What is Ayurveda, how does it work with Yoga
How did I come to practice Ayurveda with Yoga?
I started following an Ayurvedic diet and herbal supplements following my visit to RIMYI in Pune where I became ill with arthritic fever. My flat mate had symptoms of slapped cheek syndrome. The NHS website for Reactive Arthritis states
You may also develop reactive arthritis if you, or someone close to you, has recently had glandular fever or slapped cheek syndrome.
Slapped Cheek Syndrome is common in children, it's rarer in adults but can be more serious so always check if it's slapped cheek syndrome. The first sign of slapped cheek syndrome is usually feeling unwell for a few days. After 1 to 3 days, a bright red rash appears on both cheeks. Adults don't always get the rash, symptoms may include: a high temperature of 38c or more a runny nose and sore throat headache and flushes/red cheeks
After 1 to 3 days with a cheek rash, a light-pink body rash may appear. The skin is raised and can be itchy, we both developed this rash after 4-5 days, the arthritic fever had started to ease.
I went to my doctor on my return to England who told me that the reaction wasn't uncommon and could take 6-8 months to relieve symptoms. The most common symptom of reactive arthritis is pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints and tendons, most commonly the knees, feet, toes, hips and ankles. He prescribed steroids. Looking around for other help I considered Ayurveda as Yoga is very closely connected and as yet I was only just getting to see this connection.
Ayurveda is one of the four Upavedas or secondary Vedic teachings, along with Gandharva Veda (music), Sthapatya Veda (directional science), and Dhanur Veda (martial arts). These Upavedas apply Vedic knowledge along specific lines to supplement the Vedic quest for wholeness and liberation. Ayurveda is probably the most important of these because it addresses all aspects of healing and well-being for body and mind.
Yoga as particularly in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjaliis' is one of the six systems of Vedic philosophy (shad darshanas). These are the systems of Indian philosophy that accept the authority of the Vedas and try to systematize the meaning of the Vedic teachings. The other Vedic systems include Nyaya (Logic), Vaisheshika (Categorization), Samkhya (Enumeration of Cosmic Principles), Purva Mimamsa (Ritual), and Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta or Metaphysics). Yoga can be perceived in every part of all the six systems and represents their practical side, using yoga practice methods for developing the meditative mind that is the basis of all Vedic knowledge and begins in the Yoga Sutras.
Atha yoga anushasanam With Prayers for divine blessings, now begins an exposition of the sacred art of yoga. Yoga Sutra 1.1
yogah cittavritti nirodah
Yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness.
Yoga Sutra 1.2
In this classical Vedic scheme, Ayurveda is the Vedic system developed specifically for healing purposes. There is no other Vedic system of healing apart from Ayurveda. Yoga is the Vedic system of spiritual practice or sadhana. All Vedic sadhana or spiritual practice involves some form of Yoga practice.
This means that Yoga is not originally a medical system. Yoga aim is to relieve the suffering of the mind, which it defines according to the kleshas or spiritual afflictions starting with ignorance (avidyà) of our true nature as pure consciousness, which leads us to a false identification of ourselves with our impermanent bodies and minds.
Ayurveda is based on the principles of three doshas. Doshas are the energies that make up every individual, which perform different physiological functions in the body:
The 3 Dosha types:
1. Vata Dosha -- Energy that controls bodily functions associated with motion, including blood circulation, breathing, blinking, and your heartbeat.
2. Pitta Dosha -- Energy that controls the body's metabolic systems, including digestion, absorption, nutrition, and your body's temperature.
3. Kapha Dosha -- Energy that controls growth in the body. It supplies water to all body parts, moisturises the skin, and maintains the immune system.
Each person has all three Doshas, but usually one or two dominate. Various Dosha proportions determine one's physiological and personality traits, as well as general likes and dislikes. For example Vata types will prefer hot weather to cold and Kapha types are more likely to crave spicy foods than other types.
The Doshas relate to the Gunas and Ayurveda, supports the concept that the body is an entity inseparable from its social, cultural and spiritual environments. It supports the notion that the cosmic laws that govern the universe also apply to our bodies, and that sickness is caused by the imbalance of the gunas ( Sattva, Raja, Tamas. ) which create disharmony to the cosmic order. This belief stems from the idea that there are five basic elements that make up all matter in both the cosmos and our bodies: ether, air, fire, water and earth. These five elements make up the three bodily humours: vata, pitta and kapha.
In Iyengar Yoga senior teachers are well grounded in the connection of the body with the Vayus (Vital Energies) and the Iyengar family methodically sequence beginners learning from this understanding.
