PART FOUR
12
WHEN YOUR CHILDREN get sick, do you immediately wonder who they were exposed to that had a cold or virus or where they went that was filled with germs? If you believe your children’s illnesses come from picking up new pathogens and bacteria that compromise their immune system, you are looking at the situation through the modern medical lens that views health and disease as two different entities. From the Ayurvedic perspective, all disease is the outcome of deviations from within the normal structure or function—or sometimes both the structure and the function—of our own mind-body systems.
According to Ayurveda, a state of balance among the mind-body system represents health, whereas imbalance or disharmony represents disease. They are two sides of the same coin. Let’s look at some examples that will lay the groundwork to help you understand how disease develops from the Ayurvedic perspective.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
The root cause of disorders and disease is always an imbalance within your own system. For example, normal and balanced blood sugar levels are an indication of health as they support normal energy requirements and vitality, whereas low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) or high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) are considered disease. Both conditions are deviations from your own normal, balanced state. In the same way, a person’s ability to sustain a normal body weight is healthy, but being overweight or obese is considered disease, just as being underweight. Cholesterol is the fundamental construction unit of our cells similar to brick and cement as building materials. When cholesterol increases above certain limits, doctors will insist you take statins because your cholesterol is now in a pathological state. The same can be said of all diseases whether obesity, high cholesterol, ADHD, fevers, constipation, diarrhea, and asthma—all are aberrations from the balance within your own body.
When your children fall ill and get a fever, their rising temperature is generated by their own bodies as a response to crisis. While you may look to the transmittal of a viral or bacterial infection as the culprit, the reality is your children are constantly exposed to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and many other pathogens in their environment all the time. It is their immune resistance that prevents them from getting infections. When your child’s immune system is compromised due to physical, mental, nutritional, or environmental reasons, the same pathogens they have already been exposed to attack different body systems and cause infection. Pathogens won’t be able to cause infection unless your child’s immune resistance is weak.
Have you ever experienced times during the school year when you found out that your child’s classmates were sick and then waited for your child to come home with a fever or cold, but they never did? In cases like this, you can see that exposures to bacteria on their own do not mean your child will necessarily become ill. The strength of your child’s immune system is the gatekeeper holding harmful pathogens at bay. These are a couple of different ways you can understand that health and disease are two sides of the same coin—the balanced side being a state of health, and the imbalanced side, a state of disease.
Ayurvedic Principle of Nidana
If all disease is the expression of imbalances within your child’s own structures and physical and mental body functions, what causes these deviations? To understand the ways disease manifests, you need to know the different types of diseases your child can have, and from there, you can identify the root or origin of the disease—known as nidana. According to Ayurveda, there are seven distinct classifications of disease according to different criteria.
HEREDITARY DISEASES: The seed potential of disease existed at the time of inception and was inherited from either the maternal or paternal side. The imbalance was carried forward through one of the parent’s genes. Examples of inherited disorders include muscular dystrophy, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis.
CONGENITAL DISEASES: Disease developed during the fetal period in the mother’s womb due to etiological factors including dietary, lifestyle, or psychological imbalance, or habits like smoking during the period of pregnancy. Disease tendencies generated from the intrauterine environment include hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disorders, and respiratory and mental disorders.
DISORDERS DEVELOPED DURING BIRTH AND DELIVERY: Examples include Erb’s palsy and umbilical cord trauma, which can affect oxygen flow and lead to brain damage.
ACQUIRED DISEASES: These diseases are the outcome of exposures in the world after birth and are generated from dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors that cause development of various disorders. Examples include unwholesome practices such as overeating, vaping, or smoking.
DISEASES DUE TO TIME CYCLES: Disease develops during or because of influences of various time cycles such as diurnal cycles, lunar cycles, seasonal cycles, and life cycles. Children, for example, are prone to seasonal allergies and have an increased tendency toward congestion and drooling due to the kapha predominance inherent to their life cycle. An increase in epileptic seizures and psychological disturbances during a full moon is another example of disease due to time cycles.
