Root Cause of Disease – Toxins in the body due to improperly digested food Steps in Digestion:-1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Food is chewed in mouth and mixed with saliva Food is churned in the stomach Food is digested in the small intestine Digested food is absorbed into the body Undigested food is sent to the Large intestine as stools Half digested food (due to incorrect eating and lifestyle) is not sent to large intestine, and sticks to the walls of the small intestine. It then rots and spoils there and gets converted into toxins, which eventually enter the bloodstream and get circulated to different parts of the body. Then these toxins affect various organs of the body and cause disease. Role of Germs: These toxins create a favorable environment for the germs (bacteria / virus) to multiply which also cause diseases. Role of Karma: Due to bad karma (resulting from bad thoughts), the toxic thoughts in the subtle body (mind) affect the physical body. When soul takes another birth, the subtle body goes along with the soul. Hence the mind, with its toxic thoughts creates toxins in the body and causes diseases. The three doshas and their relationship with the five material elements Vata: Air + Ether (Space) Pitta: Fire + Water Kapha: Water + Earth VATA DOSHA Functions of Vata:• Movements – blood circulation, movement of joints, muscles, heart beating, movement of hands and legs, eyeballs, movement of nourishment and waste across the body, menstruation, delivery • Natural Urges – tears, evacuation, urination, sneezing, hiccups, coughing, vomiting, yawning • Nervous system – Signal Transmission • Hearing, Speech Qualities of Vata: Movement, Dryness, Roughness, Coolness, Lightness, Irregularity Diseases / disorders associated with Vata: Movement: Paralysis, fits, epilepsy, heart attack, parkinsons disease Dryness / Roughness: Dry skin, cracks in the skin and under feet, Arthritis, Constipation Irregularity: Irregularity in sleep, periods, hunger, habits, mood, heart beat Coolness: All the above problems will aggravate during cold season Changes in Environment When there is change in outside atmosphere (reduction in temperature) or when there is change in mental state, do not drink water immediately or switch on the fan immediately. Wait for 20 minutes and then drink water. Examples of change in outside environment: Travelling, entering inside the house from outside (hot sun) Examples of change in mental state: Marriage, Pregnancy Drinking water: Do not drink water immediately after food, as this will put off the digestive fire. Drink water 1 hour after food. Hot water can be taken immediately after food Methods of Controlling Vata: 1. Increase Heat: Drink Hot Water, include more spice in food, exposure to sun, hot water bath 2. Prevent Air from entering the body: Avoid high speed fan, avoid window seat while travelling, cover ears while travelling, avoid staying in empty stomach 3. Control Movement of body and mind: Shavasana (lying like dead body), relaxing, planning the day well (to regulate the mind) 4. Maintain Lubrication: Oil Massage, consuming A2 Ghee, cold pressed oil, Ghee Nasal Drops Dietary Considerations for Vata: 1. 2. 3. 4. Avoid Dry Food (Ex. Pizza, Cookies, Bread, etc) Take more lubricating food such as Ghee, Oil (Cold Pressed) Consume hot food, hot water, include spices in fodd Avoid Vegetables such as potato, onion, garlic, cauliflower, cabbage PITTA DOSHA Functions of PITTA:– Digestion – Maintenance of Body Temperature – Vision – Intelligence, Analytical Thinking Symptoms of Increased Pitta Excess Heat: Fever, Burning in eyes, while passing stools or urine, ulcer, acidity, piles Bleeding: Blood in urine, stools, nose bleeding Redness / Yellowness: Red or yellow color in eyes, yellow urine, yellow skin, jaundice Rashes in skin, pimples, acne, skin allergies Infections: Throat infection, urinary infection, lung infection (pneumonia), Boils / pus, skin infections, any viral / bacterial infections Bad smell: Bad smell in urine, stools, mouth, sweat Methods of controlling Pitta 1. Before the pitta becomes high: Take cooling items such as lemon juice, water melon, cucumber, coconut water, etc. During hot summer, it is better to take these items in the morning. Drink more water in the morning. 