Although most people in Vancouver are familiar with traditional Chinese medicine, probably fewer can say they know much about Ayurveda, a holistic medical system from India whose name means the “science of life”. To change that, organizers of this year’s DiwaliFest are featuring a seminar on the preventive health approach by a western master of eastern wisdom.

Jeffrey Armstrong is a former Silicon Valley executive who walked away from his career to study the Vedas, sacred Hindu scriptures. Now based in Vancouver, he heads the Vedic Academy of Science & Arts, an online learning institution that presents the ancient wisdom of India in plain English. Armstrong says that the time is ripe for people to learn more about Ayurveda.

“Over the last several years, the knowledge of India has been opening itself up to the world,” Armstrong says in a phone interview. “Along with that, our interest in preventive healing has been growing at the same time. The modern medical system is great in an emergency but is not focused on prevention. Ayurveda is one of these great systems that is.”

Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual equilibrium is at the core of Ayurvedic medicine, which is practised widely in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and other countries.

According to the traditional system, people are born with three doshas, which together make up their constitution, or prakriti. Each dosha is made up of two of the five basic elements—ether, air, fire, water, and earth—and is associated with particular bodily functions.

Doshas—also called life forces or energies—go by their Sanskrit names: vata, pitta, and kapha. Each person has varying degrees of each, but one dosha usually dominates. Everything from unhealthy diet and lifestyle choices to emotional and environmental factors can disrupt the doshas. When there’s an imbalance, people’s health is affected.

The vata dosha combines the elements air and ether, and is said to controls the heart, mind, and basic processes such as breathing and cell division. Pitta, which is made up of water and fire, regulates digestion and hormones. Kapha, meanwhile, represents earth and water and is linked to the immune system.

By developing a deep understanding of our body composition, we can prevent illness, Armstrong says. In other words, Ayurveda is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Let’s say you bought a very expensive car, say a Ferrari, and took it to a mechanic to see if he could fix something and he said, ‘A car is a car. They’re all the same,’ ” Armstrong says. “You’d walk away. Everyone’s body is a vehicle, but they can be described in terms of their different characteristics.…Knowing this, you know what’s going to exacerbate a particular condition. You have a better sense of how to prevent illness.”

DiwaliFest coproducer Rohit Chokhani says that incorporating Ayurveda into the programming is a natural evolution of the festival, now in its 11th year. The event has always had hugely popular dancing and cooking classes—as it will this year—but in the past it didn’t have public workshops focusing on the spirit, which is at the heart of Diwali itself.

“We wanted to bring in other components that are engrained in South Asian culture as well,” Chokhani says in a phone interview. “Ayurveda is thought of often as all about medicine, but it has an emphasis on the spirit as well.

“It’s the same with yoga,” adds Chokhani, who also serves as general manager for Touchstone Theatre. “I love that the culture in the Lower Mainland has exploded, with yoga classes being everywhere, but what I find, because I grew up in the roots of it in Mumbai, is that it’s very focused on the physical component while the mind and the spirit component is missing. Ayurveda can address the physical but it brings a lot to your whole lifestyle-knowing. We’re all trying to find a balance, and this kind of knowledge is really helpful.”

Dr. Arun Garg, program medical director for laboratory medicine and pathology for Fraser Health, is interested in bridging eastern and western medicine. Although he is not an expert on Ayurveda, he says westerners can benefit from exploring the principles behind the traditional health system.

“My interest in Ayurveda, as a practitioner of western-style medicine, is that there’s so much to learn from eastern philosophy and its role in modern life,” Garg says by phone. “How can we integrate that without compromising at any level but enhancing overall care? Ayurveda is very holistic in its approach in that it looks at the body as a whole rather than looking at the presenting problem, then working from there, and that’s a huge difference. I think the philosophy of health promotion and illness prevention and lifestyle can play a huge role in modern medicine and in one’s daily life.”

Aside from shedding light on Ayurveda itself, Chokhani says that having Armstrong—who is Caucasian—deliver the seminar goes to the core of this year’s Diwali Festival theme: unity in diversity.

“This is not a brown festival; it’s not just about South Asian culture,” Chokhani insists. “It’s about taking one culture and opening it up to others and having interaction between them.”

Events include: a Bollywood movie matinee; Chai House, a cabaret performance with Indian music and dance; workshops on rangoli design, diya lamp painting, Bollywood dancing, sari wrapping, and mehndi hand painting; and the IndiGlam opening gala dinner and performances by the Shiamak Davar dance group.

“Diwali is about sharing your inner light,” Chokhani says. “Each of us has this, regardless of our country or culture.”

Jeffrey Armstrong’s Ayurveda workshop takes place at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre next Saturday (October 11) at 2 p.m. The DiwaliFest takes place at various venues in Vancouver and Surrey from October 17 to 26. More information is at the Diwali Fest website.