Balancing Vata Dosha: How Ayurveda Helps Fibromyalgia

Jan 14, 2020

Originally Posted On: https://www.ayurherbs.com.au/ayurveda-fibromyalgia/

An estimated 1 million Australians experience the pain disorder known as fibromyalgia. This condition involves fatigue and muscle pain, though there’s no obvious cause of the condition.

So many people suffer from this condition without recognising there’s a secret to their relief. By balancing your Vata dosha, you can ease your pain away and experience balance in your life.

What is Vata dosha, you ask?

Keep reading to find out!

Understanding Vata Dosha

Before we can answer the question “what is Vata dosha,” you need to understand a little about Ayurveda first.

Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest systems for holistic healing. It originated in India and is now practised across the globe. In some countries, it’s considered a form of alternative medicine.

Ayurveda is also used to complement many healing techniques.

The practice of Ayurveda is built off an understanding that your mind, body, and spirit require harmony. Otherwise, your health will start to suffer.

According to Ayurveda teachings, each person is made up of five basic elements: fire, water, earth, air, and space. Together, these elements create our life energies or doshas. The Vata is one of these doshas.

The Vata dosha represents an abstract quality of movement throughout all of creation. It’s associated with:

Breath
Circulation
Mental activity
Food’s passage thru the gastrointestinal tract
Joint function

It’s also connected to the elements of space and air. Since the Vata dosha is connected with constant movement, it’s inherently unstable. It’s more prone to fall out of balance than the two other doshas of Ayurveda practices, Pitta and Kapha.

The Vata dosha is considered the most powerful of the three. When out of balance, it can cause us to develop conditions such as:

Heart disease
Asthma
Anxiety
Skin problems
Rheumatoid arthritis

Since Vata dosha falls out of balance so often, knowing how to balance Vata can improve your overall well being.

Characteristics

Like space and air, Vata dosha is considered rough, dry, light, and cold. It’s positioned in our colon and throughout the joints. It’s also found in hollow spaces throughout the body.

When the Vata is balanced, it provides:

Alertness
Sound sleep
Enthusiasm
Flexibility
Normal range of motion

People with a Vata-dominate constitution are usually thin. They usually think, talk, and move very quickly. While they have engaging personalities, they also have short memories and attention spans.

Vata Imbalance Symptoms

Here are a few Vata imbalance symptoms to look out for:

Spaciness
Anxiety
Constipation
Insomnia
Dry and/or rough skin
Back and joint pain
Cold hands and feet

You’ll also experience pain when your Vata is out of balance. So what aggravates the Vata? A few factors can include:

Late-night activity
Childbirth
Surgery
Stress
Grief
Traveling
Irregular schedules
Excessive exercise
A dry, rough, and/or raw diet

If you’re not balancing Vata with the other doshas, it can cause hypertension, osteoporosis, insomnia, anxiety, and fatigue.

Many of these symptoms are associated with fibromyalgia.

How to Balance Vata

Knowing how to balance Vata can help you avoid these symptoms. Depending on a regular routine can help you remained grounded. While the stability can help balance your Vata, Vata-influenced individuals also enjoy a variety.

You can mix up these tips for balancing Vata dosha to find that variety in your own life. Here are a few ways to find balance:

Go to bed before 10 p.m.
Maintain a regular daily routine
Eat breakfast following a Vata-pacifying diet
Drink warm beverages
Cook warm, freshly prepared food using sesame oil
Avoid caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol
Skip raw or gas-forming vegetables such as broccoli
Use Abhyanga self-massage
Drink boiled milk with cardamom before bed
Practice Transcendental Meditation
Go to bed by 10 p.m.

Your basic routine can involve washing your face, brushing your teeth, and other personal grooming steps. You can also incorporate meditation and breathing exercises into your routine.

Learning how to balance your Vata will help you feel more mentally alert and enthusiastic. Health-wise, it can also ensure you avoid constipation and breathe easier. Balancing Vata dosha will also improve your circulation, help you maintain normal tissue formation, and get enough sleep each night.

This balance will help ease the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Vata Dosha & Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a disorder known for causing fatigue, pain, and tenderness in the muscles. It often affects the arms, hips, back, shoulders, neck, and legs. While doctors don’t fully understand what causes fibromyalgia, certain lifestyle changes can help ease symptoms.

Many of these changes connect back to balancing the Vata dosha.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, fibromyalgia is caused by:

Poor nourishment
Disturbed digestion
An accumulation of toxins, or ama, throughout the body

According to this pilot study, fibromyalgia patients who were treated with Ayurveda practices noticed significant improvements. The study took note of:

Working ability
Generalised pain
Depression
Anxiety
Tiredness on arising
Stiffness
Tiredness

The main Ayurvedic treatment for fibromyalgia is panchakarma. This form of treatment detoxifies and rejuvenates the body. As a result, patients often develop a stronger immune system and restore balance throughout the doshas.

Panchakarma is a Sanskrit word that translates to “five actions.” Treatments involve cleaning the body of toxic materials, improving nutrition, and eliminating environmental toxins. Panchakarma practices correct imbalances between the doshas as well to purify the body at a deep level.

A few treatments include:

A daily warm oil massage
Herbal steam therapy
A lympathic massage
Herbal enemas
Nasal administrations
Indian massage (Ayurveda Massage)

Panchakarma treatments cleanse the body and improve circulation. This, in turn, balances Vata dosha. Improving your diet and relieving stress can also improve your circulation.

By improving circulation throughout your body, you can reduce inflammation, blockages, digestive problems, and many other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.