2. After the pitta becomes high: Throw the pitta out by sweating. Increase the heat by drinking more hot water and wrapping with blankets. Once the sweat comes out, the pitta will reduce and the toxins will also come out through the sweat. Drink warm water one hour after this, to compensate for water loss 3. Detoxification: a. Drink Plenty of luke warm water b. Fasting to give rest to the stomach, so that it can detoxify itself c. Diet with sweet juicy fruits such as Apple, Pomegranete, sweet lime (mosambi) d. Having herbal drinks such as Ginger tea. One hour after taking the drink, consume enough water to compensate for the heat caused by the herbal drink 4. Oil massage for head: Coconut oil, sesame oil, brahmi amla oil can be used. This should not be done if pitta is already high Dietary considerations for reducing pitta 1. Consume cooling items: Water, Coconut water, cucumbers, sweet juicy fruits, pumpkins, buttermilk 2. Avoid sour, pungent, salty, spicy food. Reduce oily food 3. Take sweet items, food with more water content 4. Avoid nuts such as almonds, cashew, walnut, etc. Otherwise soak them in water the previous day and take it next day, or have them along with milk KAPHA DOSHA Functions: – Cushioning, Shock Absorbing – Cleansing, Lubrication – Maintaining Body Structure Characteristics of Kapha and Associated Problems Heavy and Slow: Slow digestion, sluggishness, sleepiness, chronic indigestion, joint stiffness, sluggish organs, Laziness Slimy / Sticky: Mucous formation (sinuses, chest, stools) Oily / Fatty: Oily skin, Fatty liver, cholesterol, heart block, Excess fat / protein in urine Cold - Low digestive fire, poor digestion, cold scalp, cold nose, less sweat Stable - Kidney stones, cystic tumors, obstruction Methods to Balance Kapha: Maintain Heat: Have hot freshly cooked food / hot water. Avoid Cold Items, Air Conditioning, refrigerated items. Get more Exposure to sunlight and do steam bath Maintain Lightness: Avoid excess fatty / oily / fried / sweet items, perform regular fasting Other dietary considerations: Take spicy, bitter, dry, astringent food. Avoid milk products, sweets, salty foods. Positive and Negative Personality factors for the three doshas: Positive personality factors of Vata: Ability to multi-task, Swiftness, enthusiasm to learn or do new things, excitement, artistic, bringing about major changes for the better, innovativeness, creativity Negative personality factors of Vata: Lack of focus, mood swings, depression, anxiety, sudden surge in emotions (anger, excitement, etc), forgetfulness Positive personality factors of Pitta: Good Analytical capabilities, good planning, ability to differentiate between good and bad, vision, foresight Negative personality factors of Pitta: Negative thinking, judge mental issues, double talk, revengeful attitude, reduction in sense enjoyment capabilities, anger, hate, envy, offensive mentality, hypocrisy Positive personality factors of Kapha: Focus, taking a task to completion with perfection, caring, cool temperament, gratitude Negative personality factors of Kapha: Greed, excessive attachment, possessiveness, inertia, sluggishness, egoism, pride Daily Dosha Cycles: Tips to take advantage of Dosha cycles:1. Wake up early (Brahma Muhurta time at around 4:00 AM) during Vata time to take advantage of the “Active” nature of Vata. Mind will be fresh and active 2. Waking up late at around 7:00 AM (Kapha time) will result in inertia / laziness due to the effect of Kapha 3. It is advisable to clear the stools early in the morning (vata time), as stool clearing is a Vata activity 4. Kapha time is good for reading / studies / hearing as Kapha is responsible for memory. Bhagavatam classes also happen around 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM which is Kapha time 5. 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM is good time for Prasadam as the food gets churned in the stomach, and by the time it reaches small intestine for digestion, it will be 11:30 AM or 12:00 noon., which is pitta time, and good digestion will happen 6. Evening is Vata time, good for creativity (Painting, poetry, decorations, etc) 7. It is advisable to have evening meal before sunset as sun is responsible for digestion. Also after sunset, Kapha time will start, and digestion will become weak. 8. Night time after sunset, during Kapha time, it is advisable to go to bed before 10:00 PM. Kapha is responsible for sleep. This evening Kapha time is also good 9. After 10:00 PM, pitta time will start and the liver will perform its role of detoxification in the midnight. It is advisable to remain asleep during this time, so that the body can focus all its energy on detoxification (i.e. removing toxins from the body), and healing. 