NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The classic guide to using Ayurveda to harness the healing power of the mind—now revised with updated medical research.
Translated as “the knowledge of life span” in Sanskrit, Ayurveda is the 5,000-year-old medical system from ancient India that has been validated by modern breakthroughs in physics and medicine. Deepak Chopra’s Perfect Health is the original guide to applying the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda to everyday life.
Although we experience our bodies as solid, they are in fact more like fires that are constantly being consumed and renewed. We grow new stomach linings every five days, for instance. Our skin is new every five weeks. Each year, fully 98 percent of the total number of atoms in our bodies is replaced. Ayurveda gives us the tools to intervene at this quantum level, where we are being created anew each day. Ayurveda tells us that freedom from sickness depends on contacting our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body.
Perfect Health provides a complete step-by-step program of mind body medicine tailored to individual needs. A quiz identifies the reader’s mind body type: thin, restless Vata; enterprising, efficient Pitta; tranquil, steady Kapha; or any combination of these three. This body type becomes the basis for a specific Ayurvedic program of diet, stress reduction, neuromuscular integration, exercise, and daily routines. The result is a total plan, tailor-made for each individual, to reestablish the body’s essential balance with nature; to strengthen the mind body connection; and to use the power of quantum healing to transcend the ordinary limitations of disease and aging—in short, for achieving Perfect Health.
The Thinker –
This book is a valuable introduction to Ayurveda, a system for improving one’s health and promoting longevity. Many of the ideas in this book are quite different from what I had previously learned and believed. But because I had many years of positive experiences with Transcendental Meditation, I decided to consider these ideas and try them. Experience has shown me that the ideas in this book are phenomenally effective.I was prompted to write this review in response to some skeptical comments posted by other reviewers. Some reviewers see this book as the author’s attempt to profitably sell other products and services. I do not believe this is the case. If valuable treatments and techniques can only be learned through personal instruction, it is helpful to know that these treatments and techniques exist, and I do not sense that the author is trying to monopolize the availability of these treatments and techniques; he merely wants people to know about them. I’m sure Dr. Chopra is financially independent and not merely advertising his services. In addition, I have heard and read so much good information from Dr. Chopra that I am convinced he is sincere.Other reviewers have rejected the ideas in the book because they are different from what the reviewers have believed all their lives. I understand this because initially I was surprised by the different advice in this book. I advise people not to read this book unless they are open-minded and willing to consider and try some different ideas.This book does contain plenty of good, specific advice regarding a healthy lifestyle, including diet, exercise, and rest, presented from an Ayurvedic perspective. I decided to try these ideas, and I have found that my physical health, mental health, and sense of well-being have all improved as a result.
Amanda –
This book, paired with Yoga & Ayurveda by David Frawley completely transformed the way I understand, and relate to, my health and well-being. Deepak Chopra is brilliant. The book is easy to understand (the opposite of Yoga & Ayurveda) and he gives practical advice on how to bring balance to your doshas. He sticks to words that most readers are familiar with, rather than incorporating lots of sanskrit.Anyone interested in learning how you can manage your own health and well-being should read this book.
Kandy –
I enjoy Deepak Chopra’s books, but this one came at a good time for me. It’s a book focused on Eastern philosophy and how we need to keep the dosha’s balanced to create a healthier life for us. I read some of the reviews that said he promotes his center, but I didn’t read it that way. I’m still reading it and find it to be very helpful in leading a healthier life through the years to come. If you want to have a life where you take charge of your health/life and not just pop pills and listen to what ailment you have, but want to find the root cause, then you should read this book.
Anonymous –
Thankful for a health and wellness book that breaks down well-being into easy to understand concepts, and practical applications! Very informative and helpful.
Stonearrow –
Beautifully wriiten, with profound quotes, my favorite, “The same protons found in the heart of stars, which have lived 5 billion years, take up residence in us.” This book covers the aspects of health, food and eating healthy, your body type, your persona (mind and body and behaviors), assimilation, digestion, cleansing, purifying, breathing, movement, and meditation. All these processes with the related practices are covered in this book. You will be healthier through awareness and open the possibility of adding years to your life.
Teal –
One of the top 10 books I have ever read. The explanations are easy to understand, and I was constantly compelled to keep reading. I am now looking forward to reading some of his other books. Definitely worth the money to buy and the time to read. I’ll read this book again in a few months, to keep the material fresh in my mind and see what new material my brain can pick up.
D. S. Tait –
This book was recommended (prescribed) by Mary Jo Cravatta, my ayurvedic physician. The book covers a lot of ground, from the basics of ayurveda, to practical elements such as diet and basic yoga exercises, abhyanga daily massage, and the ever-important daily routine. The book has been invaluable in helping me understand my specific imbalance, and how to practically address this. I have made phenomenal improvements with my digestive problems and numerous other ailments. Ayurveda is not about a quick fix, like fixing a broken machine. It addresses the whole body as, well, an ecosystem, taking account of environment, physical body, mental body, and spiritual body. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a persistent chronic disease. You will discover that the body is always trying to maintain balance & equilibrium with its environment, like all things in nature. It is the lifestyle, habits, and daily choices that brings us out of balance over time.
D. M. Trujillo –
I had read and studied the previous edition of this book back in 1995 at which time I was introduced to the timeless wisdom put forth in it. Almost 20 years later I find that I am still living by some of these guidelines, and I know that this has contributed greatly to my health and well-being all these years. Today I feel like I am sixty-five years “young”, but I plan to reread and contemplate the information presented in this new edition and am very motivated to apply Ayurvedic wisdom at an even deeper level than before. Thank you Dr. Chopra for this beautiful gift you have given us.
Sofia Ortiz –
Really recommend this book for anyone who’s looking for better health, or a solution to any physical or mental problem they’re trying to work through. It gave me a whole new perspective on medicine; how we do have a say on our sicknesses, what can we do to get better through different actions like keeping an eye on what we’re feeding ourselves: not only food, but thoughts.
Elaine M. Chandler –
This book was recommended to me after trying many different diets and medical regimes to no avail. I am excited to put these principles into practice. It helped me to see that some of what I thought was okay for me really is okay for me, that I don’t have to stay away from a certain food, for example, just because the latest health fad claims it is unhealthy, when it is healthy for my body type.