Introduction
Discourse communities share values and goals and have a communication method through which they strive to attain these objectives as a group. There is little information available about the Ayurveda community and this ethnography has the aim of shedding more light on the matter. First and foremost, Ayurveda’s discourse community’s goal is for everyone’s health and wellbeing. They share this aim and this provides for a common ground on which the members progress and undertake activities. Common aspects of the community were studied to establish the point of convergence of the values as well as characteristics. Communication among the members was also looked into to determine the goals within. New members admitted to the community are a vital element and were studied too, with the process being evaluated critically.
The activity in context is the use of the various methods of managing illnesses. People in this community share values and practices in the way they treat certain diseases. Ways of managing illnesses include oil pulling, dry brushing, self-oil massages among others. These are just some of the ways that the experts advise on maintaining natural ways of life. There are consultants who play a role in educating and shedding light on the ways of Ayurveda. The goal is to ultimately have individuals complement Western medicine with this traditional and natural method of treatment.
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Data Collection
I collected data to be used in the ethnography and used various ways of analysis to come to the conclusions integrated into the study. Certain patterns and themes that are related to the study of discourse communities were studied to provide more information to the exercise. Observations were done on the Ayurveda consultation procedure. This was to collect data on the activities that were not verbally relayed by the practitioner. I spoke to Janae, Anjali’s assistant, over the phone from Brannon at Ayurveda Natural Health Center in Beavercreek in Ohio. I intended to go for my consultation and meet Anjali but I did not make it. The interview I was to conduct was therefore done with Janae (and will be referred to as an interview from here henceforth). The interview was meant for collecting information about the practice. Text collection was also used to collect further information on the topic. The three methods proved valuable in providing the relevant information about Ayurveda.
Upon booking an appointment with Anjali, the time was set as well as the location. The consultation was to take place at her office in Ayurveda Natural Health Center. Replaced by the phone call with Anjali’s assistant, it went well and provided quit insightful information. The questions regarded ones that would help me understand the concepts of Ayurveda as well as various conditions. Being new information from someone knowledgeable, it was such an important learning opportunity.
Janae explained that she went into Ayurveda practicing since it helped her manage a skin condition she had and had been troublesome trying to treat. Her parents had tried many physicians all over the state but had failed to find a cure for her condition. It was when they tried a holistic method of managing the body that the condition went away. Upon realization of how little was known to the public of this method of healing, she took it upon herself to learn, teach and help others manage their conditions. That is how she landed a job under Anjali where she continues to help others who are interested. Janae explains that the practice of Ayurveda goes back to 3000 BC in the Indus valley in what is today known as Pakistan. This was during a Bronze ancient civilization and the practice was passed down from the creator and to the ancient Indian mystics. Later, it would then be available to the public which used the available herbs. Buddha himself, was a follower of Ayurveda, indicating how important the practice was and remains to be. The Vedas, she mentioned are some of the oldest human recording on the history of Ayurveda.
I was also offered an explanation of why checking body parts such as nails, tongue and hair is important. The body displays any problems it might be going through in these body parts and are necessary to interpret the disease one is ailing from. Herbs are an integral part of Ayurveda’s practice, Janae explained. Arjuna, for example, has been proven to work several times even in the USA to treat a heart condition that required heart transplant as well as blocked arteries due to fibromuscular dysplasia. Ashwagandha has been quite effective in treating anxiety and stress and is an alternative antidepressant. For inflammation that is chronic (like athritis), Curcumin is known to help remedy the conditions naturally. The triphala, which consists of three Indian herbs that are haritaki, bahera and amla, is used to treat digestion disorders and these are just some of the many herbs used in the practice.
Janae states that she has working in her current capacity for five years by then and that other than consulting and assisting Anjali. She does oil pulling, dry massage and teaches meditation among other natural ways of living. She also let me know that communication in the group was through email, phone conservation and skype which were all used for communication with patients as well as peers within the community. Her Pratriki, she explained, was composed of Kapha and Pitta which she had been trying to understand more and ensure that she led an even healthier life. This changes towards degrading her muscles as she grows older and she has to devise ways through which to maintain her physique. Primarily, she suggested yoga and relaxing practices such as massages that would help me relax my muscles and relieve myself of tension and fatigue.
The main benefits of Ayurveda were noted to include the fact that the goal is to ensure that the body is healthy enough even in the case of an illness. Rather than concentrating on treating ailments, the practice aims are equipping the body and getting rid of imbalances that bring about the ailments in the first place. Since all of the practices are natural, there are no side effects of synthetic drugs and components in the body. Common misconceptions include the notion that this is some ineffective mode of health management that is primitive. On the contrary, modern medicine has borrowed some of the methods of developing medicine from Ayurveda.
Text collection was also done and the Vedas were quite important and helpful. After talking to Janae and upon realization of my interest, she offered to help me access some rare materials on the development of Ayurveda. It was such an insightful opportunity as I got to collect the data I was so determined to get to. Two books were also used to further collect information on the study. Sahara Rose Ketabi’s Ayurveda and Shiva Rose’s Whole beauty were essential in the process as well.
