In 1987, Marc Halpern was finishing his degree in chiropractic medicine when he was crippled by a connective-tissue disorder that caused joint pain, weight loss, fatigue and fevers. “I was able to heal myself with alternative therapies, such as homeopathy and Chinese medicine, but not enough,” he recalls, Then he discovered ayurvedic medicine, an ancient comprehensive lifestyle and dietary approach to healing from India. “Through ayurveda I rebuilt and restored my body. Today I’m entirely free of my original illness,” says Halpern, who went on to found the California College of Ayurveda in Grass “Valley.

Ayurvedic medicine first came to this country three decades ago in the work of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In 1991, it entered mass consciousness through Deepak Chopra’s Perfect Health. “In its broadest sense, ayurveda is the understanding that all your choices are metabolized into biology,” says David Simon, M.D., medical director of the Chopra Center in San Diego, which he co-founded with the bestselling author. “What you hear, taste, smell, touch, how you think, your relationships–all of these influence your health.”

Practitioners of ayurveda follow a balanced lifestyle that includes rising around dawn, practicing meditation and yoga, eating a diet tailored to their constitution, and enjoying input through all five senses.

Ayurveda teaches that each person is a blend of three doshas, or guiding principles within the body–vata, pitta and kapha–though usually one or two are prominent. Disease is thought to arise from an imbalance in one’s doshas, explains Nancy Lonsdorf, M.D., ayurvedic practitioner and co-author of A Woman’s Best Medicine: Health, Happiness, and Long Life Through Maharishi Ayur-Veda.

Vata (air and ether) tends to be dry, cool, light, airy and creative. A predominantly vata type will likely be thin, with cold hands and feet, and dry skin. If imbalanced, vata can manifest as anxiety, insomnia, constipation, arthritis, restlessness and lack of focus. CompenSate for bodily instability with regular rest and warmth. Warm water is balancing, as is a warm climate, a soft bed, warm-oil massages, warmhearted friends, and stability at home and work.