My friend Michelle and I met in college. She now lives in Miami with her husband Pete and daughter Sage. Michelle is also a painter, yoga instructor and Ayurveda practitioner. I asked her to talk to me about Ayurveda and tell me why she thinks it is important for a healthy lifestyle, prevention of cancer and therapy after a cancer diagnosis.

Michelle, what is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda teaches that in order to have perfect health one must be balanced. The human body consists of five elements that work together and correspond to specific organs and bodily systems. The elements are ether (space), air, fire, water and earth. Each element has a unique function and characteristics.

What are the body types talked about in Ayurveda and what do they mean?

There are three body types that describe individuals and their bodily tendencies. Since people cannot be simplified into only three categories, they can either be one body type, a combination of two (with one being dominant), or tri-dosha. (dosha = body type.) The three body types are vata (ether, air), pita (fire, water) and kapha (water, earth). Depending on one's dosha, he or she will benefit from specific types of food, herbs and lifestyle. Each herb, food, drink and even environment contains dosha characteristics so using the opposite to balance out an individual is done in Ayurveda. This is the main difference with Ayurveda and modern medicine - with that, a descriptive saying that fits the idea is "one man's food can be another man's poison".

Ayurveda sees the body as a universe in itself, and in order for this universe to work properly it needs to be balanced. This body universe does not only function through matter and the physical, it also functions through intelligence and spirit.