LET’S TUNE OURSELVES THROUGH A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE – WOMEN’S HEALTH THROUGH AYURVEDA

Women’s Health encompasses many different issues during the different stages of her life. Every woman goes through a series of profound physiological, anatomical, and psychological changes during menarche, the reproductive period, pregnancy, menopause, and post-menopause.

As per Ayurveda good health is defined as an “approach that restores & balances Vata, Pitta & Kapha”. Vitiation of these doshas disturbs body rhythm results in disease and problems. By knowing one’s own Prakriti (true nature), one can plan and practice an appropriate daily and seasonal dietetic and behavioural regime. With this simple effort, the body will maintain the balance of the doshas (vata, pitta and kapha)

UNDERSTAND OUR CONDITION

Some common conditions faced by women are:

• Dysmenorrhoea (kashtartava) :

Severe painful cramps occur during menstruation. As per Ayurveda its Apana vayu which regulates the movement of menstruation which gets disturbed due to some causative factors resulting in kasthartava.

• Menorrhagia (Asrigdara): It is the menstrual period with abnormally heavy or prolonged bleeding leading to backache, pain in the lower abdomen & weakness. Asrigdar happens due to vitiation of Vata and Pitta doshas

• Metrorrhagia (Rakta pradara) Irregular uterine bleeding between expected menstrual cycles is a sign of underlying disorders due to hormonal problems or problems with the uterus or other health conditions.

• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS): Symptoms include mood swings, tenderness in the breast, fatigue, irritability depression.

• PCOS/PCOD: Hormonal imbalance in reproductive-age women where ovaries fail to release eggs regularly and develop follicles/ cysts. Symptoms include irregular or prolonged menstrual periods, an increase in male hormones, excessive hair growth, acne, weight gain, and thinning of hair. Ayurveda consider it as Kapha disorders.

• Anaemia (Pandu rog): Condition caused by insufficient Red Blood Cells leading to breathlessness, tiredness, weakness, frequent giddiness, lethargy, fatigue, and headaches.

• Female infertility (vandhyatva): Difficulty in conceiving or having miscarriages. Factors for infertility may include ovarian factors, tubal factors, agerelated factors, uterine problems, PCOS, endometriosis etc.

• Leucorrhoea (Shweta pradara): It is due to the imbalance of vaginal microflora, which results in the infection leads to thick whitish or yellowish discharge.

• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): infection of any part of the urinary system causing pelvic pain, the increased urge of urination, pain during urination, and blood in the urine.
• Menopause (Rajonivrutti): It is a natural biological transition, which begins\ between 45yrs -55yrs of age. It is the absence of menopause for a continuous 12 months, Symptoms include hot flushes, vaginal discharge and dryness, mood swings, headaches etc. During Rajonivrutti Vata dosha gets aggravated leading to an imbalance of Vata pitta & Kapha doshas gradually leading to dhatu kshaya. 

• Emotional imbalance & depression: Low emotional states can occur due to a significant shift in the levels of these three doshas. Additionally, lack of awareness of one’s inner self can also lead to an emotional imbalance. According to Ayurveda, depression is a result of kapha imbalance. Associated with changes in the brain’s electrochemistry can encourage a vata shift, which may also trigger a loss of enzymatic activity in the metabolism (also known as a shift in pitta)

PRACTISE AHARA-VIHARA WITH AN INSIGHT TO DOSHA

Hormones are considered as “dhatu agni”. They are carried by the blood (pitta) Therefore; they are considered as a component of Pitta. Dietary and behavioural activities bring many changes in the blood. For example, if a pitta-type woman eats plenty of hot, spicy, and acidic foods while indulging in pittaaggravating activities such as playing in the sun or taking a hot tub bath, getting angry, etc, she will aggravate the pitta in the blood. This can cause excessive bleeding during menstruation or lead to menorrhagia.

