How Ayurveda helps in fighting constipation

When you are unable to pass stools, find it difficult to pass stools or have an infrequent bowel movement the condition is called constipation. The latter is caused by bad diet, voluntary delay of the bowel movements, lack of exercise, medications, stress, tension, dehydration, disruption in routine due to travel and other factors. Some diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome also bring about constipation. Did you know that it is fairly common nowadays? Doctors prescribe laxatives but these work only for a short time. You will find that you need to take more and more dosage of the laxative to pass stools. In some time, without the laxative motions will not happen. Clearly, a better and safer solution is required. Fortunately, the ancient Indian system of medicine popularly known as Ayurveda can help. We look at ways at how constipation can be prevented, treated and cured using Ayurvedic techniques.

Consume warm lemon water- Lemon juice is excellent for curing constipation as it has a stimulating effect on the digestive system. When it is combined with water it flushes out toxins from the body. When a small quantity of honey is added to the mixture it acts as a mild laxative. A useful tip is to replace honey with salt as it increases the contraction of the bowel muscles as well as is a good source of magnesium.

Consume lots of fluids especially water – Water has a hydrating effect on the body. Drink plain water, unsweetened beverages as well as foods containing water to meet your body’s daily requirement of water. The latter aids the food to move along the digestive system. Stools are prone to be hard as well difficult to pass in the absence of enough water. Avoid artificially sweetened beverages as they have a negative effect on constipation.

Consume Psyllium husk – This is a natural reservoir of insoluble as well as soluble fibre. It plays the role of a potent bulking agent as well as a demulcent in the colon encouraging regular and healthy stools. You can soak the husks in warm milk or warm water as per your preference. Adequate hydration should accompany the administering of this Ayurvedic treatment. Consult a qualified and experienced Ayurvedic expert before embarking on this treatment as there exist other considerations which should be taken into account.

Castor oil- This is a home remedy for constipation playing the role of a natural laxative. One of the constituents of this oil helps in stimulating the small as well as the large intestine. Take 1-2 teaspoons of oil while on an empty stomach. You can expect motions within roughly 8 hours.

Mint or ginger tea- Ginger is a herb with warming properties. When consumed in the form of tea it encourages the body to general more internal heat. As a result, the digestion process is activated alleviating constipation. Peppermint contains menthol. The latter has antispasmodic properties that aid in relaxing the muscles of the digestive tract as well as enable easier passing of the stools. For your knowledge Dandelion tea is a potent and natural laxative.

Have a fibre rich diet- A poor diet is a major contributor to constipation. Fibre results in a feeling of satiety as well as add bulk to the stool making it relatively easier to pass. An individual should ideally consume 20-40 grams of fibre daily. If the constipation is chronic in nature you will need a bit extra fibre in your diet.

Warm bath

Add baking soda to warm water. Both these ingredients aid in relaxing the muscular valves responsible for keeping stools inside the rectum making it easier to pass stools.

Herbal remedies –Prepare herbal tea employing yellow dock root, liquorice, dandelion root as well as ginger. Have this tea thrice daily. A tip is to consume 3 garlic tablets at night for 7 days. This will help rebalance intestinal flora.

dandelion root

Exercise- People have a tendency to lie down or sleep after meals. Instead, go out for a short walk after consuming food. There are yogic postures which are effective in reversing constipation.  Consult a reputed and experienced yoga teacher for knowing how to do the asanas, when to do them and for how much duration. Exercise, in general, has a favourable effect in treating constipation. If your health, situation or age doesn’t permit vigorous exercise you can try Yoga as the latter doesn’t tax the body as much.

As per the science of Ayurveda constipation takes place when the vata’s dry and cold qualities disturb the colon preventing it from functioning properly. The solution is to include hydration, warmth as well as oil to the system which will neutralize the excess vata.

Consume Ayurvedic herbs which target the Vata

Triphala is popular as well as age-old Ayurvedic concoction made up of three herbs. It balances all the three doshas and restores the power of the colon. It is designed to facilitate healthy elimination of wastes from the body. Consume a couple of Triphala tablets along with a glass of warm water about half an hour before sleeping in the night. Alternatively, put a teaspoon of Triphala powder in a cup of boiled water. Then wait for 10 minutes and drink the mixture.

If you have used this Ayurvedic herb in the past and if the results fell short of expectations try consuming a bigger dose to find out if it makes a difference. Every unique constitution, imbalance, as well as other factors, necessitates a different dose of herbs. Different folk with similar symptoms may need different doses to achieve the same results.

There are Ayurvedic massages that use Ayurvedic herbs and oils to promote blood circulation, destress the body, relax the mind, eliminate the stress that is proven to prevent, treat and cure constipation.