NATURAL DISORDERS: Imbalances that occur as a part of the normal dynamics of day-to-day life. Hunger, thirst, and feeling exhausted after exercise are not disorders, but temporary imbalances that require management through balanced lifestyle routines. Ayurveda generally considers these to be physiological expressions, but if you don’t regulate them, they can progress and express as real disease as in the case of not eating when you feel hungry, which can lead to hyperacidity and gastritis.
NON-COMPREHENDIBLE DISORDERS: Imbalances that occur without known reasons or specific warnings. Burn or electric shock from lightning, injuries, and epidemics are some examples.
Ayurveda classifies the causative factors of disease in a wholly comprehensive manner. Etiological factors may be internal or external, but even the internal causative factors are generated or stimulated by external factors. For example, a disorder that occurs due to an innate hereditary defect, which would be considered an internal etiology, is usually triggered by external factors such as diet and lifestyle irregularities favorable to the manifestation of the ailment. Diabetes is an apt example, as it typically expresses due to extreme stressful internal or external conditions. External agents are not only physical in nature; impacts generated from the mind are also considered external to the system. For example, the death of a close relative occurs externally, but the grief and worry you experience in the face of crisis will affect your mind and body functions.
According to Ayurveda, there are three universal reasons for health and disease: improper use of sense organs, knowingly doing wrong things, and the impact of time cycles.
improper use of senses
As we’ve discussed, the five sense organs—eyes, nose, tongue, skin, and ears—are the portals that connect your child’s inner self to the external world. These sense organs inform every perception children have of good/bad, pleasant/fearful, hot/cold, and every emotion they feel whether happiness, sadness, desire, aversion, generosity, greed, compassion, competition, pride, kindness, envy, and so on. When children use their senses in an improper way, all of their perceptions become distorted, and as a result, their entire mind-body systems’ responses will also be distorted.
Think about the times your eyes play tricks on you and distort your view of something—perhaps while driving at night or sitting outside in the evening. Maybe you’ve seen the same effects in your children. When a young child sees a favorite teddy bear in the corner of a well-lit room, for example, they might go over and hug it, whereas if they see the same teddy bear in a dim light, they may become frightened and run away fearing there is something strange in the room. Imbalanced perceptions add to the formation or aggravation of diseases in children as well as adults.
acting against intellect
If someone asked you whether you “knowingly do wrong things,” your automatic response might be “no, of course not.” But if you really analyze and observe your thoughts and the things you do throughout the day, you will see that on closer inspection it’s likely a very different story.
Do you drink multiple cups of coffee a day despite knowing coffee isn’t good for you and may even make you feel jittery and out of sorts? How about drinking ice water, eating at irregular times or while watching TV, or sleeping very late? You might find it an interesting exercise to make a list throughout a single day of the different ways you knowingly engage in actions you know are detrimental or unhealthy, and then think about how many of those routines you may unconsciously impose on your children. We all find excuses for doing what is pleasurable in the moment when we don’t think the repercussions will be so bad. But when we consider how each small choice knocks our systems a little out of balance and the cumulative effect of these decisions day after day, we can see that the impact may be greater than we think. Ayurveda invites you to more consciously explore your own habits and behaviors so you can experience your own internal transformations and support your children in the most authentic way possible.
Ayurveda considers acting against intellect one of the main causes of disease. Making unhealthy choices despite an intellectual awareness of what is suitable or ideal encourages sensory temptations that overpower your intellect and take control of the mind. Any act committed regardless of intellect, willpower, or memory is considered an error if it causes an untoward result. Our intellects allow us to reason out the correct decision. Will or willpower is the mental strength to stay on a righteous path and steer away from incorrect deeds. And memory provides us with prior examples of actions and outcomes that let us know the particulars of better decision-making. A conscious, healthy individual initiates action only with proper application of all three.
With so many opportunities for full-grown, mature adults to make mistakes all day long, imagine how life feels for children with such young, vulnerable minds and hearts prone to constant temptation—their memory is short and their intellect and willpower as yet undeveloped. It is a parent’s responsibility to understand this weakness and vulnerability and manage it in a positive way. As you can attest to, parents face all kinds of situations morning, noon, and night that give you the opportunity to encourage positive shifts within your children—even if that means sometimes following their temptations in a limited way to help them maintain emotional balance.
