Stress is the physical response of the body and mind to an event that occurs in our lives. Stress has been called Sahasa in Ayurveda, and it lowers immunity and makes the body more vulnerable to disease. Stress can be caused by eating unhealthy food, following an irregular or wrong routine and uncontrolled mental emotions like fear, anger or grief.
In Ayurveda, there is a deep connection between emotions and body parts. When we suppress negative emotions, they are not processed and cannot be released, which puts stress on the organs and causes diseases. According to Ayurveda, stress is a disturbance of the nervous system which is controlled by the Vata dosha. Ayurvedic techniques of managing stress not only keep the body and mind in harmony but also gradually increase the level of inner satisfaction.
Ayurvedic treatments basically have two objectives:
– maintain the health of a healthy person, and,
– Remove the disease of the sick person
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Ayurvedic lifestyle recommendations for stress management achieve both the above objectives. According to Ayurveda, life is a harmonious union of body, mind and soul. Ayurveda recommends making lifestyle changes to reach a balanced state, such as scheduling activities such as sleeping and waking, following a balanced diet plan, getting proper exercise, and getting enough rest.
Literally meaning mental peace, stress management remedies work to overcome the ill effects of mental stress-tension, insomnia, lack of concentration, fatigue and headache and help in improving your mental health.
The course of treatment for psychiatry follows 3 phases, Purvakarma – the preparatory phase, Shodhana – the cleansing or elimination phase, and finally Samana which is the corrective and rejuvenating phase.
In the first stage, internal and external oils (snehanam) and therapeutic sweating (swedanam) prepare the body for the removal of toxins. After the body is prepared, the doctor will choose a cleansing procedure or panchakarma treatment based on the body type and overall health of each patient. The imbalance of the doshas (body composition) will be stabilized during these two stages of healing.
The body is gradually brought out of the extreme cleansing and elimination phase during Samana or Paschakarma, the third and final phase of treatment, by correcting drugs, moderate therapeutic treatments, a healthy diet and yoga asanas to revitalize the body.