‘Abhyangam’ is the Sanskrit word for oil application. It is a form of Ayurvedic treatment in which your body is massaged using dosha-specific warm herb-infused oils. The oil is mixed with herbs depending upon the condition and then applied on the body. It is a traditional full body massage that combines use of herbs, oils, touch and friction. Abhyangam improves physical consistency, sleep patterns, liquefy toxins, and induces relaxation while eliminating impurities.

Spas may help you to relax and destress while warming up the body. This encourages regular bowel movements as well as the correction of externally induced constipation.

Consult your doctor before consuming Ayurvedic herbs particularly if you are on medication, pregnant or breastfeeding or suffering from a chronic ailment.

Why taking time out for Body Massage is critical during Stressful times

Stress is relative 

Fight against Stress

All of us go through ups and downs in our lives. When looked closely, most of us may have perception that stress in our lives is more than most of other people. But when looked over a period of time or retrospectively, we may agree and settle on a more optimistic conclusion:)

When we are going through stressful times, it is most important to sit back, analyse, deep breathe and take steps that could reduce stress at that point in time. Stress hormones are produced by body that may be perceived as potentially dangerous. While short term stress is good as it improves our reaction and response to immediate situations. E.g. could be more attentive and high performance during exam or during a tennis match or during an office meeting. But long term high stress hormones are associated with cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid hormone that could disturb balance between Fat and carbohydrate mechanism. This over a period of time is associated with lifestyle disorders like Diabetes, Hypertension etc.

Time And Stress Are Relative So Is Advice

 

Stress bearing capacity can be enhanced

While the number of years have advanced, age at which we incur stress has got preponed. Amount of stress in 1960-70s for a 50 year aged guy is experienced by a guy aged 20-30s in current times. As stress bearing capacity is not fully developed in 20-30s that results in adverse reaction to stress like alcoholism, drug addiction, irritable mood, aggressive behaviour like road rage etc. It is important to understand that most of us have certain extent of stress bearing capability. As a result most of us end up taking as much stress which is inversely proportional to our stress bearing capacity. Somebody’s day may be spoiled because she couldnt earn enough for her dinner or somebody’s may be having a foul day because she didn’t have matching foot wear with her trousseau. Or worse somebody’s afternoon may be spoiled because she didn’t get mustard sauce along with her lunch burger. Context may be different in above three scenarios but amount of stress incurred may still be the same depending on individuals stress bearing capacity. Each of these subject may undergo similar degree of hypertension or other stress symptoms. Long term exposure to these stressful situation may result in equal amount of damage to our body.

Increase Stress Tolerance
Tolerate more stress

Over a period of time, our stress bearing capacity does increase at organic rate. What may cause stress at the age of 5 (like missing toy) may not cause as much stress when we are 15 or 25 or 35 years old. But we need to consciously work towards increasing our stress bearing capacity with time. This is because our source of stress increases manifold with age – if at 5 needs are basic like food, play and sleep, at 15 it increases to friends/peers, studies, competition and at 25 to money earned, marriage, social acceptability etc.

I may not be able to reduce source of stress but I can definitely enhance stress bearing capacity 

 

 

Not all situations causing stress are in our direct control. While we may work towards minimising source of stress, we shall focus more on enhancing stress bearing capacity. I may not be able to reduce traffic on my way to work but I could definitely choose travel time or route or music in car that could help me bear traffic more amicably rather than having a daily tussle and grumbling. Some of contextual situations and ideas for reducing stress are highlighted in table below

Infighting between people at home – Wife/Mom or with Spouse Listen, Listen, Listen. Spending distraction free time with each of them with greater listening power could be great stress buster. You could be therapist for them if you can make them speak up in their inner thoughts and woes which will be cathartic in reducing cortisol hormone
I don’t spend enough time with children This could be constant worry of parents especially if they are working. Do spend distraction free time on a daily basis as a friend and not only as parent. This means sharing shall be both ways. If we want to know about what they did in school, their response will be more forthcoming if I share what happened during my day.
Lots to do and so little time Lot of times it happens that we have too much on our plate. Challenge is how to declutter our mind and empty if of multiple thought streams to fully focus on job in hand. Maintaining an organizer may help. Spa and Body Massages could be extremely helpful to empty your mind of thought vagaries

Stress free person

 

The underlying theme in above mentioned approach we need to build our stress bearing capacity which could help us reduce stress in our daily lives and in lives of people associated with us. Meditation, Deep breathing, Spa & Body Massages, Sports activity are definitely most tried and tested method. If you could engage in an hour of physical engagement where you loose sense of time – whether sports or Body Massage – could be best stress buster. Go ahead, try some of these techniques and give us feedback on our small attempt to make it stress free world.