Ojus Ayurveda
About Ayurveda
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is Sanskrit word that translates into knowledge (veda) of life (ayur). Ayurveda is the science of life, a 5000-year-old tradition holistic system of well-being. Ayurveda briefly explains the knowledge of the dos and don’ts on has to follow. Ayurveda also emphasizes that “Prevention is better than cure”. Ayurveda is the knowledge of longevity which offers healing, rejuvenation and self-realization through balanced food, herbs, yoga, massage, aroma and meditation.
How does Ayurveda work?
The main objectives of Ayurveda to cure the disease of sick person and prevent disease of healthy person. Ayurveda’s main objective is to balance the doshas according to your original constitution. When the doshas are in balance, the organism can function properly. Ayurveda focuses on removing the underlying cause of symptoms, which are the result of doshic imbalance. For that purpose, Ayurveda uses medicinal herbs, cooking methods, rejuvenating therapies, and daily routines (called dincharya). A diet and lifestyle in harmony with your original constitution will strengthen your body, mind, and consciousness, and prevent disorders at all levels.
Is Ayurveda safe?
Ayurveda is a truly holistic natural system of health and herbal medicine for all ages, and even for animals. It focuses on diet and lifestyle as the foundation for good health, allowing you to take more control over your health and well-being. Along with proper nutrition, it uses Ayurvedic herbs and Ayurvedic therapies that have been utilized for thousands of years. Medicinal herbs have many properties and potential actions, and, when manufactured and used properly, they achieve the desired results without creating further imbalances.
How effective is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the very oldest effective system of alternative medicine. Its full effectiveness will depend on various considerations, including your age and state of health, how much effort you are willing to put into making the necessary changes toward better health, and how disciplined you are with taking your formulas and following the recommended guidelines. Ayurvedic treatment will depend on individual factors and on follow-up treatments.
Why isn’t taking my pulse enough to know what I need?
Pulse is the method of examination of patient. It is the important part of general examination but taking your pulse is not enough to understand you as a whole person. It is important to look at all the factors involved in the disease process, and pulse diagnosis is just one of the assessment tools in Ayurveda. Detail clinical history, pathological test, examination is needed. It is important to get to know the whole you: Your constitution, your family history, your medical history, your diet, habits and environment, which cannot be done pulse examination only.
Can Ayurveda help me with chronic or serious diseases?
Ayurveda is the holistic system of medicine does not focus on disease or pathology per se. Rather, it maintains that all life must be supported by energy in balance. Health is the state of equilibrium of doshas, dhatus and Malas in the body. Therefore, its goal is not just to treat or suppress symptoms, but to bring balance to the doshas so as to restore the natural harmony of your organism as a whole. When the doshas are. In other words, when the balance of the doshasis restored, the root cause of imbalance is removed, and your organism works properly (i.e., symptoms disappear). Furthermore, Ayurveda has a unique cleansing and rejuvenation program known as Panchakarma to detoxify and rejuvenate the organism at a cellular level, which can remove long lasting ailments while further promoting overall health and longevity.
Can I keep taking my medication when using Ayurveda?
Ayurveda can be used with Western allopathic medicine. Drugs can save lives, but because of their toxicity they can also weaken or damage the body with side effects. Ayurveda can help protect and make the body stronger after or along with drugs or surgery. It is very important to let your Ayurvedic practitioner know what medications you are on, so he can recommend the appropriate ayurvedic regime for you.
Can Ayurveda help me with acute ailments and first aid?
Yes. Ayurveda offers many practical and simple treatments for acute and first aid ailments with medicinal substances you may even be able to find in your own kitchen. Basic Ayurvedic knowledge help in preventing and treating common ailments with home remedies. If not cure then only you need to visit the doctor.
How soon will I see any results with Ayurveda?
That would depend on your particular state of health, your lifestyle, and how disciplined you are in following an Ayurvedic regime. Often times, following an Ayurvedic regime can have rather quick effects, but since Ayurveda is a holistic system and herbs act more gently and synergistically, patience and self-effort are important. Ayurvedic drugs are slow acting but very effective. As far as diet and lifestyle changes are concerned, we believe that slow change is lasting change, since trying to make radical changes all at once can often times become overwhelming.
Do I have to completely change my lifestyle to follow Ayurveda?
It really depends on what your health state, age, lifestyle, and goals are. Ayurveda defines imbalance as the end result of living out of harmony with your original constitution. Your constitution is the inherent balance of energies within your body-mind complex. It determines everything from your bone structure and temperament to your predisposition toward certain health challenges. Since we all have a different balance of energy, the path to optimal health will vary from person to person. Ayurveda is practical and can be flexible, but you are responsible for achieving the results you want through common sense and discipline.
