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
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...
read more
From an energy science point of view irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) is a collection of bowel symptoms related to disturbed digestive fire or what Ayurveda terms agni As I have written in the past most people’s agni is not up to par The reason for this is quite simple The concept of agni is not even in our health vocabulary
How would you know about it and hence take care of it if you don’t know it exists?
This is a significant problem for the present day health consumer but unfortunately she is duped by the matter science model into believing it is complete Suffice it to say the majority of the population suffers from symptoms of IBS
The types of IBS fall into four categories: Vata Pitta Kapha and combination patterns By far and away the latter makes up the majority of those affected by symptoms The most common symptom of IBS is bloating after eating for short or extended periods of time
Many people don’t know that they bloat and some who have an exaggerated bloat know it very well Abdominal distention occurs as a result of the gaseous bowel distention Other symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, or a mixture of diarrhea and constipation At times flatulence or excessive gas that may be malodorous may occur
When the Kapha energy pattern is manifested in large degree mucous will be present in the stools but the worst IBS of all is when the mucous becomes dried in the GI tract This creates a marked problem for elimination This latter group of IBS can become severely debilitated professionally, physically, and often emotionally drained due to the chronicity of the disease This is the ultimate in the manifestation of IBS and the matter science has little to offer in such cases
IBS and IC go together The bowel dysfunction related to disturbed agni is fundamental to the unfolding causative process of interstitial cystitis
IBS as part of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, IBS, chronic prostatitis, vulvodynia, and fibromyalgia) is the cause of the accumulation and migration of the vibrational frequencies of hot, mobile, dry, rough, heavy, static into the pelvic nerves leading to the symptoms of the pelvic syndrome itself
So treating IC requires that IBS is treated as well According to my last post there are essentially two levels of therapy for any energetic imbalance in the mindbody The first level is to stop the condition from getting any worse The second level is to remove the offending vibrational frequencies using specific therapeutic modalites that have already been discussed
But one of the integral therapies in IBS treatment is to deal with the cause of the problem…..disturbed agni This is paramount to successful management and since the matter science doesn’t even have the concept all bets are off that IBS management will be successful
Many many of the blog posts done in the past have made suggestions about how to promote better agni CCF tea, agni tea, ginger tea are all about promoting better balanced agni Herbs can be very impactful in this regard and it’s beyond the scope of this dialogue today to address them
Using a nutritional format appropriate for your energy constitution and avoiding incompatible food combinations can be very helpful in not aggravating the condition In this regard the daily use of churans as talked about in the past is very advantageous
A specific pranayama(breathing exercises) flow sequence can really help impaired disturbed agni by balancing it Dependent on the severity of the IBS other methods can be employed And yoga asana practice has been successfully employed in the matter science literature
As in all energy work however it’s not just one thing that creates healing….healing requires a multifaceted approach to bring about real healing and the eradication of the IC bladder pain syndrome completely
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
In the energy science of Ayurveda there are basically two ways to deal with clinical problems such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstital cystitis, fibromyalgia, chronic prostatitis, vulvodynia, and irritable bowel syndrome) The first is palliative treatment
The second level of treatment to deal with clinical problems involves balancing procedures which correct the imbalances that produce the tissue disturbance leading to the symptoms in the first place I’ve covered these methods in detail in previous blogs and will touch briefly on them again But I think it’s useful for you to understand why and what methods are available in order to get an overview of the energy science methods of treatment
These methods can be lumped into a broad category of doing lifestyle behavioral changes such as the use of nutritional formats according to energy constitution Many people who I have seen over the years who have mild IC flares on occasion can be helped by this change alone as many IC bladder pain syndrome patients have experienced Having said that no matter how far along one chooses or needs to go with respect to treatment methods nutritional change is necessary as it becomes foundational to all other therapies If one is not willing to change one’s nutritional choices it is best to not go farther or one will be wasting time and money
Herbs as I’ve talked about in other blogs are supportive and adjunctive to other therapies and at any point can be beneficial in supporting the process of healing at any level The common antiinflammatory herbs that I’ve talked about in the past like aloe vera gel, tea(cumen, coriander, fennel or CCF). turmeric used in formula or in cooking are common herbs to reduce the heat in the system causing IC flares
Marma therapies can be both diagnostic and therapeutic in terms of helping with symptoms during a flare used with essential oils such as sandalwood with castor oil Acupuncture is most often palliative and is akin to the marma therapy that I’ve discussed in the past
