex is still a taboo as if we were stuck in medieval India where Brahmans are the main source of authority
- how Brahmans are the main source of authority: the author mostly quotes male Brahmans as his only source of authority

Overall a book that perpetuates sexism, a society where there is no way to challenge male-only perspectives (because otherwise the "sacredness" of the practice is not valid) and a "stuck-in-time" approach to Ayurveda, as if humanity had no possibilities to progress and evolve. Read it to educate yourself about sexism in Ayurveda.
Profile Image for S.
809 reviews10 followers
January 20, 2025
This book starts with Indian history and philosophy around the time when ayurveda emerged. Though a lot of information is thrown around as facts, there are definitely highly contested and disproved theories - for example, the constant references to aryan invaders who bought the vedas with them in 1500 B.C. How did a nomadic culture end up providing a complete civilizational treaties and lifestyle to the subcontinent? A lot of references to the Aryans is annoying.

A lot of information is mixed - some truth, some mixed with other philosophies and other facts. I would read this book with a pinch of salt.

Not for pure beginners of ayurveda. I would not recommend this book if you are looking for learning authentic ayurveda as a lot of information is mixed and it is difficult to sift through facts. Some of the concepts are clearly explained and help one connect the dots.

The author dabbles in ayurveda, tantra, yoga, astrology and everything else. How can 1 person learn and master all these vast fields in a decade and go back to home and write books and preach this beats me.

A lot of chapters talk about how important something is for Buddhism and then quote Caraka who was a Hindu. Several generalizations about modern India which may not be true or do not hold for all of India - I assume a westerner reading this book for the first time is going to assume that that's the way things are. Vedic philosophy, tantra and several other ideas are mish mashed with information about ayurveda.

By chapter 5, I was not really enjoying this book and mainly skimming through to get an overview.
11 reviews
May 22, 2021
This was one of the better books I've read on Ayurveda, and I really enjoy Svoboda's writing and teaching. It goes into more depth, and includes more of the cosmology and explanation of influences and variances across regions. Worth a read.
Profile Image for Fig Marshall.
16 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2026
grouse book on understanding the world view n philosophy of ayurveda, hard to apply into real world w/o a wisened grandma to translate, super fun tear down of the big issues of western medicine at the start (love)
Profile Image for Saket Patankar.
1 review1 follower
June 7, 2017
It is definitely a good book.
I did not know all these details about Ayurveda before.

It just gets too technical at times.
Profile Image for Rahul.
7 reviews
April 24, 2019
A useful summary of Ayurveda

For a foreign language writer , it is a brilliant work as getting to the depth of Indian sciences is never easy.
Profile Image for Micaela Bruno.
130 reviews1 follower
October 24, 2024
Buena informacion, creo que es un gran primer acercamiento del mundo ayurveda, capaz un poco cargado de conceptos, se hace pesado, però no deja de ser interesante
Profile Image for Priyanka Pathak.
99 reviews14 followers
March 3, 2025
If you are a Robert Svoboda book lover, you will find this book too short on information and will end up wanting for more. In such a case, you have "प्रकृति" to grab.
Profile Image for GabyUfita.
391 reviews68 followers
September 1, 2026
No es lo mejor pero si muy interesante para iniciar a conocer la ayurveda. sin embargo no termina de convencerme, cosas que si, cosas que no.
Profile Image for Kate Lumsden.
20 reviews20 followers
November 4, 2012
in a word: thorough. Not for the beginner for sure, but for those who are interested in deepening their knowledge of Ayurveda, it's great. I love the descriptions of different foods and their uses. This book also contains information that's rare to find in other Ayurveda books. Worth reading.
37 reviews
April 26, 2014
Really interesting introduction to Ayurveda. Beautiful explanations of a holistic and wholistic philosophy. Really broadened my world view and added to my life philosophy that everything and everybody is connected.
Profile Image for Joyce Faber.
1 review1 follower
March 4, 2009
The impact of ideas on our body and well being. A fascinating examination of our models of reality.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews