People with the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, chronic prostatitis, vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, and fibromyalgia) are used to being probed and prodded “down there” since that’s where the pain and symptoms are Cystoscopies are done, cultures are done to rule out infection, medication installations are given with the use of a catheter, intermittent catheterization is used when patients cannot urinate, and at times under anesthesia when burning of bladder lesions is needed to be done
All of this poking and prodding is something patients with IC bladder pain syndrome currently dislike (the pain with urethral manipulation of any kind can be excruciating) as part of the diagnosis and treatment of the illness The energy science of Ayurveda also has for 1000’s of years used a form of intervention as well for the management and healing of pelvic syndrome disorders but much gentler and not as painful
The good thing from an energy science view is that the little prodding that is done has great rewards
In the energy science all disease begins in the GI tract due to imbalances of qualities mainly created by the foods consumed So you can see that the first management tool is to continue to feed the imbalance of qualities causing the problem As I have talked about in the past this comes by following a nutritional format appropriate for your mindbody energy makeup
The second management tool is to improve the strength of the digestive enzyme and bacterial system and I’ve covered some of the ways we do that in previous blogs and will continue in future posts to show you ways to enhance digestive strength As I mentioned in the past kitchari is a great way to give bowel rest so that the peripheral pelvic nerve tissue that is holding the imbalance of qualities will release and allow the qualities to come back to the GI tract for elimination
Now the stage is set for the elimination of the bothersome qualities lodged in the pelvic nerves that leads to the IC bladder pain syndrome symptoms This is done by creating a negative pressure in the colon so that the offending vibrational frequencies of hot, mobile, rough, slimy, sticky, sharp, hard, dense, soft, cloudy, gross, and static can move back to the colon for elimination
The way the energy science creates this negative pressure is by the technique of basti Basti is a general term for localized treatment anywhere on the external body or internally It is in this situation that localized treatment occurs by the use of medicated herbal enemas that over time eliminate these specific vibrational frequencies in the lower rectum so that “trapped” vibrational frequencies in the pelvic nerve complex that cause the IC bladder pain syndrome to be eliminated
At times the painful flares of IC can be uncontrollable In these circumstances urologists have used a “rescue remedy” that includes among other ingredients lidocaine which is a numbing agent to nerves It can also include steroids, aloe, among other materials The problem is that the catheterization can be painful in such situations
As I have discussed in a previous blog the cause of the IC bladder pain syndrome is pelvic nerve involvement by the qualities This is why DMSO sometimes works and “rescue remedy”works They both affect pelvic nerve function temporarily blocking the nerve impulses that are involved and inflammed
So an obvious alternative is application of the numbing agent lidocaine into the lower rectum so it can diffuse across the mucous membrane of the rectum numb the affected inflammed nerves of the pelvis This will provide at least some temporary relief from symptoms that become unbearable
This is a fundamental principle in all energy disease in the mindbody and is particularly true with the IC bladder pain syndrome As I’ve talked about in previous blogs you can palliate the syndrome with nutrition and various treatments such as CCF tea, avoiding incompatible food combinations,or marma therapy but if you want to deal with the imbalance and truly be free of IC then it will take basti to do it
Of course it also requires other supportive therapies as discussed previously as well And it will require time and effort on your part Over time things begin to reverse themselves, symptoms at times lessen and go away for periods of time, but by and by the condition lessens its hold on the energy physiology and one becomes free at last
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
read more
It’s no secret that inflammation plays a major role in all disease and specifically the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia) is a great example where inflammation is a central theme to the disease process This manifests itself as burning on urination or in the tissues since from an energy science point of view the hot quality causes the inflammatory processAs you might find in looking at the above list it seems to leave little left to eat in the average American diet and has the potential of painting you in the proverbial “nutritional corner” which can become very restrictive for food choices
The energy science approach looks at nutrition from the view of who’s eating the food Energetically a PV would choose differently than a PK or a VK For more information please see foodsheal.com This can give you more understanding of what foods are best for you and also give you a broader range of choices
Most live foods are alkaline forming foods Alkaline foods are foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, and raisins Soaking and sprouting can reduce the acidity of grains, nuts, and beans
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
read more
Anything that we want to achieve in life….getting in better physical condition, losing weight, improving people’s lives by working in a business or profession, changing a lifestyle pattern of behavior like smoking etc….requires that some form of structure be put into place so that a pattern of behavior is done over a period of time Hopefully the change is the pattern of behavior causes the desired change
So for example in the case of chronic disease, specifically the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, irritable bowel syndrome or IBS, gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD/hearburn, and fibromyalgia) in order to cause a physiologic shift toward balance and improvement in your symptoms, you undertake certain things that you think will make a change in your flares