When you pay attention to proper rest and sleep, reducing stress, eating habits(such as no snacking, eating at appropriate times of the day, avoiding ice, stimulating digestion), and exercise, it can be amazing how such simple things can make a big difference in the flare rate, length of flare, and severity of the flare
As I’ve discussed in the past therapies that deal with the imbalances of qualities in the pelvic nerves that are often associated with most of the symptoms that revolve around the interstitial cystitis syndrome such as IC, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis
These therapies deal with imbalances in the peripheral tissues(nerves primarily) that have disseminated from the GI tract and are lodged in these tissues As I hope you can appreciate palliative methods address not aggravating the condition and further
But procedures directed at the causative agency leading to the symptoms are unique and not for the average health consumer to undertake but they do offer patients the opportunity to eliminate the IC bladder pain syndrome completely These techniques and methods are not for everyone but represent a clear divergence from what is presently available for IC
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 moreMind and body are intimately spliced We cannot separate them physically What happens in the mind happens in the body and vice versa But we do separate them because the symptoms of mental stress seem different than physical stress But anyone with a painful bladder flare will tell that it’s intimately associated with mental duress Chronic disease such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystistis, vulvodynia IBS, fibromyalgia, chronic prostatitis, and GERD) no matter how minor the symptoms takes a toll on mental function
Also as our population ages, declining mental faculties can take first place on the list of one’s health concerns. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of senile dementia affect some 25 percent of all people over 80.1 Research, though, is revealing Ayurvedic approaches in helping to support the natural strength of the mental faculties.
Medhya is an Ayurvedic concept that implies intellect, or wisdom. Medhya remedies promote mental development and act as mental rejuvenatives, and they also suggest a mind that is mighty, vigorous and pure.
There are many ways to bring medhya into play in the mind. Anything that promotes the sattva guna can help in our quest, and the yamas and niyamas of Patanjali are aimed at this. Ayurvedic herbal medicines also play a role. They engender and summon intelligence, memory and mental perception. They make the mind worthy of sacrifice to higher consciousness.
Bitter taste is made from air and space energies, and these forces predominate in the mind. Bitter foods and herbs open the mind, increase sensitivity, awareness and mental functioning. Since bitter herbs are cooling and calming they combat mental dullness, allowing us to reach our full potential, becoming radiant and elevated.
Mind supplements include a large array of herbs and foods recommended to rebuild body tissues and restore lubricating juices.2 Five of these mind-nourishing herbs stand out as pillars of an Ayurvedic lifestyle.
Ashwagandha, sometimes named “winter cherry” or “Withania”, is a top mental rejuvenator. Ayurvedic herbalists use the herb to reestablish long-term sleep rhythms. Ayurvedic herbalism also uses ashwagandha for general strength for support in times of occasional fatigue and exhaustion; and to support healthy memory and a strong nervous system.
This tonic herb, a relative of tomatoes and potatoes, is not stimulating, but rather relaxing. That allows one to use this in larger amounts on a regular basis without concern for overstimulation, so this root is a superb remedy for nervous system support.
Study after study continues to confirm the benefits of this herb on stress tolerance, performance and endurance.3,4,5 One study indicated that the herb supported the brain in times of stress.6 In another, ashwagandha was shown to support strength and physical working capacity.7,8
Ayurveda considers it a “grounding” herb, one that nourishes and regulates metabolic processes and supports a naturally balanced mood. Ashwagandha also supports memory, helping those such as students for whom learning and testing are priorities.9 One recent study looked at sleep and stress. Ashwagandha was effective in supporting naturally healthy sleep patterns.10
As well as being a slow-acting tonic herb, ashwagandha is a superb herb for balancing elevated vata, a common problem as age advances and in chronic disease. It takes about a week to work up to an appropriate amount, and about another week for the herb to reach maximum effectiveness. Since ashwagandha is a slow-acting herb, you may take your daily serving at any time during the day.
A typical serving of ashwagandha is about a gram per day, taken over long periods, up to many years, as a rejuvenator, but, since ashwaganda is very safe, larger quantities are often used short term. In India, Withania is given with pungent, heating herbs (ginger, pepper, etc.) to ensure that it gets sufficiently digested.
Conscious communication is the essence of yoga. From your chakras to your nervous system to the words you speak, your very molecules are vibrating with the energy of your being, and transmitting that energy to all the other parts of our bodies and to people in your life.
Yoga exercises, pranayama and lifestyle practices all support conscious communication, and there is one special herb that yoga reveres above all others for clarifying and expanding that special spiritual voice we all share.
Calamus root is a major herb for the mind. Though it is not clearly allowed for internal consumption in the US, it can be used topically, either as a dry powder, paste, or as part of an herbalized oil. As a historical and international perspective, ancient yogis and seers used this herb, and it was said to stimulate the power of self-expression and to enhance intelligence.