A lot of parents tend to reflexively say no a great deal of the time when their children ask to do one particular thing or another without offering any explanation. While they may have very clear reasons to deny these impulsive requests, they may not be aware of the impact this type of blunt refusal and denial can have on a child’s mind. This type of response affects your child’s entire mind-body system, and over time can cause them to become depressed or turn rebellious at home due to built-up frustration and discouragement. Dr. J has found that when children are very insistent on something—even when you think it’s something you shouldn’t allow—the more positive approach is to concede some quantity of what they desire and then explain the reasons why this isn’t something you should do together very often.
For example, let’s say your child has been asking to go for an ice cream after school and persists every day from the minute they see you that you take them to the ice cream shop. Instead of continuing to say no over and over, you could take them for a little treat, enjoy the moment with them, and then explain afterward the reasons it’s not good for them to have ice cream before dinner very often. Spend time with your children in situations like this and let them know you hear how important their desires are to you. This will create an opportunity to talk lovingly with them about some healthier options for the future you can both agree on. This is mind care—keeping your children happy, peaceful, and feeling supported and positive, an aspect just as important as establishing healthy diet and lifestyle routines.
effects of imbalanced time cycles
As we have discussed, variations in time cycles and rhythms can also lead to imbalances and impact internal physiological and emotional harmony. These include circadian rhythms, seasonal rhythms, and even the cycle of life. According to Ayurveda, even derangement of the seasons can trigger disease. Let’s take a look at what this means. A season is considered “proper” when it carries its associated natural properties and intensity. For example, a proper summer has an optimal amount of light and heat expected for a particular geographical area. If a summer is too hot, it creates an excess with all living beings, and that excess heat leads to pitta aggravation. When a summer isn’t as hot as it should be, this will have impacts of deficiency on the earth and cause dullness. In other cases, when a summer emits untoward radiation that extends into the fall, or winter cold extends into the spring season, for example, this will also have negative impacts on all living systems and beings.
Six Stages of Disease
Ayurveda identifies disease as a six-stage process and has the profound ability to recognize disease before it fully manifests, which makes it easier to prevent, treat, and cure.
Every disease process initiates with causative factors and emerges primarily from imbalances of the doshas. The causative factors are generally the elements that have increased a specific dosha or doshas and caused unwanted accumulation: the first stage. If the causative factors persist, the increased dosha is then carried into a further state of aggravation: the second stage of disease. In the third stage, the aggravated doshas begin to spread across the entire mind-body system. During the first three stages of disease, symptoms will generally be dosha-based and still easily treatable. When you identify imbalances prior to the fourth stage of disease, preventive protocols are usually all that are needed to effectively treat the disease.
In the fourth stage, the dosha or doshas that spread the imbalance in stage three localize in the body’s weakest organs or systems and begin to alter function or physical structure—or sometimes both. Once localization occurs, disease enters the fifth stage of manifestation, when the cardinal signs and symptoms of the disease appear. If untreated, it can progress to the sixth stage of advanced disease and complication. Ayurveda considers the first three stages of disease in a preventative phase as the disease has not yet manifested whereas the last three stages require curative action.
Clinical presentation of disorders can be different in children than in adults despite similar dosha and organ involvement because the nature of an illness varies according to age. Ayurvedic assessment of children requires a comprehensive consultation that includes clinical observations, physical examination, diagnostic methodologies, and a detailed interview with the parents and children.
Ayurvedic Principle of Chikitsa
The main goal of Ayurvedic treatment, known as chikitsa, is to preserve, nurture, and nourish an individual’s core vitality with the intention of not only curing the existing disease but also preventing further relapses or complications by bringing the mind-body system back to a normal, balanced state.
The primary difference between Ayurvedic medicine and modern medicine is where the focus lies. Ayurveda concentrates on managing the reasons for the imbalance that gave rise to the symptoms, whereas modern medicine fixates on immediate symptomatic relief. Parents often desire the same and identify disease with their child’s symptoms and relief as an indication of healing. But symptoms are not disease; they are indicators of disease.
