The three principles of Ayurvedic nutrition
- Eat as hot as possible
- Eat regularly. A light breakfast around 7 a.m., lunch around 12 p.m. and a light evening meal around 6 p.m. is ideal
- Easy to digest and mostly herbal
Ayurvedic therapy irritable bowel syndrome
Signs of this bowel function disorder, for which no organic cause can usually be traced, are constipation or diarrhea, abdominal pain and general malaise. Women are usually affected twice as often as men.
Doctors have not yet found a cause for irritable bowel syndrome, so treatment is very difficult. What is certain is that the intestines are criss-crossed by a tight network of various nerves which are disrupted in irritable bowel syndrome.
In some patients, the symptoms disappear after a change in diet, which is why many therapeutic approaches try to place nutrition at the center of treatment.
Oil for – soft and soothing
Ayurvedic frontal affusion is certainly also very well known: called Shirodhara. Hot oil is poured on the forehead. The gentle stimulation is intended to calm the vegetative nervous system.
Katibasti – with chickpeas for back pain
Another topical healing method – often used for back pain – is Katibasti. A ring formed from chickpea paste sits firmly on the skin and keeps the hot oil where it needs to work. The oil is changed after seven minutes. Grit Bartsch, Ayurvedic therapist at Immanuel Hospital, explains: “It helps the patient to relax and forget about stress.” The oil is changed six times in one application – after 45 minutes the ring is removed.