This may be CCF tea or using a Pitta pacifying nutritional format or taking colostrum Whatever the choice(s) are you’re hoping by doing them consistently that they will bring about a change
But let’s face it even with good intentions life goes on and requires our participation and so distractions arise The deadline at work, finishing work projects, the upcoming holidays, getting the right Halloween costume…these sometimes get in the way of our healing intentions
In other words life’s distractions affect how we heal They directly impact our ability to follow through with our intentions to heal
I believe that getting time is a major problem in healing chronic disease Healing parts of the IC bladder pain syndrome is doable but it requires time to do the things necessary and enjoy the process as you go along Healing need not be arduous and painful On the contrary it’s exciting and exhilarating to see your health unfold before your very eyes
In the energy science discipline it’s not just one thing that promotes healing but rather a multiplicity of things that bring about physiologic change This multimodality energy science approach begins with lifestyle measures focused on nutritional formats as discussed in the past but there are other things that can be done to support this approach and laugh as you’re doing it
1 Overcoming inertia is the biggest challenge and keeping up with it is the next biggest hurdle
2 Use a calendar (here’s a downloadable calender you can use on your computer) and mark down what’s needed to create the change that you want to see happen….then check it every day
2 Expect it to be awkward at first…kind of like finding your groove You may forget and that’s what the calendar is for Be easy with yourself and have a good laugh when you see issues that confront you
3 Daily do that activity at specific times of the day marking your items on the calendar
4 The more things you do to effect the change the better the chances of getting the desired result of healing
5 Make it a set of activities A morning routine has a set of things to do and these all work together to set the tone for the day as well as each activity supporting each other
It takes about 6-8 weeks for the change to be made Then you can move on to add more new activities to advance your healing journey
And sometimes it means deleting behaviors that don’t serve us well…..for example going to bed earlier sets up the morning times to do some activities
Having a coach to support and help produce structure is valuable in these efforts You can make an appointment for a free consultation to get started
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
read more
From an energy point of view all disease begins in the GI tract The energetics of the foods taken in can produce flares and the continuing chronic condition of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, fibromyalgia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, and GERD) This is why nutrition is so important in the management of any chronic disease and as you know particularly with IC As we have talked about in recent blogs the importance of bowel health and specifically digestive power is a major step in improving not only your general overall health but also to help control the flare symptoms of IC syndrome
Wouldn’t you think it unusual for someone not to ever take some time off? To maintain mental strength and creativity we all need breaks from work and a little R and R
So if it’s true for our lifestyle choices shouldn’t it be true for parts of us as well? However the idea of giving the bowel some time off doesn’t seem to be part of the equation Trigger words such as water or juice fasting come up for many and cause people to cringe at the thought of going without food
But a bowel vacation means that the heavy foods normally consumed(pizza, rich cream sauces, lots of meat, heavy dairy. ice cream as examples) are removed from the nutritional meals for 3 or 4 days and a more simple diet is taken
You see the enzyme systems(the chemical fire if you will) need to be replenished and if you’re continually asking our agni or digestive power to be used over and over again it becomes overtaxed These above wet logs as I call then place a heavy strain on your campfire(agni) and at times it is not up to par leading to toxic accumulation In essence increase of toxic load is what is behind the whole idea of detoxification
1 Make something simple to digest Kitchari is a time honored energy science nutritional tool to give your bowel enzyme systems a break from their work You can find it here at this link Do this for 5 days and notice how your bowel symptoms begin melting away!
2 If hungry snack on a piece of fruit but not in the meal
3 Consider an occasional juice day
4 Use cooling spices(cumin coriander fennel vanila turmeric cardamom) and avoid hot ones (eg garlic oregano sage rosemary thyme etc)
5 Use 2 handfuls as a guideline as to how much to eat at any one time
These simple things done based on your energy constitutional makeup will go a long ways toward improving your digestive power and enhancing your health
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
read more
As discussed in recent previous blogs the energy science states that agni is fundamental to good health and that when disease such as the IC bladdder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic prostatitis, GERD and vulvodynia) part of the solution and management must include helping the debilitated agni
But improving agni does NOT cause inflammation Increasing Pitta increases inflammation but improving agni balances and improves Pitta inflammation Seems counterintuitive but this is the value of the energy science model
The concept of agni while central to health in the energy science model is completely missing in the matter or molecular science approach for managing disease
This major departure from the way the matter or molecular science approaches disease has a rippling effect in terms of understanding the disease process, the timeliness of recommendations about bowel symptoms, the approach to bowel symptoms(often Pharma related), and ignoring the importance of lifestyle behavior patterns around nutrition
This lack of understanding of agni also percolates into the molecular approach to nutrition There is much misinformation from the ADA(American Dietetic Association) because of this simple lack of understanding the concept of agni
The energy science of Ayurveda offers many suggestions to enhance agni But what’s the value of improving agni?
