Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Parkinson’s: ‘Ayurveda offers better life’
Tuesday October 31 2006 10:34 IST

KOZHIKODE: A complete cure may be impossible in case of Parkinson’s disease, but symptoms could be alleviated with the help of ayurvedic medicines, maintained the 43rd annual ayurveda seminar on the disease conducted by the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala here on Sunday.

An early detection and treatment of the disease could help the patient to lead a better life and the time calls for more researches in this area, the seminar attended by expert ayurvedic physicians including Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala managing trustee and chief physician Dr P K Warrier, pointed out.

Among the major causes of the disease cited at the seminar were environmental factors such as pollution, loss of brain cells and head injuries. Genetic inheritance is found only in five percent of the cases and the onset of disease could happen at a very early age.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Popular oils and Arishtas produced by the major producers of Ayurvedic drugs in Sri Lanka.
Name of Medicine ................ Indication
1) Nawarathna Kalka Diarrhea - Abdominal pain, vomiting.
2) Buddaraja Kalka Cough - Breathlessness, Bronchial Asthma
3) Suranvidura Vati Worms - Irritable bowel syndrome
4) Seetharama Vati - fever
5) Siddhartha Thailaya - Paralysis, Muscular & Rheumatic pains
6) Sarvavishadi Thailaya- Boils abscesses, Ulcers, Skin ailments
7) Kapparavalli Syrup - Cough
8) Kumari Padma Thaila - Insomnia, Psychosis, Depression.
9) Sharkaradiya Kalkaya-Cough, Asthma. (Specially for children)
10) Rata Kalka -Cough, Blood Purification (Specially for children)
11) Dasamoola Arishtaya - Vata diseases
12) Draksha Arishtaya - Phlegm diseases
13) Pipplyadyasawaya - Phlegm diseases, Cough an Appetizer
14) Nimbarishtaya - Blood purification, Skin diseases
15) Yogaraja Guggulu - Arthritis and Pain.

Ayurveda has never been considered as a business. It was, always reckoned as a service to mankind, by healing hands, directed by a penetrative intelligence but nurtured by a warm heart.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Ayurved has effective cure of Chikun Gunia:
Dr. Mansuri. [2006-10-09 09:29:57 Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad]

Ayurvedic treatment effectively cures Chikun Gunia fever and it does not have side effects, says Dr. Sameer Mansuri, a city based Ayurvedic and Unani medicine practitioner.

Chikun Gunia is called Sandhijwara in Ayurved and its cure is panchathiktha Kashayam. Suggesting preventive measures he says that domestic preparations like ginger chutney karivepaku chutney or kothimeera chutney are very effective. Also ragi gruel (ganji) has to be taken either with milk or butter milk.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Things to remember Bharat Savur

Forgetfulness is mainly due to a disorganised and scattered mind that cannot focus or concentrate.

REMEMBER... to relax

We take our forgetfulness far too lightly. "Oh, I always forget my umbrella wherever I go," we grin. "I keep misplacing my keys. It's Freudian," we joke. "I've lost four mobile phones," we rue. Forgetfulness is due to nothing but a disorganised and scattered mind that cannot focus or concentrate.

The simple truth is: If you are interested in something, you will pay attention and remember. Not being interested weakens the mind and scales down your all-rounder skills. For example, if you do your job mechanically and uninterestedly, you waste your mind and life. There is nothing memorable in your drudgery. So, gradually, you train your mind to forget. Interest comes when you pay attention.

Rise to shine: Get out of bed in the morning as soon as you wake up. Don't laze, linger or loll. In training your body to be active, you train your mind to be alert.

If you give in to sloth, the mind roams restlessly into random thoughts and dissipates its energy. Reading something inspiring focuses the mind and fires it with a higher energy.

Act on goodness: Act as soon as possible on every good, positive thought. Not doing this makes the mind inactive. Every time you act on a good thought, you become more co-ordinated in thought and action, and your mind gets an enormous boost.

Relax to receive: Know that sleeping is not necessarily relaxation. You can wake up tired. But when you consciously and wakefully relax, you let go many negative things and preoccupations, and bring your mind to a beautiful, undisturbed and receptive state, expanding and enhancing its retentive quality.

Chant to relax: Sit straight-backed on a chair, head slightly raised, and neck slightly stretched. Chant `Om' deeply from your stomach along with a mantra for 30 minutes daily and you'll emerge a new person. Even during chanting, the mind will wander, reminding you of some task to be done, some insult endured. But after chanting, these thoughts won't agitate you, as you get a mastery over your emotions, which truly relaxes the mind.

Count to concentrate: Every day, the mind is bombarded with words, images and forms. This continuous inflow agitates and confuses it. You try to sit and concentrate; but you get off your chair, walk around, and drink a glass of water. You still cannot focus. To keep your mind from fidgeting, count 1 to 200 under your breath. You will experience interruptions like `I have to pick up fruits, the contract hasn't arrived,' etc; let them go.

Don't get into them. They disrupt your concentration. Force your mind to continue counting. As you become more proficient, count backwards from 100 to 1. The mind sharpens sooner than you expect.

Be stable to be able: Forgetfulness occurs due to an unstable, erratic lifestyle. The mind needs the disciplined infrastructure of a routine to function from. Pen down a broad routine, follow it and add smaller tasks. It's like the artist who adds small but significant details to his canvas to give it more depth and beauty.

Oxygenate the brain: Pencil in exercise-time. Walking, cycling and swimming are ideal. The strong movements of the legs improve oxygenated blood circulation to the brain. Research shows that brain cells starved of oxygen lower the level of intellect, reasoning and memory. A brisk 15-minute walk reduces neuromuscular tension. A relaxed brain retains information better and recalls things when you need them.

Banish alcohol and fats: It's important to know that excess alcohol `glues' red blood cells and clogs capillaries to cut off oxygen supply to the brain. Fats narrow the brain's blood vessels, stop oxygen from reaching the cells to cause not just memory-loss but life-threatening strokes as well.

After this elimination, the diet automatically becomes memory-friendly. However, Ayurveda helps us fine-tune further. If you have blinding flashes of anger, cut down spicy food. If you are prone to dullness, take more spices. Eliminate dry foods — biscuits, wafers, and breads. Have grounding foods — moist hot rice, dal, and soup. Cultivate a loving, stable home environment.

Ayurvedics recommend brahmi, a bitter-sweet herb as a mental tonic and memory booster. Recommended dosage: 500 mg to 1 gram twice a day. Rich in minerals, it relaxes the nervous system and stimulates the cerebro-vascular system.

Essentially, happy, interested and active people want to remember; depressed, indifferent and inactive people want to forget. It's a choice.

(The writer is co-author of the book, Fitness for Life.)