Let’s take another look at childhood allergies: A child who suffers from breathlessness due to allergy-induced asthma may get sudden symptomatic relief from a bronchodilator, but over time the lungs will suffer greater exposure to the allergens that can lead to more complicated issues in the future. I am not suggesting a child be allowed to suffer with breathlessness! This is why Western medicine and Ayurveda can be complementary: modern medicine cares for the immediate acute symptoms while Ayurveda takes a longer view of the disease to provide a long-term, sustainable outcome. The Ayurvedic approach to this disorder would be to provide a complete protocol that enhances your child’s immune resistance against allergens and strengthens the lungs, which in turn will help relieve symptoms along with the bronchodilator.
You may find it interesting that Ayurveda considers digestion and metabolism (agni) the most important factors in healing an individual from any disease. The reason for this is that agni is responsible for all of the biotransformations within the body. Since balanced digestion and metabolism are criteria to sustain optimal health, that is Ayurveda’s first and primary goal when managing disease. Once a person’s agni is addressed, priority is given to balancing the dosha or doshas involved in the disease process. Next comes the repair and rejuvenation of the organ or system involved in the disease. Finally, we work toward relieving the presentations or symptoms. This stepwise process doesn’t mean waiting for agni to be completely corrected before addressing the real pathology or symptoms. Appropriate measures are taken concurrently to pacify the involved doshas, which in turn begin to work on the affected organ or system, and the individual components slowly, collectively come back into balance. At the same time, various steps are taken to alleviate a person’s symptoms and establish a complete treatment protocol that includes following healthy lifestyle habits and a specified diet regimen.
When you follow these principles with the guidance of an Ayurvedic physician, it not only alleviates the disease, but eradicates the causes that manifested the illness. At the same time, various steps are taken to alleviate a person’s symptoms and establish a complete treatment protocol that may include some of the traditional Ayurvedic therapies you’ll find below along with following healthy lifestyle habits to balance the doshas assessed by the nature of the disease or disorder.
Traditional Ayurvedic Therapies
There are many bodywork techniques mentioned in the ancient texts that are commonly used as stand-alone procedures and as components of therapeutic interventions. These Ayurvedic therapies can be beneficial for maintaining health and used as treatment modalities for specific disorders. Ayurveda considers skin one of the most important routes of therapeutic administration, and an experienced Ayurvedic physician will be able to select therapies as well as the best oils or ingredients for each procedure for a wholly tailored and unique healing treatment. There are many such therapies commonly used in the management of both physical and mental childhood disorders: let’s look at some of the main ones.
abhyanga
According to the ancient texts of Ayurveda, abhyanga, or whole-body oil massage, is indicated as a daily application to prevent dryness and the process of degeneration. This therapy supports the body physically, mentally, and emotionally while balancing the doshas. Its rhythmic motion helps to relieve stiffness from the joints and muscles and free body movements. This stimulating treatment increases blood circulation, which in turn encourages quick removal of metabolic wastes while at the same time providing relief for conditions such as anxiety, fatigue, circulatory disorders, and dryness. Abhyanga enables sound sleep, increases one’s general sense of well-being and life span, and also improves the complexion and texture of the skin.
shashtika lepa
A traditional body massage administered with cooked Njavara rice after liberal application of medicated oil over the entire body is known as shashtika lepa. Njavara is a variety of red rice known to be highly nourishing and strengthening. It is cooked into a soft paste in cow’s milk then mixed with an herbal decoction. The paste is applied all over the body to induce sudation (sweat). This procedure is highly rejuvenating, nourishing, and prepares the individual to bear the stress and strain of a busy lifestyle. It enhances physical consistency, strengthens the nervous system, and improves the overall appearance of the skin.
shirolepa
In this procedure, an herbal paste is applied externally to the scalp. For children with an intellectual disability or other cognitive issues, the paste is made from a combination of licorice, Indian gooseberry, and musta (nut grass). Shirolepa is also effective in the management of psoriasis, dandruff, and scalp lesions.
karna poorana
Kama poorana is an ancient Ayurvedic healing therapy for ear ailments using lukewarm herbal or medicated Ayurvedic oils. This Ayurvedic therapy offers effective relief to patients suffering from earaches and certain conditions of the head and neck, including pain.