If you have the IC bladder pain syndrome by taking care of your agni you essentially do 5 things 1 you improve your bowel symptoms that are invariably not healthy 2 you prevent your IC bladder pain symptoms from getting worse 3 by improving agni you have the possibility of reducing the severity of your IC and the flares of IC 4 you improve your overall health 5 you improve mental clarity
When agni is improved it’s like turning up the digestive heat Now of course we don’t want to turn up the heat of Pitta which is responsible for the hot qualities of the IC bladder pain syndrome But these are methods to improve the agni yet not increase Pitta
1 Kitchari monodiet….for easy digestion along with simple veggies
2 Homemade yogurt to make lassi….for probiotic
3 Herbs to increase agni without heating the system….chitrak, CCF tea, fresh ginger(not dry)
4 Lifestyle behavior patterns ….biggest meal at noon,no ice, exercise, sleep patterns
5 Pranayama……..to balance agni…..by correcting disturbed agni one can make significant strides toward correcting the imbalances causing disease
These 5 simple methods can enhance agni and reduce the IC bladder pain syndrome symptoms but can go a long way toward improving health longterm In the coming weeks I’ll take each one of these and discuss them in greater detail
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
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In the past we’ve discussed CCF tea(cumin coriander and fennel seeds) to bring about cooling in the urinary tract in patients with IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, GERD, and chronic prostatitis) Each of these herbs target specifically the urinary tract and have a cooling affect So CCF reduces the severity of IC flares due to its reduction in inflammation
But as we’ve discussed in the several blog posts agni is an important aspect of health and healing IC As a matter of fact agni or digestive power must be addressed in any chronic disease in order to have any chance of healing
Agni is all the enzyme and bacterial systems for digestion, absorption, and assimilation from the mouth to the anus So you can see how all encompassing this system is But there’s more The energy science states that the central system of agni indicates the strength of all metabolic systems in the body including cellular metabolism because agni is in essence the metabolic fire of the body
The matter science talks about agni but in a way that does not make the association between the GI tract(GIT) and the rest of the body This primary difference in the disciplines allows the energy science to state the origin of disease is known while the matter science continues to struggle to find the molecules responsible for chronic illness
But there’s more If you have strong agni you’ll have better mental clarity You’ll make better choices for your health and healing chronic disease Disease is often self perpetuating due to this “brain fog” For most people they dont realize they’re fogged until they look back and compare with where they are now and where they were back then(whatever that timeline is) and realize that now they have more clarity This is the benefit of rejuvenative herbs They help us with mental clarity….eing able to see things with better understanding and awareness Sometimes it’s hard to see this because we’re in a fog and the proverbial “Whatever” occurs
Whenever energy is low then agni is low This may or may not be associated with a change in bowel habit(diarrhea, constipation, or both) This is the first symptom of disturbed agni and needs to be corrected
So CCF tea is not only medicinal to the urinary tract and helpful in the IC bladder pain syndrome but is also very valuable in building agni Ahh that’s a tremendous benefit But it gets even better….CCF tea helps improve agni without heating the system up as well Spices(using the terms spices and herbs interchangeably because spices ARE herbs) can heat the system and provoke IC flares such as garlic, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme
And some of the best rejuvenatives you have for improving mental clarity are in your kitchen How so? Spices are agni builders which as we discussed earlier enhance the mind, reduce “brain fog”, and create better decision making
You can make CCF tea by placing equal amounts of the seeds(not the powder) in a ziploc bag, toss them around so there is an even mixture of the seeds and then add a 1T of the mixture to 6oz of boiling water for 5minutes If you want more volume, more tablespoons and boiling water
So the first item on the agenda in healing IC is to improve digestion, absorption, and assimilation of the GIT
1 CCF tea Cumin, coriander and fennel tea is elemental to improve digestion because it stokes agni That’s why sipping on this tea all day, everyday is helpful for clearing AMA
2 Stop putting wet logs on your digestion When I entertain foods that don’t resonate with my energy makeup(Pitta diet at icdiet or VP diet at foodsheal) or use IFC(incompatible food combinations at foodsheal) it’s like dampening my agni which is all the enzyme systems of the GIT from the mouth to lower rectum including the bacteria which are also part of agni And avoid difficult to digest proteins like gluten(wheat rye barley), lactose, and fats found in nuts and dairy
3 Using other agni enhancers Fresh ginger tea with a dash of cayenne(agni tea), cardamon, vanilla, cinnamon, turmeric are all excellent agni enhancers that you can use in my cooking or beverages to enhance agni
4 Breathing techniques(pranayama) Interestingly the yoga tradition has many different ways to physically enhance agni These breathing techniques can change the course of IC due to the power of clearing AMA
5 Yoga postures The digestive system is represented in the space of the abdomen and when you do postures that engage this area you literally engage agni and improve it From a molecular point of view this cannot be understood but energetically it makes perfect sense
So there you have it A starter sequence that can get you on your way to healing IC Oh, BTW, if you have poor agni chances are you have undigested and unprocessed food And because you feel OK, doesn’t mean you don’t have toxic load
IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut: aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric fresh basil and ginger, and herbs Click here to take survey But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time Aloe does this but colostrum does this as...
