On examining her pulse, I found that it was full of swelling and moving like a snake. The vata pulse was jumping more with low circulation, and it was difficult to feel. I asked her if she had ever had an abortion, and she said twice. I then asked her if she had a caesarean, and she said yes. She went on to tell me how she had progressively started putting on weight after her cesarean.
To lose weight, she had tried several diets on her own. She began her day with a black tea followed by salads, had only sandwiches and coffee for lunch, and ate two slices of bread and vegetables for dinner, in spite of it she continued to add on the kilos.
Wrong diet, over fasting and sedentary lifestyle was aggravating her vata pulse, resulting in bloating. Salads are strictly not recommended to people having vata.
She was put on a diet of whole or split mung, mung soup, rice, vegetable soup with ghee (clarified butter) to be taken at four hourly intervals, with basti (medicated enema) treatments familiar to panchakarma (the age-old science of purifying the body).
Within a fortnight, her pulse began to feel light and the vata level began to reduce. After the complete basti course spreading over a year, she lost 18 kilos. After three years, today her weight stands at 55 kgs and her pulse is healthy and steady.
I also taught her how to ‘feel’ her own pulse and now, whenever there is a slight rise in vata, she immediately embarks on a vata-pacifying diet that includes drinking 1 tsp of castor oil at bedtime with a glass of warm water, cooked rice, dates, vegetables, and sesame oil massage.
This client actually bounced back to health because of the correct diagnosis of a vata type of pulse. More importantly, she became self educated in diagnosing her own problem. Ayurveda is truly the ‘Science of life.’
A 25-year-old medical representative, with a history of asthma since childhood, came for a cure to his severe migraine problem. He had tried a variety of painkillers to combat the disease, but to no avail.
On examining the client’s pulse, I found that it was hot, fast, strong, and heavy to feel due to aam (toxins) created by indigestion and the pitta pulse was jumping more.
His job involved walking in the hot sun the whole day without fixed hours for eating meals. Besides, he was fond of spicy, fermented, sour foods, tomatoes, pizzas, yogurt, and alcohol.
Not only this, he was taking inhalers, antibiotics, bronchodialators, and steroids at frequent intervals for asthma, resulting in his immunity level being very low. His diet, lifestyle, and asthma medicines were pitta increasing. Hence, he was suffering from migraines.
I advised him to take 2 teaspoons of cow ghee first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to control pitta and a teaspoon of Triphala at night as a mild virechan to remove pitta.
After about a month-and-a-half, he reported a 50 percent reduction in the intensity of migraine and even his asthma attacks had reduced. Slowly, his asthma medicines were reduced. After six months, his pulse was free from aam and was very light to feel. With the heat in the body controlled, the client’s pitta pulse was not jumping more; it was healthy, light, and steady.
A 30-year-old businessman once came to me for treatment of diabetes and obesity.
After checking his pulse, I immediately told him, “This is not you.” He replied that he was very slim until he started his business six years ago. Next, I asked him, “Are you diabetic?” because his pulse was very humid, with the kapha pulse very prominent.
“Yes, I am on insulin and my blood sugar is not under control even after medication.” He pleaded that he wanted to get rid of the insulin injections.
His pulse was very heavy to feel because he had aam. The sedentary lifestyle, stress and fondness for fried foods and sweet with no exercise had caused slow digestion and formation of mucous and kapha, which blocked his channels of pancreas, lungs, and intestines. This had resulted in increase in the blood sugar level, in cough, congestion in chest with respiratory problems, and severe constipation.
I advised him to walk for an hour daily. To begin with, he was put on a diet of mung soup, and mung with spices like dry ginger, oregano, asafoetida, black pepper, rock salt, onion, garlic, and coriander. Then, vegetables and rice was included in the menu.
He was asked to take a teaspoon of a mixture of turmeric and amla (gooseberry) powder on an empty stomach in the morning. At night, he was asked to take a teaspoon of castor oil with warm water. He successfully did virechan and enema treatment of panchakarma as well. Side by side, his insulin dosage was reduced every week.
After a year of adopting this lifestyle, his insulin was stopped and he regained his slim look once more. Today, his pulse is without aam (very light to feel) and the kapha pulse is feeble but prominent.