AYURVEDA FOR LIFE STYLE DISORDERS AND MENTAL HEALTH

MENSTRUAL HEALTH IN INDIAN TRADITION In today's world menstrual health is explained on basis of using certain products during menstruation in a hygienic way. With the increase in availability of sanitary napkins or tampons why does women increasing suffer from various menstrual disorder? Even with many NGOs clamming poor menstrual hygiene in India Indian women suffers less from menstrual disorders and rural Indian women suffer less comparatively than urban Indian women.  The answer lies in the roots of Indian tradition which derives the explanation from Ayurveda. The tridoshas  VATA , PITTA & KAPHA governs all the activities of the body and so is the menstrual cycle so rules and regulations are laid according to the predominant doshas in each phase of the cycle. The 1st to 5th day of the cycle is governed by VATA that pushes the menstrual blood out of the body. T he week following the flow is governed by KAPHA which helps in building up the endometrium ...

Every machine  comes with a manual,Ayurveda is the manual for a machine what  we know as human body. This manual has been there for ages and in due course of time a lots of myths and doubts have risen among our midst.  This post is to clear some of them and suggest the facts. GENERAL MYTHS Many types of ayurveda There is only one type of ayurveda that's been practiced differently  Panchakarma is just oil massage NO pancha karma is five types of treatments like Vamana (induced vomiting) Virechana( induced loose motion) Anuvasana vasti( enema with preparation containing oils ghee etc) Niruha vasti( enema with kashya preparations) Nasyam(pouring medications through nose) These treatments are advised in  various diseases to detoxify the body.  Oil massage or abhyangam is done before doing these panchakarma therapies  or for relaxation or in case of some  minor diseases. Is it safe? Once you know what panchakarma is the n...

Insomnia is "DIFFICULTY IN INITIATING OR MAINTAINING SLEEP", it is a symptom not a stand alone disease. TYPES OF INSOMNIA Short term insomnia :(one to three weeks) jet lag shift work stress illness or hospitalization withdrawal from drugs, alcohol or smoking Long term insomnia :(symptoms lasting more than 3 weeks) Psychological                                           anxiety depression Physical heart disease acid reflux asthma sleep apnea brain tumor, stroke, injury to brain, menopause pregnency frequent intake of alcohol, tea or coffee Problems caused by insomnia poor concentration and focus difficulty with memory irritable fatigue AYURVEDIC VEIW Ayurveda considers sleep as one of the 3 pillars of the body.  A person of kapha prakriti (body constitution) sleeps more,pitta prakriti and vata prakriti sleeps comparatively...

What is obesity? The recent concern of the medical world is the growing case of obesity among the world population. A 2014 survey states that there are 600 million obese adult and 42 million obese children under 5 years . Obesity is a medical condition of excess of body fat accumulation leading to ill health. An obese person needs to put forth more energy than a thin person even to do normal work. Obesity was considered as a symbol of prosperity in the medieval ages as it was seen only among the rich families.       The scale that is used to determine obesity is the BMI calculator but it was found by European.The body structures of European are much different from the Asians, Africans and Native Americans. Asians generally have a plump figure where as Africans and Native Americans have well built strong bony structures so their bone weight is more. Therefore the BMI used by Europeans cannot be applied to everyone . GENERAL CAUSES OF OBESITY ...

Modern inventions and communication has made today’s world a global village but are we communicating enough? Are we talking what we want to talk or talking what others want to hear? Are we expressing our feelings? World may have become a village but the families are becoming nuclear. The rat race for wealth name and fame had made us forget who we are. This is one of the reasons for the alarming rise of depression in India. Depression which was once known to be common among middle aged people now has been diagnosed even in school going kids.                 A study shows that men are more depressed than women, but does not admit it. The suicide rate among men is four times higher than women.  Am I depressed?    Feeling down and a feeling of let down that lasts for more than 2 weeks   Change in sleep pattern feeling sleepy always or no sleep at all   Feeling gui...

                Every single mistake that we do with or without our knowledge will have its consequences. Skipping breakfast                 The first meal of your day that will power you throughout the day. As the saying goes “BREAKFAST EAT LIKE A KING”, it is a must to have a healthy and full breakfast. The reason behind this is, the digestive acid secreted from the night before will be able to digest a heavy breakfast. When we skip breakfast the acid leads to hyper acidity which in the long run may lead to gastric ulcer. So it’s advisable to have your breakfast by 9am at the least . Ayurveda acharyas say that skipping the main meal may lead to disorders of vata and pitta which gives rise to more than 120 different types of disease . It has become form of lifestyle itself to power yourself through coffee. Coffee increases pi...

We may think that lifestyle disorders started in the recent years but Ayurveda calls it janapadoudvamsaniam a chapter is dedicated in astanga sangraham which explains how it all started.  It explains that it all started when man started to settle in one area and started a life which involved in accumulating of food and wealth which in turn resulted in hording, greed and jealousy. So as our living gets easier and mechanized our life becomes complicated. We start to live for others. We try to live up to others expectations and not the way we need to live. Living such a lifestyle in the long run we forget what it is to live our life when the time arrives it may be too late. The corporate lifestyle that we live now makes us forget our hobbies, our true friends, relationships and even sleep. This life in the long run will lead to mental and physical illness.  You will then have to spend your hard earned money in hospitals to get your health back leaving y...