Ayurveda

• Ayurveda is a comprehensive healing system based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. It is more than 5,000 years old and was very important in early Hinduism. Ayurveda refers to eight branches of medicine that the student must learn along with 10 different arts used in the preparation and administration of medicine. Archaeologists have unearthed evidence that ancient practitioners of Ayurveda had knowledge of medicine and dentistry. Ayurveda is still practiced today as an alternative to western medicine, and it is possible to earn degrees such as a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery from Indian colleges.
  
  

Hatha Yoga

• To those outside of Hinduism, yoga is thought to refer only to meditative movement and body postures and is used as a method of exercise and to improve flexibility. This actually refers to Hatha Yoga, and its true purpose is to locate and activate the body's energy centers, called chakras, in order to help remove blockages in the mind and body. Practitioners of Hatha Yoga attempt to balance the mind and body through body postures, controlled breathing, exercises and calming of the mind through meditation and relaxation. They seek to still the mind and focus on the unmanifested Brahman said to be within everyone.
  
  

Puja

• Puja is Sanskrit for "reverence" or "worship," and refers to a ritual performed by most Hindus after bathing and dressing, but before taking food or drink. It is seen as a way for humans to relate to the divine, and can be performed for anything the practitioner considers divine. It can take many different forms, but the simplest and most common is darsan. This is simply gazing at the object of reverence. The object itself isn't said to be divine, but it carries with it a divine energy and has connection to a god or goddess. It is sometimes performed for the benefit of certain people when a priest or relatives ask for blessings.
  
  

Sadhus

• A sadhu is a Hindu holy man. It is one possible way of life in Hinduism and involves the renunciation of the world and asceticism in favor of spiritual disciplines. The word "sadhu" is derived from the Sanskrit word for "accomplish," and can be used to describe any ascetic holy man. The life of a sadhu can take many forms, such as living with other sadhus in monasteries (mathas), belonging to a particular religious order or living alone as a hermit. Many sadhus wander the country either alone or in groups. Sadhus are not religious officials, yet they are respected for their devotion to their faith.