This herb was often combined with gotu kola, which is cooling and mild. The complementary energetics made the combination suitable for a wide variety of people. To support attention and focus, it was combined with gotu kola, shankpushpi and licorice. Over the long term, calamus warms the body and pacifies the mind. Vacha was also combined with triphala as a general rejuvenative that bestows intelligence, longevity and good memory.11
Vacha has a long and very special history in Ayurveda.
Thinking about thinking? Feel like you’re about to max out your personal hard drive? Gotu kola is an herb with a long history of brain support. Gotu kola, also called Mandukaparni, is a mainstay of herbal medicine in Ayurveda. Widely considered a superior herb for the nervous system, gotu kola has a host of benefits.12
Gotu kola supports healthy memory, concentration and intelligence, as well as the voice, physical strength and the complexion.
Gotu kola is a jungle creeper that grows in hot moist climates. After all, it’s the food of the elephants, and we all know about their memories! Fresh, it’s a delicious salad vegetable. The juice of the fresh leaves is available at some juice bars.
More recently, a study out of Korea shows that components in gotu kola show potential for supporting healthy memory, a very promising direction.13
Since gotu kola is basically a mild salad vegetable, the serving can be a larger quantity. Try one to four teaspoonfuls of fresh juice every morning. Many people use a modest amount of 1 gram per day in capsules or tablets for daily rejuvenation. Try a cup of gotu kola tea with honey.
Water hyssop (Bacopa monniera), also refered to as brahmi in certain parts of India, is a steadfast mainstay of traditional Ayurvedic medicine. An indication of the respect for this herb is the name: “brahmi” means “god-like”. It’s used in Asia for support of the nervous system, mental energy, and healthy memory—it’s a powerful brain food. Use it to increase comprehension, concentration and recollection. Because it traditionally supports a person’s natural ability to solve problems effectively, it is often found in Ayurvedic formulas to cope with stress.
With nearly 300 studies in the scientific literature, it has built up a solid base of scientific support for its many functions.
In support of the traditional use for promoting healthy memory, Australian researchers recently gave Bacopa to seventy-six adults, aged 40 to 65 years, in a double-blind randomized, placebo control study in which various memory functions were tested. Numerous memory tests before and after taking the brahmi showed that the herb significantly supported the learning process.14
Brahmi has traditionally been used for children as well. Indian schoolchildren take it at home. In 1987, Indian scientists gave brahmi to 40 schoolchildren aged 6-8 in a single-blind trial. The study showed support of learning, memory and perception. The dose was 1 gram per day for three months, of the dried plant extracted into a syrup form, and no side effects were recorded.15
The traditional serving can be up to two grams of the whole herb, in capsules, tablets or tea, twice a day with warm water.
When we need mental peace and sleep, we may call upon shankhapushi to help restore clear quality of the mind and relaxation. Its flowers resemble the shankha or conch shell, thus the name. It usually is a foot tall plant, with dome of flowers, in open fields in North India.
This herb is an outstanding rejuvenative tonic for the mind and nerve tissue. The plant is said to have profound mystical properties, with an affinity for the heart, throat, third eye and crown chakras.
The herb is especially effective for mental peace and tranquility. Often taken with or prepared in ghee, it promotes serenity without dulling the mind. As it is balancing, its effect can be both uplifting and calming. Students traditionally use it to support a calm mind during exams. For support of focus and attention, it combines well with brahmi and licorice. For support of healthy sleep patterns, use shankpushpi at bedtime (traditional use allows for up to 6 grams). According to the Astanga Hridyam, ghee, cooked three times with shankpushpi juice and milk, makes even the dullest mind sharp.
Ayurveda places special attention on the health of the mind, and fundamentally teaches that, ultimately, all physical imbalances start in the mind, so a healthy mind is at the forefront of Ayurvedic practices. These five herbs form the core of a superb mental rejuvenative chest. They are waiting to help us stay calm, centered, intelligent and exalted, so now might just be the time to give this collection of herbs a try.
Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa is the lead instructor of the nutritional therapy and professional herbalist training programs at Portland Community College, where students pursue their credential online or in classrooms study, and on the founding faculty of Bastyr University Department of Ayurvedic Sciences. Khalsa is the President of the American Herbalists Guild and on the board of directors of the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. He is the first person to be board certified in herbalism and Ayurveda.
http://www.pcc.edu/climb/health/
http://www.kpkhalsa.com/
http://www.internationalintegrative.com/
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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