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.