Many people hear about Ayurveda and think about yoga and special diets. This ancient alternative medicine system originated in India and is much more complex than seems to the eye. Ayurveda can target and treat any minor diseases and help people live a more balanced lifestyle. Chronic diseases, in particular, are a mystery for modern science but can they be treated in Ayurveda?
Ayurvedic college in Bhopal like MAMC have both students and patients come in to treat a variety of diseases. Experts here are trained to approach any diseases to be treated from the inside out. How does this method work for chronic diseases which are by nature long-term and often have no cure? Let us find out.
What are chronic diseases?
Chronic diseases are health conditions that cause long-term implications. Generally, these conditions last more than three months. Some common chronic diseases are cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Often overcoming these diseases take a long time and in certain cases, there are no cures. Chronic diseases also get worse over time. All one does in such cases is reduce the effects of the diseases to prolong the life of the patient.
Research has shown that chronic diseases generally occur due to short-term poor habits. For instance smoking or tobacco use, poor diets that do not hit all the nutrition groups, alcohol use in excess, stress, and no exercise. Most of these disease-causing factors can be easily mitigated by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Ayurveda, here, is the perfect choice to not only prevent the spread of chronic diseases but also prevent their start as well.
Ayurveda and Chronic Diseases
Ayurveda works on the concept that each human being is made up of five elements, earth, air, fire, water and space. A combination of these makes up the three doshas in people, Kapha, Vatha and Pitha. All treatment plans in Ayurveda are designed with the patient’s dosha in mind. Ayurvedic hospital in Bhopal generally look at the whole lifestyle of the patient to ensure the patient is treated for the long term and they feel good from the inside and outside. A question arises if this method of taking care of patients is good enough for chronic diseases.
The doshas must always be in balance in human beings. When they are out of balance due to stress, poor diets and not exercising diseases crop up. These are the exact same reasons that can cause chronic diseases, as stated above. This is why Ayurvedic experts recommend approaching an Ayurveda hospital for chronic diseases.
How Ayurveda treats chronic diseases?
With the connection between Ayurveda and chronic diseases established, the next point is to discuss how exactly Ayurveda works on chronic diseases. In particular, the answer here is in Ayurveda and Panchakarma. A simple way to define Panchkarma would be to eliminate waste from the body. It works on four different regions of the body, the head, gastrointestinal system, the upper and the lower body. These regions are treated in five different ways, hence the name Panchkarma, panch meaning five.
Vamanam or therapeutic emesis is the process of inducing vomit in order to clear up the upper part of the stomach and the entire respiratory tract. The second way is Virechanam or purgation. This also refers to induced purgation that targets the lower part of the stomach to the very end. The third way is Anuvasana or doing an enema through medicated oils. Here, special oils with herbal properties are applied to the rectal area to act as lubrication for waste elimination.
The fourth way to do panchakarma is Nasyam. This refers to the method of cleaning up the sinuses using special medicated products. Nasyam will clear up the respiratory tract and make breathing easy. The final way to do Panchakarma is Astapana Vasti. This is a method of doing enema where a special mixture is put in through the rectal area to cover the entire colon to cleanse it of any toxins and wastages.
When talking about Panchakarma, it is also important to note that it will not treat problems or diseases permanently. However, it targets the root cause of the problem and acts on it. The body of the patient is being treated both internally and externally purifying it. Certain diseases that attack the joints of the body that cause paralysis are also treated through Ayurveda using steamed oil massages. Similarly, several BAMS colleges in Bhopal that offer Panchakarma also have several treatment methods for respiratory diseases like asthma through Vaman, Cirechan and Raktamokshan.
Benefits of Panchakarma
While most of the processes of Panchakarma are done to eliminate toxins or wastage from the body, there are many more benefits. For patients with chronic diseases, a panchakarma treatment plan can affect them in more ways than one. Some of these benefits are as below.
- Purifies the body completely from the inside.
- Speeds up metabolism by dislodging anything that is stuck.
- As metabolism speeds up and waste is removed, many patients experience weight loss.
- The basis of all Ayurvedic diets igniting the digestive fire is possible through Panchakarma.
- The entire body and mind are relaxed and there is also less stress.
- Any blocked channels of energy within the body get unblocked.
- There is an overall better immunity among patients providing people to approach diseases stronger.
- Tissues and cells within our bodies are constantly dying and regenerating. Panchakarma restarts this process if it has slowed down or stopped due to chronic diseases.
- The entire process of Panchakarma balances out the doshas leading to better well-being in the patient.
Many chronic diseases do not have any treatment plans and medicines in modern Science. Ayurveda, an ancient alternative medicine system could be the answer to the same. There are not many studies being done today to see if Ayurveda treatments actually work and bring about results which makes people apprehensive. However, there are generations of history and success stories backing Ayurveda. When it comes to chronic diseases, Ayurveda is perfect to remove diseases from the root and establish a more stable environment in the body.
