Vol. 114 • September 201744 THE ANTISEPTIC

alternative medicine

introduction:

Lifestyle of today’s era has become so fast & complicated, in terms of food habits, workloads, competition, stress & behavior. Even people do not take proper sleep or rest, in order to make our body & mind calm. This leads to the vitiation of Vatadi doshas in our body causing plenty of diseases now a day. These diseases are now termed as Lifestyle disorders. Constipation is one of the products of these lifestyle disorders. This is itself is a serious complaint & it leads to many of the serious conditions viz. Hemorrhoids, Fistula, Fissures, Gastro-intestinal disorders, & many more.

This conceptual study covers the pathogenesis of Constipation due to today’s lifestyle, its relation with all other diseases & how it could be controlled with the help of daily regimens explained in Ayurveda. discussion:

today’s lifestyle & pathogenesis of constipation:

Conceptual study of constipation w.s.r. to lifestyle disordersHrisHikesH B. JadHav, Upendra dixit

Vd. Hrishikesh B. Jadhav, P.G. Scholar,Vd. Upendra Dixit, Guide,M.D. (Ayu), Ph.D (Ayu), M.A. (Sanskrit)Dept. of Samhita & Siddhant, L.K.R. Ayurvedic Mahavidyalaya & Post Graduate Research Centre, Gadhinglaj, Kolhapur, Maharahstra, India.

Specially Contributed to "The Antiseptic" Vol. 114 No. 9 & P : 44 - 45

abstract:

Constipation is the most common problem observed in today’s society. The main cause behind this is today’s lifestyle. Constipation may lead to so many serious diseases & itself is a serious complaint. But most of the times people take this casually and hence pay for this with huge health hazards later. This conceptual study covers the pathogenesis of Constipation due to today’s lifestyle, its relation with all other diseases & how it could be controlled with the help of daily regimens explained in Ayurveda. Key words: Constipation, Daily regimens, Lifestyle Disorders.

People became more anxious and optimistic about the target oriented work now a day. Even the food habits got spoiled with the intervention of fast foods, bakery products, and instant foods. Nobody follows the biological time table of the body related with rest, hunger, natural urges etc. Holding over the natural urges is one of the main causes for all the diseases1. And in today’s hectic lifestyle people are more prone to hold their natural urges. Even night awakening & day sleeping are also the root cause for the vitiation of doshas leading to the serious health hazards. Night Awakening produces dryness in the body causing increase of Vata and Day sleeping produces Kapha predominance leading to plenty of diseases.2 Night starts after the one prahara (around one and half hour) of Sunsets. This time period is supposed to be of Kapha predominance; which helps to get in to sleep easily. But now a day people go to bed after 4-5 hours of Sunsets. This time period is second stage of night; which is Pitta predominance time and sleeping at this time leads to the vitiation of doshas again.

One of the basic concepts of Ayurveda related with daily regimens is to wake up early in the

morning i.e. at Brahmi Muhurta (around one and half hour before Sunrise); in order to protect the life.3 This Brahmi Muhurta is the last stage of night which is Vata predominant time period and helps to evacuate the Mala (fecal material) out of the body due to Chala Guna of Vata. But now a day people used to wake up after Sunrise; this is Kapha dominated time causing Constipation. Even due to irregular food habits, fast foods, bakery products, instant foods & preserved foods also digestion gets disturbed causing vitiation of Vatadi Doshas; which further leads to Constipation. constipation as a cause for further diseases:

Bhela Samhita one of the oldest compendiums on Ayurveda had explained constipation in a separate chapter; where he had explained in detail about the pathogenesis caused due to constipation in our body, leading to different diseases.

Due to constipation Mala becomes Gadha (hard) leads to Sroto Avarodha (obstruction in the channels), causing Vata Prakopa; which leads to Guda Shotha (this can be correlated with Hemorrhoids, fissure etc.). This is the main cause of Udavarta (upward movement of Vata) causing painful condition