Recently in Specific Conditions Category

by Alakananda Devi (Alakananda Ma), M.B., B.S. (Lond.)

Candida, Liquid-based Pap (Photo credit: euthman)

In this article, we will consider candidiasis as a condition of kapha ama, reviewing the epidemiology, diagnosis and Ayurvedic management of this common condition.

Candida is a unicellular yeast whose cells reproduce by budding. A normal flora which can under certain circumstances become an invasive pathogen, it can flourish in most environments. Candida species frequently colonize the oropharynx, skin, mucous membranes, pranavahasrotas (lower respiratory tree), annavahasrotas (gastrointestinal tract) and mutravahasrotas (genitourinary tract). Candida can be found on foods, countertops, air-conditioning vents, and floors (6).

A discussion of candidiasis leads us to larger look at considerations of the ways in which epidemiology has changed from classical times until now. Many factors pertinent to the development of Candida overgrowths are relevant to modern industrial society and were not in effect in ancient times. These factors include a diet high in refined sugar and refined flour products, antibiotic therapy, environmental stresses that weaken immunity including EMFs (1), ELF radiation (2), chemical toxins and increased background radiation; sedentary lifestyles (3), epidemic obesity (4), development of immunodeficiency diseases such as HIV, and medical use of immunosuppressant therapies including inhaled corticosteroids. All these factors play a part in the frequency with which candidal conditions are seen in a typical Ayurvedic practice setting. Patients with endocrine disorders including diabetes, hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency are at increased risk for Candida overgrowth (6).

by Alakananda Devi (Alakananda Ma), M.B., B.S. (Lond.)

Tulsi's your special servant; his heart's your abode
Yet, God, he seems to have a surfeit of suffering.
This limb pain's like a wild creeper, so seize
It's spreading roots in monkey play and yank them out!
Whether from my own sins, or just the triple-torment of this world,
Or someone else's curse, this arm pain's passed expression or endurance.
I've tried every tonic, spells, talismans,
Propitiated a whole herd of gods--all in vain.
Tulsidas, Hanuman Bahuk(1)

As vividly portrayed by Tusidas, one of North India's greatest poets and a fibromyalgia sufferer in his later life, the causation of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is unknown and there is likewise no known cure. FMS is widely understood as a yapya condition--one that cannot be cured and yet is not fatal. FMS sufferers may make up a disproportionate amount of the Ayurvedic practitioner's caseload because the lack of effective biomedical treatment, combined with the severity of the suffering involved, often drives patients with FMS to seek out alterative care.

by Alakananda Devi (Alakananda Ma), M.B., B.S. (Lond.)

Prostate cancer, Ayurvedically, is a tumor of the prostate gland involving provocation of all three doshas. Because the prostate gland forms part of the male reproductive system, shukra dhatu, prostate cancer reflects the physical, emotional, and spiritual relationship which the affected man has had with his reproductive capacity. And because the shukra dhatu is the seventh and last dhatu, receiving the essence of food refined through the previous six dhatus, any disorder at this level also reflects the overall relationship with the entire body. Negative lifestyle habits and diet, which seem at the time to have caused no harm, may eventually manifest in the form of tridoshic disturbance of the prostate gland.

by Alakananda Devi (Alakananda Ma), M.B., B.S. (Lond.)

Introduction
From rail-thin models making fashion shows look like the liberation of a concentration camp to films like Supersize Me, we are a culture obsessed with food and fat. Recently the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in the UK underwent a major revamping, installing new beds, trolleys, hoists and mortuary equipment that could handle patients weighing up to 450 lb, a response to the growing obesity epidemic. Meanwhile, children in American public schools are offered menus featuring corn syrup-sweetened chocolate milk, French fries and almost no vegetables. For some doshic types, severe eating disorders can result from poor habits instilled in childhood. Even the more resilient pitta types still have recourse to food addictions in response to forms of severe trauma that are prevalent in our society. Ayurveda's unique understanding of the different challenges encountered by different prakruti types enables us to help clients make appropriate and necessary changes more effectively than other modalities that use a 'one size fits all' approach.

by Alakananda Devi (Alakananda Ma), M.B., B.S. (Lond.)

Preface
My first experience of the dramatic potential of Pancha Karma in Chronic Fatigue (Bala kshaya) came in 1997, when a patient who was suffering from fatigue and vitiated ojas decided to try a traditional ayurvedic preconception protocol. After seven days of purvakarma and pancha karma she returned glowing and radiant. "As I was showering off after my final sweat," she announced, "My energy returned through the crown of my head." Weeks later she was happily pregnant and is now the mother of an exceptionally gifted six-year-old. In the years that followed, we have seen many patients recover from Chronic Fatigue with the help of judiciously administered Pancha Karma. The following is a fairly typical case history.