Ayurveda has its complex clinical methods including surgery and the use of strong medications. These, however, are secondary to its primary self-healing approach. Its eight branches are internal medicine (kayachikitsa), surgery (shalyatantra), diseases of the head (shalakya tantra), pediatrics (kaumarabhritya), toxicology (agadatantra), psychiatry (bhutavidya), rejuvenation (rasayana) and revitalization (vajikarana). 

Ayurveda, as typical of the Vedic sciences, is applied differently by its various practitioners as it also emphasizes creative intelligence, not a standardized approach. It does not present us with just one way of looking at health or disease but gives us a whole spectrum in harmony with the vastness of life. Hence it cannot be understood from a purely scientific, intellectual or materialistic perspective. 

Ayurveda is based upon the spiritual and psychological background of Yoga, Sankhya and Vedanta. From these come its methods for healing the mind. 

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