Yogic Remedies for Digestive Problems(3)

This issue we are going to talk about some common digestive problems and ways to handle these through yoga. Hyperacidity and hypoacidity are more commonly known as indigestion. Indigestion occurs when food starts fermenting in the stomach. It is actually a sign of failing digestive power.
Hypoacidity occurs when insufficient salivary enzymes and gastric acid cause stunted digestion. This can happen when a person eats in a rush without chewing properly, eats with anxiety, has too much water during a meal, eats when they are not hungry, or does not set a fixed time for proper meals It can also occur when there has long-term liver and intestinal abuse.
Hyperacidity is the other extreme. Even when the stomach is empty the gastric acid still accumulates in the stomach because the taste buds and salivary glands are too active. This situation can lead to the development of gastritis and peptic ulcers. Over eating, poor diet, smoking and drinking wine can cause hyperacidity, gastritis and peptic ulcers.
People suffering with this kind of indigestion should avoid the factors causing the indigestion. It’s good to start the treatment with proper fasting or a fruit diet followed by easily digested light food (sattvic) with no oil or spices. Further treatments can include enemas, hipbaths or wet abdominal packs. Kunjala kriya are also recommended with breathing exercises, meditation and yoga nidra.
Indigestion usually occurs when the navel is displaced towards the lower side. Patients should practice the4 sequence of uttanasana, dhunruasana, chakraasana, and matsyasana to readjust their navel to the right position. After a few days practice, patients can do surya namaskar, bujangasana, salvasana, mastyendrasana and pada hastana under supervision. Patients should change their daily routine and try to remain patient and happy. They should also avoid drinking cold water and should not drink water immediately after meals.
Flatulence or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen usually occurs when someone has eaten too fast. Eating without awareness of with anxiety, as well as too much drinking water pulling high from the throat, can be the cause of flatulence and can leave a person feeling heavy and noisy in the stomach. Gas sometimes presses up in the esophagus and comes out as burp from the mouth. This is fairly common but when it is excessive it becomes a problem. The feeling of fullness can press upon the diaphragm and can sometimes cause an abnormal heartbeat and breathing problems.
Patients with flatulence should practice sputa pawanmutasana (right leg first because the small intestines are there), uttanpadasana, biparitkarani, ardha kurmasana, ardha matsyendrasana and jatra parivritanasana. They should also avoid cold drinks and try to drink a glass of lukewarm water before bed.
A modern lifestyle can regularly result in constipation. This is a common chronic disease of the lower digestive system where the elimination of solid waste from the body becomes slow and inefficient. The causes of constipation can include a lack of physical exercise, increased mental stress and tension, a hectic lifestyle, irregular eating habits and the consumption of oily, spicy and heavy food. Tea, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol and other intoxicants can provoke a bout of constipation. In addition, grief, anger, anxiety and irritation can also be contributing factors.
Constipation can leave a person feeling dizzy and heavy in the head and it can leave a bad smell in the mouth and a coating on the tongue. Food digestion becomes delayed due to constipation. Food putrefies in the intestine and re4sults in gas, digestion, colitis, abdomen pain, backache and loss of appetite. Suggested yoga postures include jasthiasana, tadasana, kotichakrasana, pawanmuktasana, bakasana and basti. A hipbath with cold water can also alleviate the symptoms. In addition lghusankhabakrasana, practice of agni sara and breathing through the right nostril can be beneficial. Try not to take laxatives because they are habit forming and kill the natural mechanism and motion. They can cause piles, diabetes and premature ejaculation so it is better to eat fibrous food, plenty of green vegetables, salads and adequate fruit and drinks.
There are many digestive diseases but these are the most common ones. For advanced disorders like peptic ulcers and colitis, please seek professional medical advice from the doctor. I recommend a daily yoga practice as a preventative measure through which we can understand our bodies more and identify the specific postures the body needs to address common ailments.
The intimate relationship between the function of the body and mind has now become widely accepted in all forms of healing. It is very commonly thought that yoga means just doing asana of postures.
Actually the idea of yoga is not that narrow, especially when one deals with diseases. From the moment you wake up in the morning, all your activities including eating, relaxing, drinking, breathing, sitting, talking and seeing should be conducted in a yogic manner. The apprentice period is always tough but once you are on the right track, your yoga life run smoothly.

Yogic Management for Digestive Disorders(2)