read moreIn all of Nature you only learn by contrast You can’t know hot if you haven’t experienced cold You can’t know the bladder pain of IC unless you’ve experienced the pleasure of being pain free And then there is the contrast of male and female, quantitative and qualitative models of healing Why is this important? Because different models of healing lead to different results due to the way they view the disease process Results Oriented Healing for IC When you know the strengths and weaknesses of the models of...
read moreI think it’s pretty much consensus that pharmaceuticals are not the panacea for IC and bladder pain. At least that was my experience with the IC patients who I worked with. Herbs offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals and we have discussed a number of them for use such as CCF tea, the use of turmeric in cooking, as well as aloe vera gel. Herbs fall into 3 categories when looking at their functional effects. Unlike pharmaceucals one herb category enhances digestive strength in all its various aspects of function, for example...
read moreThere is nothing more discouraging to IC patients than to get their hopes up that a new therapy is going to work only to find unfortunately after feeling well for a while the symptoms come back and it appears that things are back to the same bladder flares You begin feeling a real sense of hopelessness Why did it work for others and not work for me? And these therapies run the gamut from those suggested by your doctor, urologist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or friends Because these treatments cover a wide spectrum,...
read moreThe painful bladder flares of IC that disrupt relationships, affect social planning, and by and large make life very hard are poorly understood from a molecular point of view The matter science medical perspective of disease is that the molecules cause disease In contrast the energy science medicine sees all disease beginning in the GI tract as an imbalance as an imbalance of qualities This contrast is important because it means the difference between tolerating the misery of flares versus clearing the disease that causes the...
read more“Self empowerment is the key to a healthy life. Simply put, it means you can take charge of the things you do in your life in order to create and maintain the health you want. If you suffer a life threatening illness, you are fully capable of making the choices and changes necessary to help your body heal. It’s up to you and you alone; no one else can do it for you. Healing and maintaining your health is your responsibility, not the doctor’s. The doctors job is to help you buy time to heal.” Use this time well and begin...
read moreIn the energy science world of healing it’s not just one thing but a mulitiplicity of treatments that you do that brings about healing of your IC This is in contrast from the matter science model of healing that says if you do just this one thing (take a pill) you will get major benefit such that you won’t have to do anything else For example if your blood pressure is high then take this pill and you’ll be better Or better yet, take two or three different types of pills and you’ll be better So pill popping...
read moreIn many different encounters with IC patients over the years I’ve found that there is often a feeling of ungroundedness from lack of direction, a feeling of being without a rudder, and the uncertainty as to whether this problem will ever go away This feeling gives a sense of insecurity about the future (will I have this the rest of my life?), a feeling of hopelessness, and overall anxiety born out of the fear that IC will never go away There is a feeling of loss of control over the body (not making to the bathroom) due to not knowing...
read moreThe accompanying graph depicts what happens in the formation of any disease process of imbalance There is a gradual buildup of excess qualities such as the hot quality in IC This can occur over years of unconscious choice making that leads to at first GI tract symptoms that then eventuate in dissemination of the quality(ies) to various parts of the body In the case of IC the dissemination of the qualities of hot, light, mobile, dry, rough, and subtle to the urinary tract leads to the early symptoms of...
read moreIt is estimated that many people with fibromyalgia(FM) have an IC like symptom complex in mild form as well only to exacerbate as the years progress As a matter of fact that’s why IC is now looked upon as a syndrome of diseases rather than an isolated disease of the urinary bladder The energy science due to its way of looking at disease doesn’t create disease labels but sees all problems in the body as imbalances of qualities and hence with such a system of healing leaves clustering of disease labels as the way to understand...
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