10. Staying awake up late in the night increases pitta and toxins in body Timings of the doshas will also depend on the sunrise / sunset time. For example, in the morning during sunrise, Vata time ends and Kapha time starts. The Six Tastes Sweet Taste – Controls Vata and Pitta, Increases Kapha Sour Taste - Controls Vata, Increases Pitta and Kapha Salty Taste - Controls Vata, Increases Pitta and Kapha Pungent Taste – Increases Vata and Pitta, Controls Kapha Astringent Taste - Increases Vata, Controls Pitta and Kapha Bitter Taste - Increases Vata, Controls Pitta Kapha Ayurvedic Diagnostic Methods:-- Darshana – Visually observing the person Sparsha – Touching (Examining the pulse) Prashna – Asking Questions Tongue Diagnosis Picture (Diagram) Methods for Detoxification:-- 1. Fasting – Complete Fasting, Fasting with Water, fasting with fruits. Fasting gives enough rest to the digestive system and enables it to recoup and recover 2. Gajikarana - Cleaning the stomach – Take one to 1 and half litres of water and add 2 to 3 tea spoons of rock salt (non-iodized) and dissolve the salt. Then warm up the water and drink it quickly (within 5 minutes). Hold the water in the stomach for 15 minutes and then when you feel the sensation to vomit, insert two fingers deep into the mouth and trigger the vomit. 3. Virechana - Cleaning the small intestine – Consume 3 tablespoons of castor oil followed by a glass of warm water in the morning on empty stomach. Do not eat or drink anything for the next 5 to 6 hours. After a few hours, loose motions will come out, and along with the loose motions, toxins will also come out. After clearing the stomach, take very light food (easy to digest) for the rest of the day 4. Basti (Enema) - Cleaning the large intestine – Purchase an enema kit. Wash the enema pot (container) 2 to 3 times. Fill it with 300 to 500 ml of luke warm water. Lubricate the tip of the pipe with coconut oil. Place the enema container on a high shelf and kneel down on the floor, with the anus facing upwards. Hold the tip of the pipe with one hand and insert into the anus (about 2 inches), and let the water empty into the intestines. Then, pull out the pipe and hold the water inside the intestines for 5-10 minutes. Walk while massaging the stomach clockwise, and then anticlockwise. The pressure go the bathroom builds up, sit on the toilet and pass stool. The waste and toxins from the large intestines will come out along with the stool 5. Jal Neti – Cleaning the nose and sinuses – Pour warm salt water through one of the nostrils and let it out of the other nostril. Some methods for ensuring proper digestion: 1. Eat slowly and chew the food properly. Take a small quantity of food in the mouth and chew atleast 10 to 15 times, and allow the food to mix with the saliva and become like a paste. The saliva has many digestive enzymes that will make the food easier to digest. Also, the tongue will detect all the six tastes in the food and send appropriate signals to the brain, which will be able to judge how much more food we need, and of what kind / taste. If we gulp down the food quickly, the tongue will not have time to detect what kind of food has gone in, and hence the brain will ask for more food. This will result in overeating and indigestion. 2. Drink hot water after food. Avoid cold items and cold water after food. 3. Make sure there is enough fluid content in the food. Avoid excessively dry meals 4. Leave 5 to 6 hours gap between meals, to ensure proper digestion. Avoid eating in between meals (except for fruits) Problems with drinking water while standing According to science, hot air is light (and hence it rises up). Cold air is heavy (hence it moves downwards). When we drink water, the air in the body becomes cooler and moves downwards, thus increasing vata in the lower part of the body. Hence the vata will increase in the lower part of the body and the person will be more likely to get arthritis, constipation, etc later on, if they drink water while standing. Maintaining immunity – Three most important points 1. Head should be cool - This should be done because hot air in the body moves upwards, causing pitta to increase (and thus create diseases) in the upper part of body (head). If we keep the head cool, it will neutralize the excess heat in the upper part of body such as head. 2. Feet should be warm – This should be done because cold air in the body moves downwards, causing vata to increase (and thus create diseases) in the lower part of body (feet). If we keep the feet warm, it will neutralize the excess cold in the lower part of body such as feet. 3. Digestive system should be clear – Digestion should be proper and the stools should be cleared out. This is to prevent toxins from forming in the digestive system and then spreading to the rest of the body.