As another example, after the age of forty, the body begins to move towards the vata stage of life and away from the pitta stage of life. During this period, if a vata-type woman does not sleep well, works until late at night, eats plenty of cold foods and salads and eliminates sweets, salt, and fats from her diet, she will most certainly aggravate vata in both the blood and the body. This will lead to a more difficult menopausal syndrome.

In the same way, when a kapha-type woman excessively indulges in sweet, rich food, eats plenty of dairy products and nuts, and lives a sedentary lifestyle during perimenopause, she will be accumulating an excess of mucous in her blood and body which can lead to tumours or depression.

Vata Dosha

Imbalance in Vata can cause anxiety, disturbed sleep, and constipation with occasional pain in the lower back or around hip. To balance Vata, soft warm food with healthy fats is recommended. Spicy, bitter, cold, dry food and caffeine need to be avoided. Rice, wheat, and well-cooked vegetables should be taken while sweet fruits banana, grapes melons berries etc. are good. Hot water bags need to be used for any cramping.

Pitta Dosha

Pitta imbalances cause heavy bleeding and a feeling of heat around the cycle. Mood swings, anger, irritability, and strong cravings can be felt. Other problems include swelling in the body, headache, tenderness in breasts, acne etc. To overcome these issues – pitta pacifying diet and lifestyle is recommended. Mindful practices like meditation are also good. Cold food, and hot spicy sour food items are forbidden. Milk, butter, and ghee in moderate quantity is considered good. Avoid sour curd/ cream/ cheese.

Kapha Dosha

Imbalance of kapha causes an extreme feeling of heaviness. Menstrual blood in such cases may be heavier due to excessive mucous formation. Such patients are prone to yeast infections or excessive itching. Sometimes they experience depression or emotional eating. In Ayurveda a kapha pacifying diet is recommended for the entire month – that mainly focuses on warm light food intake. Digestive spices can be added in food but excess salt is to be avoided. To reduce kapha increasing qualities in hot milk with a pinch of ginger/ turmeric gives good results. Reduce nuts, avoid excess of rice/ wheat. On the other hand, barley/millet should be eaten instead.

GENERAL PRACTISES TO BOOST WOMEN’S HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE

• Rise early morning, clean your senses – eyes, ears, teeth & tongue; Evacuate bowel & bladder (can drink Luke warm water to clear toxins from your gut), eat light breakfast, and follow your work or study.

• Lunch should be proper (in the right quantity) suiting your body’s needs and body type (Prakriti) – as the digestive fire is high during the day.

• Dinner should be light followed by a brief walk. The principle of “Early to bed” is strongly recommended – avoid using electronic gadgets/ mobile phones after dinner.
• Oil massage (Abyanga) – Regular body oil massage before hot bath balances Vata dosha – promotes skin wellbeing – moisturizes skin, prevents dryness, improves complexion, etc. – Lubricates joints, relaxes muscles, and eliminates body pains and joint pain.

• Maintaining regular Vata dosha (Vata anulomana) movements – Consuming warm water preserves normal vata movements and increases digestion and maintains appetite. Drinking water soaked overnight with raisins in, the early morning on an empty stomach allows vata movement in a normal direction.

• Regular exercising (Vyayama) – Regulates body weight, decreases fat in the body, helps to relieve bone and muscle health, relieves stress, depression, fear, and anxiety.

• Yoga provides many excellent methods for balancing the doshas as well as managing specific conditions in women’s health. In fact, meditation, pranayama, chanting, and asana are vital aspects of every “good woman” regime

• Meditation – This plays a significant role in all phases of women’s lives. It helps to alleviate stress, depression, etc and ensures a balance between physical and emotional dosha – maintains natural digestive strength.

CONCLUSION

Women are the centre of the creation of Mother Nature. Health of women considerably affects the health of the future generation and wellness of the family. As hormone levels vary significantly from age to age, she needs special care in her different stages of life. Ayurveda has provided a respectful and supportive approach for women in every stage of life for restoring and maintaining balance of vata, pitta, and kapha. It is said that when we restore balance, we are happy in our minds, healthy in our bodies and satisfied in our lives!