An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda: Medicine with a Six Thousand Year Old Tradition [Paperback]

Frank John Ninivaggi (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Psychosocial Press (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887841334
• ISBN-13: 978-1887841337
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,216,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, concise, wonderful!, July 6, 2001

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"[e-mail]" (durham, nc United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda: Medicine with a Six Thousand Year Old Tradition (Paperback)

Ayurveda is a difficult subject at best. It has not recieved nearly as much attention as other Complementary Medical systems like TCM. So when a book comes along that is concise, thought-provoking, and well...exciting, on the subject it is certainly worth noting. An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda is such a book! This is THE book on Ayurveda that I will recommend to all interested in this incredably healing Modality, and Dr. Ninivaggi deserves a lot of credit for putting out a work that is so easy to read, and yet has such a depth of information and insight. I have found myself consulting it again, and again. And each time I find in its pages some new way of thinking about Ayurveda. If you are a lay person with an interest in Ayurveda for yourself or your family, I recommend An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda. It is easy to read, and yet thorough and informative. If you are a Practioner, either as a MD interested in Ayurveda, or a Practioner of a Complementary Modality interested in incorporating Ayurveda into your practice, I still highly recommend this book, because Dr. Ninivaggi will give you new insights into Ayurveda that it would be hard to find anywhere else. Keep this book in your office or practice space, share it with with your patients or clients. An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda is that good!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm so please someone finally wrote this book!, September 26, 2002

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"anna_chetwynd" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda: Medicine with a Six Thousand Year Old Tradition (Paperback)

Finally, a book on Ayurveda that's firmly and delightfully grounded in history, theory, and practice. Dr. Ninivaggi's book is a fascinating and satisfying read and one of the few books on Ayurveda I've found that has really helped me to study the subject in depth. This is the book for all who want more than a sprinkling of fun facts and a few home remedies. I'd recommend this especially to those who have a background in science and Western medicine, but no-one who tries it will be disappointed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very complete, high-quality introduction to a subject of immense breadth and depth, November 25, 2006

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William Courson "William Courson" (Montclair, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda: Medicine with a Six Thousand Year Old Tradition (Paperback)

Frank J. Ninivaggi's "Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda" is a superbly written, well-rounded introduction to ayurvedic medicine for those unfamiliar with this fascinating and complex subject. It is of sufficient breadth to satisfy those members of the lay public desiring a grounding in ayurveda's history, theory and practice and in the many subdisciplines comprising the field (physiology, pathology, psychiatry, materia medica, nutrition, etc.) and of sufficent depth to serve as an introductory text for aspiring practitioners. It is particularly appropriate for Western health practitioners who strive to gain an understanding of a medical science radically divergent in so many respects from their own, as well as for persons considering a professional training in ayurvedic medicine.

"An Elementary Textbook of Ayurveda" is far more comprehensive than any of the other volumes popularly available, and I recommend it for my beginning practitioner students at the New Jersey Institute of Ayurveda in conjunction with Dr. Robert Svoboda's "Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution" and Dr. Vasant Lad's "Textbook of Ayurveda: Fundamental Principles."

The book's chapters deal respectively with ayurveda's origins and development and the classical scriptures comprising its literary corpus; theoretical and philosophic foundations; anatomy, physiology and the concept of 'prakruti' and 'vikruti;' health and the disease process focusing on ayurveda's theory of pathogenesis; nutrition and diet; swasthavritta, and therapeutics and materia medica. It incorporates an indispensible glossary of unfamiliar Sanskrit medical terms, and an exhaustive bibliography. One very small criticism: the volume suffers from the lack of an index, which I think - in a work of this type - is key to its usefulness.

If there is any 'first book' on ayurveda that I would heartily encourage anyone to read this is one of two (along with Dr. Robert Svoboda's "Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution"). Dr. Ninivaggi has done a great service to the elaboration and development of ayurvedic medicine outside the country and culture of its birth.