6 Stages of Disease -- imbalances or symptoms, the regeneration & destruction of the body.
Before I found ayurveda and pre-Sama, I googled symptoms I was experiencing at the time -- vertigo, nausea, achy bones, hot flashes, deep sadness, and emptiness. I intentionally avoided doctors because if I didn't know what was going on with my body -- they wouldn't ! Their solution - Rx.
I ended up driving north of the Golden Gate Bridge to inquire about this "strange" but interesting place in the countryside. The ayurvedic center was in a victorian house with a yurt to the side and happy people roaming --- it was peaceful, healing and full of natural beauty. The compassionate practitioners took time to listen to me, read my pulse, gave me info about my doshas, alot of body awareness and the next day signed up for 3 hours of body therapies. I was in the Flooding Stage of Illness. Serious enough to get my attention but not serious enough that it couldn't be reversed with some work. Our bodies are forgiving.
Through this new knowledge along with self care and careful attention to my symptoms I brought myself back to balance, without one pill.
If we can open to seeing the signs of imbalances
early by becoming more familiar with our body and our symptoms early
in the disease stages, we can undo the damage we have done. The earlier it is recognized, the more chance to
reverse the effects. On the other hand, the longer the doshas
go out of balance, the harder to reverse the effects.
Having a basic understanding, from the Ayurvedic perspective, of the
process of disease helps us with the why and how emotions, diet,
environment & lifestyle affect each stage of illness and what we can
do now to maintain health or stop further aggravation and accumulation
of doshic imbalances.
Nature always gives warnings of imbalances before they go to the deeper tissues where disease is created. Our skin tells alot -- it can show symptoms of clogged internal systems, sadness, grief, and sluggish eliminative functions. If impurities are not able to move out, the skin becomes dull and lifeless looking, scaly and inflamed.
We have become used to living with symptoms doctors can easily prescribe with a pill but if we can understand and track our symptoms and lifestyle patterns, we are in a better position to reverse the damage, holistically. Again, our bodies are forgiving.
Below are the stages of illness as I learned them from my teacher and have lived with and corrected through ayurvedic principles of a healthy lifestyle. While google is great for searches, do your due diligence then reach out to a practitioner you feel comfortable with sharing intimate life details and get the support you need. Ask alot of questions and then put trust in the process as this is a big part of the healing process.
Stages of Imbalances or Symptoms
1. Accumulation: Caused by emotional, diet, environment/lifestyle
Symptoms could include the following depending on dosha: constipation, bloating, fear, insomnia, dry mouth, skin, eyes, tight muscles, indecision, scattered. Adrenal overload. Fear excess sweating, irritability, defensiveness, lethargy, indigestion, increased mucous, sluggish, and feeling insecure.
2. Aggravation - there's an increased in elemental excess and persistent. Symptoms again depending on dosha -- odorous gas, constipation, ab pain, cramping, acid reflux, diarrhea, heartburn, insomnia, inflammation -- feel pain in muscles and stiff when you get up. Depression, more mucous, nausea, lethargy, depression.
3. Flooding THIS IS WHERE MOST PEOPLE LIVE- overflow causing flooding into blood, general symptoms: dry skin, eczema, painful dry cough, stiffness, cracking & pain in joints, nervous twitches, tingling or cold extremities, vertigo, chronic constipation, inflammation, rashes, hot flashes, migraines, dizziness, labored breath, swollen glands, sluggish lymph, joint swelling, numbness in extremities, low energy, chronic fatigue.
4. Displacement -Elements go to weaker places and to deeper places in the body into organs. Started course of disease, tissues change, toxic build up.
5. Manifestation- disease state. Lots of work in this stage to get better. The body feels pressurized.
6. Flowering - death process. All elements unbalanced.