Data Analysis
The Doshas, as was learnt from the consultant are three life forms that control the working of the body. They are the Vata dosha, Pitta dosha and the Kapha dosha (Asthana, Monika, & Sahu, 2018). Respectively, they are involved with space and air, fire and water and the for last one, water and earth. Everyone has all of the doshas but one is stronger, and it the balance determines health issues of an individual. The Vata dosha is responsible for the flow of blood, breathing, the heart, mind as well as ridding the body of waste through intestines. Some of the conditions associated with this dosha are anxiety, heart diseases, and skin problems. Pitta dosha on the other hand, is responsible for metabolism and digestion and conditions linked to its functions include heart disease, infections and high blood pressure. The Kapha dosha is the last one and it is involved with muscles and the immune system among others. Cancer, diabetes and asthma are some of the diseases that are linked with the dosha.
Conflicts in the discourse community are largely about the suppression of the Ayurveda practice by pharmaceutical companies that view them as competition. The holistic approach of practicing medicine has been a problem to these companies. Therefore, they have no intentions of seeing such practices gain ground since they would mean that the competition would be higher. Some of the individuals in the medicine field claim that Ayurveda has also not proven to be effective and has several questions that taint its reputation (Sharma, Galib, & Prajapati, 2017). As a result, there are those practitioners that are afraid of going public and standing out as Ayurveda practitioners and healers. The information provided indicates that conflict in the discourse community arises from the outside due to the success of its practices and which are a threat to successes of another community.
The Vedas are an extremely critical genre in the practice of Ayurveda (Kaushal, 2017). These genres and other texts include other affirmations of the Ayurveda being a discourse community (Swales, 2016). They provide ground over which the holistic approach to health gains ground. Existing for years, they are key since they pass on information that is essential in determining the origin of the practice as well as in the development of the scope. Whole Beauty, by Shiva Rose has also proven to be an essential tool I understanding the development of this particular field. Natural ways of managing the body as well as some ‘rituals’ are quite vital in developing a healthy life. The wellbeing of an individual is dependent on the way of life and lifelong health is ensured by practices that are in line with Ayurveda. Ayurveda, by Sahara Rose Ketabi is another literacy material that has a ton of information that is quite helpful. It provides an insight into the science of life and lays down a path for both the old members as well as newcomers.
Communication among members who include peers, patients and practitioners was noted to be existent and very central to the maintenance and development of the group. The goal, as explained, is to have individuals share information and seek support from each other. Ultimately, the goal of health and wellbeing is achieved by the community. Due to the fact that Ayurveda is based on Indian history, most of the terms and in Hindi and this creates a code language with names that have particular meanings. As a result, a lexis is developed, further strengthening the notion of a discourse community (Swales, 2016). Therefore, there is the development of specialized language based on the science being utilized and this is along the characteristics of discourse communities (Swales, 2016).
Old timers in the community have studied widely about the history and the various treatment methods. New comers only have basic information on the science and they can learn even more when they read the ancient texts and seek help from their predecessors. This information can be passed down to benefit the incoming members. The presence of beginners and experts is one way that the community meets the characteristics of Swale’s explanation (Swales, 2016).
One very critical thing affirming the information available about Ayurveda is the pure use of natural ways of diagnosing as well as managing diseases as well as other conditions of the human body (Garcia, & Joshi, 2016). The contemporary word is one that has synthetic components and ingredients being used in almost every human activity and procedure involving the human body. The way that the natural remedies as well as practices help balance the various components of the body to achieve a healthy life is quite amazing. This in particular, shows how much humankind would gain from dependence on natural way of life, dealing with all illnesses so effectively.
Conclusion
The research process was primarily an exciting process and the discovery of such a new discourse group as well as the study of its members, characteristics and shared values was thrilling as much as it was enlightening. I have to admit that my knowledge base on the particular community as well as the whole area of discourse communities was greatly improved. I had just an average understanding of the discourse communities but upon involvement in the research process, I turned out more enlightened. Appreciation of the process of gathering information on new matters or areas that have limited knowledge available increased immensely.
Another significant aspect about the research was the fact that I was able to increase available knowledge and information on the Ayurveda community. Any new member or potential members has a wider literature to gather knowledge from. Previously, summation of required information to understand the community was rare and this study helped reduce the gap.
References
Asthana, A. K., Monika, M. A., & Sahu, R. (2018). Significance of Doshas in Management of various Disease. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, 6(5), 41-45.
Garcia, P., & Joshi, M. (2016). Ayurveda and Other Complementary Health Approaches. Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Health: A Multicultural Perspective, 121.
Kaushal, N. (2017). Management Practices in the Ancient Vedas. Global Journal of Management And Business Research.
Sharma, R., Galib, R., & Prajapati, P. K. (2017). Good pharmacovigilance practice: Accountability of Ayurvedic pharmaceutical companies. Ancient science of life, 36(3), 167.
Swales, J. M. (2016). Reflections on the concept of discourse community. ASp. la revue du GERAS, (69), 7-19.