Vayus and corresponding chakras and elements summarised
Apana Vayu: Seat is in the Pelvis, Muladhara Chakra, Earth
Samana Vayu: Seated in the Solar Plexus, Manipura Chakra, Fire
Prana Vayu: Seated in the heart/chest, Anahata Chakra, Air
Udana Vayu: Seated in the Throat and Head, Vishuddha Chakra, Ajna Chakra, Ether
Vyana Vayu: Emanates from the navel (kanda) but pervades entire body, Svadisthana Chakra, Water
We take time to develop the standing poses and create strong work in the chest and shoulders and arms, prana vayu is seated there.The two most important Vayus are Prana Vayu and Apana Vayu. Prana Vayu is situated in the head, centered in the third-eye, and its energy pervades the chest region. The flow of Prana Vayu is inwards and upward. It nourishes the brain and the eyes and governs reception of all things: food, air, senses, and thoughts. This Vayu is the fundamental energy in the body and directs and feeds into the four other Vayus.
Apana Vayu is situated in the pelvic floor and its energy pervades the lower abdomen. The flow of Apana-Vayu is downwards and out and its energy nourishes the organs of digestion, reproduction and elimination. Apana-Vayu governs the elimination of all substances from the body.
Yoga practice can help us develop our awareness of these 'Vital Energies"
We are taught to extend the heels and outer feet into the floor (apana vayu), to lift the legs and energy into the body and our centre (samana vayu), lift the chest up (udana vayu ), soften the eyes to look outward (vyana vayu) and draw the seeing inwards, ( prana vayu ).
It was with a fledgling understanding that I approached Sacha Kriese https://www.ayuseva.com to have my consultation which involved having my pulse read. Sacha informed me that my Vata was aggravated which had caused blockages in my system. He said that my predominant dosha was Vata (usually we are made up of all the doshas with one taking precedent through physical and mental representation) if I continued as I had been then I would develop Osteoarthritis. He did not say that the arthritis had developed because of the illness I had in Pune, rather that it was coincidental.
The ancient Ayurvedic texts describe two basic types of arthritis that correspond with osteoarthritis (Sandhigat Vata) and rheumatoid arthritis (Ama Vat). It is important to remember when considering any disease from an Ayurvedic perspective that it is not just the disease that is treated, it is the person. To find the root cause of osteoarthritis, we first must look at the processes of digestion, or Agni. When Agni (the ‘digestive fire’ ) is not working properly, wastes or toxins known as Ama are produced instead of useful nutrients for the tissues. These toxins accumulate in the gut and at the same time, Vata (Air/Ether) accumulates in the colon. Aggravated Vata along with Ama (toxins) move from the gut into the channels of circulation, find places in the body that are weak or vulnerable (in this case the joints) and settle in. The qualities of Vata and this particular type of Ama have a catabolic/drying effect that causes deterioration of the soft tissues in the joints and eventually the bones. At the same time, Ama can block the channels supplying nutrients to the joints causing further malnutrition. The deterioration and subsequent irritation in the joint causes inflammation, stiffness, swelling and pain.
So in October 2016 I started to eat very differently cutting out wheat, sugar, white potatoes, tomatoes, and dry food. I stopped eating dried fruit and nuts and soaked them before eating. I cut out hard cheese I stopped consuming any cows milk (which I already limited) I looked at food combining so kept fruit intake to an hour before or after eating a meal. As a busy single mum and yoga teacher I snacked on smoothies (vegetables and fruit and nuts) and rice cakes with cheese and tomatoes and nuts and dried fruit! Christmas felt sparse that year as I couldn't eat the chocolate! I was already vegetarian but used tomatoes regularly to cook surprisingly there are many alternatives including beetroot and sweet potatoes and Tamarind paste. I also took herb supplements to which to this day I still take, although recently they have changed as I now have excess pitta ( seasonal and age related...another blog? ) As with all diagnosis and treatment this was specific to me, if you have any illness or issue I recommend you consult an Ayurvedic doctor Rebecca & Sascha Kriese are in Brighton and in London I recommend Harshini Wikramanayake http://www.saneepa.com who is also a colleague.
Through my yoga practice I worked on poses that increased Kapha stability and immunity. I noticed my propensity towards inversions and dynamic action, I worked on increasing stability through action in movement. Actually being slowed down by the arthritis helped me move more deeply into my practice and teaching, behind every cloud lies the silver lining. Perhaps before I was so much more physical in my practice despite having read intellectually of the Gunas and Yoga philosophy; but with the condition there was no choice but to look more deeply into the mind body connection. As BKS Iyengar said
"Where does the body end and the mind begin? Where does the mind end and the spirit begin? They cannot be divided as they are interrelated and but different aspects of the same all pervading Divine consciousness.” Light on Yoga
"When you cannot hold the body still, you cannot hold the brain still. If you do not know the silence of the body, you cannot understand the silence of the mind. Action and silence have to go together. " Light on Life
3.5 years later I am arthritis free.