nasya
Nasya is a traditional Ayurvedic therapy for the nose, throat, sinuses, and head. The face, shoulders, and chest are massaged with specific herbal oils to cause therapeutic perspiration. The herbal oil is measured in an exact dose and instilled into the nostrils so the individual can slowly inhale it. This Ayurvedic therapy is known to prevent allergies, sinusitis, headaches, migraine, rhinitis, and other nasal issues. Therapeutic oils for nasya need to be selected by an Ayurvedic professional based on the individual and disease tendencies. This therapy will cleanse, purify, and strengthen the nasal passages to breathe fully and easily again.
pichu
A thick layer of cotton wool or a gauze pad soaked with a warm herbal oil is applied over affected areas and changed periodically in a warming cycle. Pichu therapy is used in children with ADHD, autism, and other cognitional issues utilizing specific traditional oils. It is also effective for degenerative and painful problems like back pain and for healing injuries.
shirodhara
Shirodhara is a traditional Ayurvedic therapy that involves pouring medicated liquid, usually oils, over the forehead with a rhythmic side-to-side oscillation for a stipulated period of time. The rhythm of these oscillations is of much importance as it stimulates the seat of our cognition, which results in channelization of bio-energies and restoration of good health. Shirodhara rejuvenates and revitalizes body and mind and ultimately strengthens the physical constitution of the individual. It relieves stress and strain-related problems, imparts better vision and hearing, and clears several nasal problems.
shirovasti
In shirovasti, specially prepared warm medicated oil is poured inside a tall leakproof cap, attached firmly around the head, and sealed with black lentil paste. The oil is kept lukewarm throughout the process. Shirovasti is traditionally done for vata conditions such as headaches, ear diseases, degenerative brain disorders, cerebral palsy, lesions of the brain, epilepsy, and others.
Diabetes is now one of the most common metabolic disorders around the globe. Identifying increased sugar levels in the blood is the simplest method to confirm diabetes. Based on Ayurvedic teachings, diabetes falls under a group of conditions termed prameha, expressed as excessive and altered manifestations of urine and comprised of twenty different stages. If the initial stages of prameha are untreated, it can develop into madhumeha, increased sugar levels in the blood and urine with excessive urination. An expert Ayurvedic doctor can identify tendencies headed toward diabetes in a patient long before they reach the stage of increased sugar in the blood and urine. The ability to pinpoint these disease tendencies before manifestation is unique to the science of Ayurvedic medicine.
Many parents and caregivers unnecessarily turn to over-the-counter medications because they don’t want to see their children suffering. While the intent is justifiable from an emotional perspective, such practices not only mask your child’s symptoms but also give the underlying disease a chance to progress or even create irreversible complications from undesirable side effects of OTC drugs.
Dr. J remembers one pediatric case in India when a child suffered from a ruptured appendix followed by severe post-surgery complications of intestinal adhesions. When the child mentioned to his parents that his stomach pain had become unbearable, they thought it was from running around and playing with his friends and began giving him over-the-counter painkillers. They continued this regimen every day for a week and thought he was getting better since the pain had subsided—only it hadn’t. The pills were just masking the symptoms of a serious underlying condition, and no one had any idea until the boy collapsed and was taken to a nearby hospital. As this story illustrates, in most cases, symptoms are indicators of disease that will point you toward the root of the problem. Masking symptoms can lead to progression of underlying disease and complications.
When you tune in to the underlying causes of your child’s complaints on a day-to-day basis, you’ll often find that natural home remedies and treatments can work wonders—without any unwanted side effects. For example, colicky pain after a meal with feelings of heaviness in the stomach indicates indigestion. What would be the point in giving your child medicine in that case? You could instead prepare a simple tea with cumin seed and a bit of ginger and ask your child to refrain from eating anything for a few hours while their symptoms slowly disappear.
Ayurvedic healing starts with uncovering and avoiding the cause of disorder followed by remedying the core underlying imbalances that create disharmony in the mind and body systems. In the next chapters, we will discuss the Ayurvedic perspective on specific childhood health conditions along with principles of prevention and management.