Can you give me some guidelines about why I shouldn’t mix certain foods?
According to Ayurveda, the foundation for optimal health is good digestion and digestive system is the most important body system. Foods have different qualities and require different digestive energies. This is why food combining is of the utmost importance in Ayurveda. When a food that digests easily and quickly (such as fruit) stays in the stomach while other, heavier foods (such as grains and carbohydrates) finish their “cooking” process, a mixed message is sent to the internal organs, disrupting the digestive fire (or Agni) and creating toxins (or ama). Likewise, when you combine foods that have a sour quality, or fermented foods such as yogurt, with sweet foods such as milk or fruit, the sour quality can cause the milk to separate and ferment in the stomach, leading to toxic buildup in the GI tract and the deeper tissues over time.
Ayurveda recommends not only avoiding certain food combinations, but also making food choices according to your individual constitution. For this, a personalized consultation is highly recommended, as trying to figure all this out with food charts can be challenging and confusing.
Panchakarma
What is Panchakarma?
Ayurveda emphasizes preventative and healing therapies along with various methods of purification and rejuvenation. Ayurveda is more than a mere healing system; it is a science and art of appropriate living which helps to achieve longevity. It can also guide every individual in the prevention of disease and long-term maintenance of health. To achieve this balanced state of body, mind and consciousness, Ayurveda prescribes Panchakarma Therapy for the cleansing of body toxins. Panchkarma therapy by cleansing the toxins from the body helps you to re-achieve balance of the three doshas (the three energies that govern all biological functions) and longevity.
How can Panchakarma benefit me?
Panchakarma helps to cleanse toxins that accumulate from improperly digested food, as well as other environmental factors, such as seasonal changes, stress and unresolved emotions, and provides a deep state of relaxation that helps to release chronic stress and tension, all of which act as obstacles to the healing process of chronic diseases and to your overall well-being. Panchakarma also helps to counteract imbalances caused by seasonal changes, which can often weaken your immunity and leave you predisposed to ailments such as inflammations, colds, flu, respiratory infections, allergies, depression, etc., depending on your constitution and constitutional weaknesses. Ayurveda recommends to do Panchakarma at least once a year to promote overall health and longevity, and prevent disease.
How are the Panchakarma procedures different from other therapies?
Panchkarma procedures are bio cleansing (shodhana) procedures which help to expel accumulated toxic metabolites from the body. Whereas, other therapies are palliative in nature. Diseases managed by Panchakarma therapies may never recur..
What diseases can be treated with Panchakarma procedures?
Panchakarma is beneficial in the management of various systemic diseases e.g. Joint disorders (Rheumatoid arthritis), Musculoskeletal (Low backache), Dermatological (Psoriasis), Neurological (Paralysis, Migraine), Respiratory disorders (Bronchial asthma), Gynecological disorders (Leucorrhea), Psychiatric, Geriatric, etc. It is also widely prescribed in chronically incurable diseases and for improving the quality of life.
What are the precautions to be taken while undergoing Panchakarma procedures? Indications and contraindications, specific guidelines on dietary regimen and life style are to be strictly followed.
What are the benefits of Panchakarma therapies?
- Panchakarma is beneficial for the revention of disease, and for promoting good health
- Management of various systemic diseases
The regimen is also widely prescribed in chronic, incurable diseases for improving the quality of life.
Are Panchakarma procedures free from side effects?
The safety aspects of Panchakarma are very comprehensively mentioned in the classics in regard to indications, contraindications, precautions, etc. When employed skillfully and appropriately, these Panchakarma procedures are safe and free from side effects.
Are all the Panchakarma procedures needed for each patient?
Purification treatment may not be needed for all disease. It depends as per case of chronicity of disease and accumulated doshas. All Panchakarma procedures are indicated for healthy individuals for the Prevention of diseases and Promotion of good health. In diseased conditions, depending on the doshic predominance and disease state, one or more (out of five) Panchakarma procedures can be employed.
What is the difference between an Ayurvedic massage and a regular massage?
Generally speaking, Ayurvedic therapies utilize two main elements to promote healing and relaxation: herbal oils and heat to help the medicated oils further penetrate into the tissues. The most common type of Ayurvedic massage is known as Abhyanga. It consists of one or two therapists vigorously massaging warm oil onto your body from head to foot, using specialized strokes. This kind of massage takes you into a state of deep relaxation, both physical and mental, while nourishing all your tissues and promoting cleansing and healing. The use of specialized herbal oils helps bring your body back into balance.
