Osteoporosis & Osteo-arthritis, the fundamental Ayurveda perspective Part I

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(Part- 1)

In Ayurveda perspective, life of anything is related to the life of the cosmos, as in a mother and foetus or baby relation. Therefore, the origin, sustenance and death of anything in this universe parallels to that of the cosmos in structure and function.  The most significant evidence for the life of the cosmos is its dynamicity. The basic unit of this dynamicity which is driving the world is named 'Spandam' which means pulsation and one unit of it is composed of a divergent and convergent parts. Lifetime of the universe starts with a divergence and ends up in a convergence; like an individual life starts with a breathing in and ends up in an exhalation. Existence of everything follows this pattern. Within such a single expansion and contraction in the gross level, there are many levels of Spandam functioning; like breathing, heart beats, pulsation of molecules, atoms, etc. Daytime is the divergent phase of body-mind and over night they get in to the converged stage.

 Ayurveda presents the balance of doshas throughout a lifetime like a dominance of Kapha in the first one third, Pitha in the middle and Vaatha in the last. The converging accumulative Kapha stage causes accumulation of material body, developement of its strength, stability, density, heaviness, etc. Vaatha which is having its opposite qualities is relatively sluggish in this stage and that makes the catabolic side weak. In the final stage, the balance goes just the reverse, causing the drainage of everything accumulated. In the middle is the Pitha stage where the Kapha and Vaatha stay almost balanced. Pitha is representing the balancing Agni in between the anabolic and catabolic forces. Creation, maintenance and destruction following one another is the general law of nature. In other words, birth out of absolute or nothing, growth, shrinking and crunching in to nothing is the story of everything, in the shortest words.

A bone in its healthy condition is comparable to a sea shell, while the one affected by Osteoporosis is like an old porous shell or a burned one (CaO). In the fresh shell the binding force holding the molecules together is stronger. And the result is the density, stability, smooth lustrous surface, a littlebit of elasticity which is resisting breakeage due to shock, compression, etc. These are all Kapha qualities. Old and burned shells show opposite properties due to the dominance of the diverging or separating force over the unifying partner. Pores are sign of Vaatha dominance exibiting the piercing micro property (Sookshmam). Kapha is having the 'Aavarana' or coating property which cause growth and smoothness. Divergence causes dryness, cracking, splitting, porosity and loss of elasticity. It is having a sucking out and ripping effect on physical bodies. Dominance of divergence causes thinning out of matter making space in between particles, developing pores, cracks, furrows, crevices, hollows etc. Figure below (Fig. 1) show these properties in balance and fig. 2, the effect of dominance of the diverging force. Cracks and pores developing on land surface in summer gives a good example.




(Showing the dominance of diverging side causing dryness, cracking, porosity, etc)


Elements Air, Fire and Water:


We sustain in a converging field staying within a vast diverging field. Gravity focussed Earth and Water elements which provide the material base for life belongs to this converging field. Elements Air and Aakaasam relatively stay with the diverging field. Divergence in the outer space is causing the expansion of the universe. Avoiding the extremities of both, life occurs and sustains right in the middle of both, rooted or footed on Earth and stretching out in to the atmosphere. Agni is the mediator, sewing together these fields, creating, maintaining and at the end disintegrating everything.

Agni or fire element stands in the middle position, keeping air and water above and below. Fire element melts Earth (solids) in to Water (liquid) and then in to Air form. This is the heating upward flow. Rain presents an example for its opposite. Mythologically element water is represented by the heavenly Ganga river falling on Lord Siva's head and flowing down on earth. Lord Siva represents the masculine part of the cosmos, the heating upward flow. Ganga is falling on his head, the apex point representing the north pole; which is the centre of the masculine part. There she makes a stop and then flows down. Ganga is representing the cooling downward flow of the cosmic energy compensating the masculine part mentioned before. To reach down, this flow has to balance the heating upward flow and then overcome it. The surplus water after balancing the heat of Lord Siva only can spill out and flow down. Formation, growth and maintenance of anything having a material base or physical body happens through such a dominance of the feminine part.

Liquid and flowing form (non turbulant flow through the plains) of water represents the 'Dravam' (liquid) and 'Saram' (spreading or moving) properties of Pitha. On the other way, it is the balance in between Kapha and Vaatha also. Dominance of Vaatha makes turbulance, sparkling, spraying forming droplets, foaming, boiling and forms steam. Dominance of Kapha qualities promotes ice formation. Just like water exists in all three forms on earth and maintains a balance in between them through dynamic cyclical changes which maintain life on Earth, the doshas also are. All these transformations are managed by Agni, which is separating everything on one way and connecting and binding on the other way.

An important aspect of identity of anything existing is an own energy metabolism which gives an own specific basic energy level which makes an entity distinguished from everythingelse in its surroundings. From body temperature of animals, up to Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) examples this. This higher energy level in the form of heat is balancing the dominance of the feminine part which is maintaining material growth and development. In other words, energy metabolism and the dynamicity fuelled by that, is balancing the mass and inertia part of the material side. This is somewhat like when the engine starts, the car could move. Considering physical body, element Earth and Water hold a higher importance than the others. Same time, physical body of a living being should overcome the inertia and stativity induced by Earth element as well. Hunger and body temperature are the representatives of Agni, its heating upward form. Food and drinks or more precisely the 'Rasam' or assimilated food are standing for the cooling downward flow which is satisfying hunger and fuelling catabolism, the heating upward flow.

Flowing water indicates the cooling downward flow. A famous ayurveda medicated oil which is prescribed to treat Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and fractures, is prepared with the sesam  seeds kept in river overnight in cotton pouches for continuous 7 nights. Daytime it is taken out and dried in the Sun every day. Here, the water, its gentle flow, and night are all adding their cooling feminine power and healing effect to the sesam oil which is also having similar qualities. It is also specified that the black sesam must be used, because darkness also supports Kapha. Sesam oil is considered as the best oil which is pacifyingvaatha. The famous ayurveda therapy of Sirodhara is also an application of these facts; where oils or cooling and calming down liquids like milk, buttermilk, coconut water, etc are streamed on the forehead continuously from half an hour to one hour.

Since consciousnes is concentrated to the north pole of human body which is the head, the cooling downward flow is applied there to calm it down. Excessive actions of consciousness like too much of intellectual activities, stress, aggression, depression, sleeplessness, strenuous actions of the sense organs, etc cause the dominance of masculine energy causing Vaatha dominance and Sirodhaara becomes relevant in these situations with this logic.  Melodious music with slow rhythm, dances with relatively horizontal movements, moonlight, being in the company of beloved people, staying beside water streams and fountains, hearing or reading something which calm down mind, eating vegetarian food, milk and milk products, fruits, etc. are facilitating the cooling downward flow of the cosmic energy which strengthens healing, immunity, general health, fertility and growth. These are all pacifying the excessive action of Pitha.

Opposites of what all mentioned above are intensifying pitha in to its abnormal levels. Boiling water could be a symbol for excessive pitha. The normal tendency of water to flow, which is more a horizontal and orderly dynamicity, changes in to a more vertical and chaotic kind of dynamicity in the boiling water. Flowing water indicates 'Laasyam', the feminine dance of Sakthi creating and unifying everything, the universal mother; while the bolining water signifies 'Thaandavam', the masculine destructive dance of Lord Siva which is breaking the binding and separating particles. Exploding anger, anxiety, stress, envy, intolerance, sadness, cruelty, etc promote this heating up side. They promote all kinds of destructive tendencies in the body-mind and play a key role in degeneretive diseases.

Part 2

 © Dr. Sajan Kumar. S



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Dr. Sajan Kumar Somarajan
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