In general

● Still used today -- mainly in India

● mostly focus on balance of elements

Principles
● Classification of patients based on prakriti, or body types/bodily constitution
○ Three doshas - energies
■ Pitta = fire
■ Vata = air/movement
■ Kapha = earth/water
○ Need a balance of these -- not excess or deficiency
■ Balance not only three elements with each other, but also element itself
● Pitta - fire
○ Has to do with digestion
○ Excess fire should be pacified by “
■ Similar to greek to change diet to bring back to
● There seems to also be physical treatments outside of diet to balance
○ Massage, yoga?, physical therapy type stuff

Themes
● Illnesses and diseases are caused by an imbalance in the doshas
● Imbalance of pitta energy is believed to cause problems such as ulcers inflammation, bad
digestion, anger, heartburn etc
○ Can affect emotions
● Imbalance of vata and kapha bad too

Modern Ayurvedic Medicine

● Very similar
● Not necessarily trying to cure diseases
○ Mostly focus on maintenance of a person’s health -- preventative
● Use legitimately good herbs that they’ve researched that have some effects
○ ex: turmeric, and frankincense

Negatives
● Many ayurvedic medicines (ordered online) found to contain harmful chemicals
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Exercise with a S M A L L B A L L (Galen)

● Galen
○ Doctor with philosophical ideas
○ Dissected animals -- assumed human animals
○ Used traditional treatments -- diet, exercise, less medicine
■ Treat diseases via opposites
○ Six factors that influence health
 ■ Air/environment, diet, sleep, motion/rest, digestion, passions of mind
● Sports at the time
○ Galen believed athletes are “over exercising, overeating, and oversleeping”
● Did he claim that this had medicinal benefits -- like cure disease?
● Characteristics of the small ball exercise
○ Enjoyable for the soul
○ Affordable
○ Improves coordination and mental health
■ Body must be balanced -- too much exercise on one part is bad
○ Lighter exercise for old people, children, freshly healed
■ Exercise proven to fight disease/improve health conditions today
○ did he think this could treat aynthing disease-wise or was it seen as preventative and just
stay healthy?

Gymnastics and athletic training

● Gymnasticus by Philostratus
● Includes many examples of Olympiads
○ Mostly mediterreanean competitors
○ Began using athletic trainers to get an edge
■ Trainers were seen as very important to an athletes success
● Trainers
○ Combine art of medicine and art of paidotribes (“man who massage the boys”)
○ Defend oneself and defeat opponent -- know tactics
○ Teach how to transform athlete’s body
■ Want a less specific body type? Why?
○ Get body in peak condition
■ Includes cleansing humours and removing excess from the body
○ Distinction between light and heavy events and the training that goes into them
○ Thought training led to better offspring
■ wanted women to train to pass athleticism to offspring
○ Can classify people as athletes or non-athletes
■ Could also see different types of athletic bodies
● Pentathlon vs dolichos (running) vs armor race
○ Cared about diet
■ Overeating, heavy drinking, and dangerous foods can damage body
● Trainer vs. Doctor -- who were trainers? Learn about stuff the same way doctors would learn
about the body and study? Did trainers have to “prove” credentials like doctors first did?
○ Both “healers” trying to improve
○ Trainers
■ Train and check on injury status
○ Doctors
■ Heal bad injuries and illnesses

Presentation format notes

● Understanding the reading section -- if confusing