Beat The Summer With Ayurveda’s Wisdom

The summers in India can take a heavy toll on the body. With humidity in the very high percentages, people tend to sweat a lot & this can be the primary reason for Dehydration.

Our body is made of 70% water. Environment plays an important role in maintaining our health. Due to excessive heat during summer, our body tends to dry up. This is Dehydration.

Instead of gulping down Carbonated Fizzy Drinks, Mother Nature has made ample provisions to ensure rehydration in the healthiest of ways. Fruits like Watermelon, Cucumber, Mango etc. can be best source of replenishing minerals, natural sugar & water, along with much needed fibre that ensure healthy bowel movements too.

Work & Stress: While the animals tend to reduce their workload in the summer, humans can’t do it. In fact, since the new Financial Year has just begun (April onwards) people usually wish to pick-up pace.

How to tell if you are Dehydrated: As a simple method, if you are feeling thirsty, Dehydration has already set in. The first signs of Borderline Dehydration include, Dry Tongue, Itchy or flaky skin. Sever signs of Dehydration are cramps or painful restless legs, headaches, burning during urination or even frequent Blackouts.

Ayurveda suggests to reduce your exposure to the Sun, especially the mid-day peak-in-the-sky sun. In case you find yourself travelling during such time, it is advised to carry a bottle of water mixed with a teaspoon of Sugar & a pinch of Salt. Mere water does not replenish the vital minerals & salts.

In case you do not have such water, then avoid Carbonated & Sweetened Cold-Drinks. These are actually counter-productive. Always try to have natural drinks like Coconut Water, Buttermilk. As a thumb rule, avoid any drinks which contain artificial sweeting agents like Sugar.

Just returned back from a Sunny workday? Never have cold water right away. Always wait for 15-20 minutes & then have slightly cool water. Fridge cold water completely messes the metabolism.

Feeling Drained? This is a sure-fire traditional method to feel energetic. Eat a few raw (non-fried) peanuts with Jaggery. This quickly dissipates energy within the body, without any side-effects. Summer Season is perhaps the deadliest of the seasons as people routinely fall sick due to heat, exhaustion & sun-strokes. However, what is even more threatening is the fact that these symptoms or occurrences are often neglected. One should be vigilant to notice the first signs of Dehydration & quickly replenish the body with vital nutrients.

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy

Introduction to Vaat Dosha

We now know that our body is made up of 3 Doshas, namely Vaat, Pitta & Kapha; 7 Dhatus i.e. Rasa, Rakta Mansa Meda Asthi Majja & Shukra & 3 Malas namely Swed Mutra & Purish.

The disturbance in the equilibrium of any of these three Doshas is primarily responsible for experiencing discomfort. If these are not corrected, they lead to various diseases. We would like to mention that these 3 Doshas are not bad in their inherent nature as the name would suggest. ‘Dushyanti Eti Doshaha’ Only when these three functional elements (Vaat, Pitta & Kapha) are aggravated do they take on a sinister form & disturb the Dhatus (Dushy- The one who gets disturbed) & hence they are referred to as Doshas.

Let’s look at these Doshas one-by-one in detail

VAAT

‘Tatra Va Gati, Gandhanayoriti Vaatha’ The one who can spread or move freely. Vaat is one of the most primary & potent of the three Doshas as it is destined to be mobile in nature. Whenever, its free movement is altered, the person is said to be suffering from Vaat Dosha.

Characteristics / Properties: The inherent qualities of Vaat Dosha are 1) Rukhsa (Dry) 2) Laghu (Light) 3) Sheet (Cold) 4) Khara (Rough) 5) Sukshma (Micro) & 6) Chala (Movement)

Birthplace in the Body: The origin of Vaat Dosha is Pakvashaya (Large Intestines). The role of large intestines is to absorb all the nutrients & fluids from the digested food after it has passed from Small Intestines & throw out the waste products. According to Ayurveda, the waste removal process is the one in which the digested food (received from smaller intestines) is segregated into fluids (urine - Kleyd) & semi-solid matter (stools - Purish). The fluids are then transferred to bladder & subsequently passed out. As for the semi-solids, they are simply passed out through the rectum (Guda). Vaat Dosha is the primary ‘force’ which makes the movement happen. The intestines are mere passageways.

Functions of Vaat Dosha: All voluntary & involuntary movements like breathing, heartbeat, removal of waste products, menstrual cycle, inducement of labour, the chief controller & influencer of mind & thoughts & movements It also influences all our senses like feeling of wellbeing & even hormonal & nervous co-ordination is affected & effected by Vaat Dosha.

In the next article we will see how the Vaat Dosha is disturbed & its manifestations, in & on our bodies.

Introduction to Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical science. The word Ayurveda literally means” The Science of Life”.

Ayurveda has 8 medical branches and hence is also named as Ashtang (Eight branches) Ayurveda. These eight branches are

1. Kayachikitsa – Medicine

2. Kaumarbhrutya – Pediatrics

3. Grahachikitsa – Psychosomatics

4. Shalakya tantra – ENT and Opthalmology

5. Shalya tantra – Surgery

6. Agad tantra – Toxicology

7. Rasayan tantra – Rejuvenation and cosmetics

8. Vaajikaran – Aphrodisiac and Sexology

Our human body is made up of ‘Dosha’ ‘Dhatu’ and ‘Malas’.

We have three doshas (Functional elements which carry out all the functions of our body like digestion voluntary and involuntary movements etc.). These three doshas are ‘Vaata’ ‘Pitta’ and ‘Kapha’.

Each of these three doshas have specific functions to be carried out in the body. Their state of equilibrium is the secret for health and disturbed equilibrium causes diseases in the body both Physical and mental. Doshas have inherited qualities and thus the lifestyle and the dietary habits and the environmental factors which are in the accordance of these three doshas; they are disturbed. For e.g… Vaata has motion & thus excessive travelling or bodily motions increase the intensity of Vaata Doshas. Similarly spicy, hot food & hot-humid intensifies Pitta Dosha.

Dhatus are the structural elements of our body and are responsible for the shape and size of the body. We have seven dhatus namely 1) Rasa 2) Rakta 3) Mamsa 4)Meda 5)Asthi 6) Majja and 7)shukra. In the broader sense they are the tissues of our body.

Malas are the excretory products namely 1) Purish (stools/ faeces) 2) Mutra (Urine) 3) Sweda (Sweat)

As our blog develops we will see common ailments & their uncommon but easy to follow treatments. Do visit this Blog often to gain insights about Ayurveda & its deep-rooted implications on our health & well-being.