Another form of Ayurvedic massage is Marma Massage, which consists of utilizing vigorous strokes while focusing on specific vital energy points (marmas) to release tension, stimulate your blood circulation and energize your whole body.
What are the Keraliya Panchakarma procedures?
Keraliya Panchkarma procedures are modified Snehana (oleation), Swedana (Fomentation) procedures practiced for the management of various diseased conditions. These are different from the classical Panchkarma procedures.
Ksharasutra
Q1. What is Ksharasutra?
Ans. Ksharasutra is nothing but a surgical linen thread of gauge 20, which assumes the size of Gauge 14 or 15 after 21 repeated coatings of Kshara, Haridra and Snuhi latex in a special manner.
Q2. How does Ksharasutra act?
Ans. It comprised of excision and primary closure of the tract with prevention of fibrous tissue formation in the deeper portion of Fistula by effectively induced drainage of the oozing tissue fluid.
Q3. Whether Ksharasutra is a surgical method?
Ans. No, it is a para-surgical approach rather than a surgical fistulectomy.
Q4. What is the use of Kshara in Ksharasutra?
Ans. Kshara produces debridement by way of its hygroscopic nature.
Q5. Whether Ayurveda advocates Ksharasutra as the only therapy for Ano-rectal diseases?
Ans. No, Ksharasutra therapy is one among four methods of treating the diseases viz. medicinal method, Kshara/Ksharasutra method, Agni method & surgical method.
Q6. Whether Ksharasutra is applied only in cases of Fistula-in-Ano?
Ans. No, Ksharasutra is not only for the treatment of Fistula-in-Ano but also for all those conditions which demand gradual excision of overgrown soft tissues like piles mass, polyps, warts, papillae & also non-healing chronic sinuses and debridement ulcers.
Q7. What are the additional advantages of the Ksharasutra therapy?
Ans.
- It is an ambulatory treatment for Fistula in Ano.
- It can be carried out at OPD level.
- Ksharasutra can be replaced with a new one once a week.
- The Therapy depends upon the length of the tract.
- There is cutting and healing of the tract simultaneously.
- It can also be carried out in cases associated with certain systemic diseases like Tuberculosis, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Ischemic Heart disease, Neuropathic condition, Anemia, Urinary tract infection etc.
Q8. Whether there are any chances of recurrence after Ksharasutra therapy in Fistula-in-Ano?
Ans. Yes, Fistula in Ano treated with Ksharasutra MAY reoccur IN FEW CASES (ABOUT 4% – 6% CASES)
Q9. What is Fistula?
Ans. A fistula is an abnormal tunnel connecting two body cavities (such as the rectum and the vagina) or a body cavity to the skin (like the rectum to the outside of the body). One way a fistula may form is from an abscess — a pocket of pus in the body. The abscess may be constantly filling with body fluids such as stool or urine, which prevents healing. Eventually the fistula breaks through to the skin, another body cavity, or an organ (taken from google)
A fistula is a tubular structure, which connects two epithelialized cavities with each other (or one cavity to the surface having unhealthy granulation tissue and chronic fibrous material) and is often associated with communicates with large abscess cavity which is filled with purulent discharge. It may occur in any part of the body.
Q10. What is Fistula-in-Ano?
Ans. Fistula-in-Ano is a chronic inflammatory tubular structure which is supposed to communicate with the Ano rectal canal at one end & the surface of perineal or peri-anal skin on the other.
Q11. What is the use of Snuhi Ksheera in Ksharasutra?
Ans. It has strong sticking property and can holds the particles of other ingredients firmly over the thread along with debridement of tissues because of the proteolytic enzymes present in it.
Q12. What is the use of Haridra powder in Ksharasutra?
Ans. The excessive hygroscopic phenomenon of Kshara will be prevented by Haridra. It has also got antiseptic and anti-histaminic actions and promotes healing.
Q13. In which order are the 3 materials of Ksharasutra to be coated?
Ans. The Linen thread is initially coated 11 times with Snuhi latex. Next, seven coatings with Snuhi latex and Kshara powder and finally, three coatings with Snuhi latex along with Haridra powder.
Q14. How much time is required for the complete cure/healing of Fistula in ano by Ksharasutra therapy?
Ans. In general the Healing of the tract occurs with the rate of 1 cm per week approximately.