In the previous issue of Namaskar I talked the human digestive system, the process of chewing, swallowing, assimilation, absorption and peristalsis. This process is governed by strong pranic energy that creates the fire that governs the action of the entire digestive process. This energy is governed by the third, and very important, Manipura Chakra. Manipura Chakra is located at the solar plexus area, which is also where the main part of the digestive system lies. There are organs, glands and nerves being governed by this Chakra. It is just like our solar system, the Manipura is like the SUN, it is the source of energy , it governs the life of the planet. Mani means ' jewel", Pura means " city", Manipura means" the jewel of city". The development of Manipura Chakra is very important. It is our source of prana, which is associated with heat, vitality, dynamism, generation and preservation. It regulates and gives fuel to all the processes of life. The physical location of the Manipura Chakra is at the level of the navel. Its bija mantra is R A M. It has ten petals in yellow color. It carries the fire element. At this Chakra carries the element fire, just like the power of a lion, it has to be handled carefully and skilfully. It has the capacity of cleansing and clarification and also has the power to refine and transform matters from one state to another. The muscles and the structural muscles of this chakra are the intercostals, traps, lats, diaphragm and erectors. The organs that are governed by it are the stomach, duodenum, liver and gall bladder. The endocrine glands that relate to this area are the adrenal and pancreas. the bones that form this area are the ribcage and the thoracic spine. The malfunction of this solar plexus area, which is also an imbalance of Manipura Chakra, may cause physical issues such as indigestion, diabetes, peptic ulcer, losing appetite and all kinds of abdominal disorders. On the psyche level, Manipura Chakra governs our individuality and independence, and these change according to our age and mental growth. By maintaining Manipura chakra we may begin to know ourselves, our potential and learn how to handle our ego too. Blockage in this area may cause an emotional blockage too. for example, if the energy is blocked around the diaphragm, the erectors, and the long muscles along the spine, it may create some frustrated energy in the body. The continuous and persistent tension in these muscles may change the nature of person and the condition of their health. It is common that we unconsciously learn to tense up these muscles in order to hold back our anger and aggression. As a result we may feel it is difficult to take a deep breath, the diaphragm then becomes tight and energy is blocked. The rigidity of our psychological attitude can also be reflected in our body, this may in turn also spread to the other charkas and tissues of the body. this rigidity may cause many other problems with breathing, sleeping, the liver and other chronic abdominal disorders. At the same time it can develop tension in the erector muscles, which results in stiffness of the spine and compression of the vertebrae that may crate anger, which very harmful to oneself and the people that surround us. this explosive, or suppressed anger is physically and emotionally toxic. When Manipura Chakra opens, we feel empowered and able to manifest our desires. If we can learn how to harness and redirect the fire from the Manipura Chakra we can harness a great source of energy. In the next issue, discussion will be on some common abdominal diseases and the relative yogic managements.

Yogic Management for Digestive Disorders(1)

When we talk about the digestive system, it is a process. The process takes place when we put things into the mouth until they become waste and are released from the body. It is long path. Digestive disorders can arise from different causes. To deal with the problems, we need a full understanding of the system, find out the causes and them tackle them accordingly.

The digestive process starts when we put something into our mouth. We chew it, it will be mixed with our saliva, then we swallow, when swallowing, the food goes down by a pranic force. The place where this process takes is called the upper digestive tract area. Disorders of this area will result in Hyper of Hypoacidity, Gastric, Belching, Wind Indigestion problem, etc.

The whole small intestinal area is the middle tract. The function of this area is to absorb and assimilate the digested matter into the blood stream. This process is controlled by a pranic force called samana, which circulates between the navel and the heart. This force also controls the temperature and metabolic rate of the body. In this middle tract area, other than small intestine, major organs like the liver and the pancreas are located. Therefore disorder in this area causes liver disease, imbalance of insulin secretion, which results in diabetes, and gastro-enteritis.

At the end of the small intestine there is ileocecal value, from here down to the large intestine can be considered as the lower tract area. That means from the navel region to the perineum. This area is governed by the apana force. After the extraction of all nutrients in the passage of small intestine, the process of dealing with waste matter including water happens in this area. Acute disease like Constipation, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Appendicitis, Colitis, etc is the results of malfunctioning of lower digestive tract.

The whole process needs energy to move things along, and heart is needed to create such energy. There must be a great force to govern and manage such a complicated process. There is a close relationship between this energy and all the digestive disorders.

How yoga helps arthritis

The meaning of Arthritis: Arthra = joint, itis = inflammation. Arthritis is the inflammation of joints, which creates joint pain. Though there are many types of joint inflammation, the most common are Osteo arthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteo arthritis may be caused by overuse of the joints, aging of the joints, sustained injury and sustained gout. It usually affects the weight-bearing joints such as knees, hips, lumber and cervical spine. Meanwhile, Rheumatoid arthritis can be a genetic problem or can occur in people who carry excessive uric acid in their blood. These acid deposits in joints are more alkaline in nature, and cause swelling and pain. Improper diet, stress and an undisciplined lifestyle are also possible causes of excessive uric acid in the body.

Sometimes bad climate worsens arthritic conditions. Sustained arthritis problems lead to deformity and stiffness of the joints, and can gradually result in immobility. In acute cases where the joints become deformed, it is difficult to reverse. However the arrest of mobilisation and pain can be overcome with yoga.

The physical yoga exercises provide a systematic and gradual training to improve the range of movements. If the patient practises with a deep internal awareness, it doesn't just help to mobilise the stiff joints but can also prevent further deterioration. Although the damaged cartilage may not fully regenerate, further wearing out can be arrested.

In cases of chronically damaged joints with pain and deformities, the surrounding muscles may be very weak due to long periods of inactivity. Practising yoga with full internal awareness and regularity can help to strengthen these surrounding muscles and thus improve the joints' mobility. Breathing exercises that are a fundamental part of yoga increase the supply of fresh oxygen and purify the blood, helping to improve blood circulation to the cartilage. What's more, deep relaxation techniques can alleviate muscle fatigue.
According to yoga philosophy, there are two types of pain - stress-born and non-stress born. In both cases, yoga has proven to be an effective form of prevention and remedy.
We have five bodies - in yogic language they are called pancha kosa. Annamaya Kosa - physical body, Pranamaya Kosa - vital energy body, Manomaya kosa - mind body or astral body, Vijnanamaya Kosa - knowledge body, and Anandamaya Kosa - bliss body. The imbalance of these five bodies causes different ailments in the human body, resulting in psychosomatic diseases - one of which is arthritis. Through dynamic movement exercises, postures (asana), conscious relaxation (dharana), meditation (dhyana ), breathing exercises (pranayama), proper diet (yogic aahar) etc., yoga restores balance of the five bodies, thus improving the condition of arthritis, releasing its associated pain, and rebuilding self-confidence.

Just 60 minutes a day with yoga can keep you away from medicine and foster a healthy, happy, disease-free life.