Why and how

Your mouth is the gateway to your body and there is a direct connection between your oral and general health. Studies have shown that people with dental and gum disease are at increased risk for diabetes, psoriasis and heart disease among others. Done correctly, oil pulling can have significant beneficial effects on your dental health as well as your overall wellbeing. However, highlighting it as a magic cure for every disease is not something I agree with.

There are two ways to do oil pulling. In Gandoosha, you hold a mouthful of oil till your eyes begin to water and there is a discharge from the nose. In Kabala, you fill three-fourth of the mouth with the oil, then swish in around the mouth thoroughly for five to six minutes before you spit it out.

Choosing the right oil

Scientific studies show that swilling with sesame oil reduces your susceptibility to dental caries, plaque and gum disorders. Sesame oil does not stain the teeth, has no lingering aftertaste and causes no allergic reactions. It is also more cost-effective than some commercially available mouthwashes. To see the heath benefits, gargle daily with a tablespoon of sesame oil after brushing your teeth. Coconut oil can also be used for oil pulling. If you have no specific health complaints, either of these two oils can be used. For health issues, you can consult a qualified ayurveda physician who will prescribe a mixture as per your doshas. These mixtures are made by mixing herb paste [either triphala or trikatu or dasamoola] with either ghee, oil, vinegar, water or honey.

The correct way of swilling

1. Apply the oil [or mixture] on your scalp, face, neck and shoulders. Then steam your face for five minutes.
2. Sit comfortably in a chair and hold the oil or mixture in your mouth. You can also swish it if you want.
3. Continue doing this till mucous collects in your mouth or your eyes begin to water.
4. Spit out the contents.
5. Follow this with a gentle, self-massage and light fomentation on your neck, face, cheeks, shoulders and head.

The pros and cons

Oil pulling has been extensively used as a traditional Indian remedy to prevent tooth decay, bleeding gums, dryness of throat and to alleviate cracked lips. It is used to treat headache, nausea and lack of taste.

Overdoing or incorrect swilling with oil can cause dryness of the mouth, mouth ulcers, thirst, fatigue, aggravation of the disease, tastelessness, nausea and sleepiness.

This was first published in the May 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

The post Oil pulling: Swilling away to good health appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

However, each of us possesses them in different proportions, which accounts for the difference in our appearances, behavioural patterns, emotional tendencies, likes/dislikes and other characteristics.

Based on the proportions, Ayurveda categorises humans into seven primary body types or physiological constitution: vata, pitta and kapha, vata-pitta, vata-kapha, pitta-kapha, vata-pitta-kapha.

The constitution of an individual is determined at the time of fertilisation. The activities of the mother during pregnancy too contribute to its formation. The constitution of a person doesn’t change in a life time—it’s his prakrithi.

Factors such as solar, lunar and seasonal cycles, and lifestyle cause imbalances in the doshas. Such imbalances are known as vikrithi or acquired imbalance and manifest as a disease.

The objective of a treatment in Ayurveda is to balance these imbalanced doshas—to bring them back to their natural equilibrium based on their prakrithi.

How time affects doshas

Imbalance of a dosha takes place several times in a day. For example:

• From 6am – 10am, kapha rises, which may manifest as itching/allergy.
• From 10am – 2pm, pitta rises, leading to increase in acidity.
• From 2pm – 6pm, vata rises, which is experienced as increase in aches and pains.
• From 6pm – 10pm, kapha rises again.
• From 10pm – 2 am, pitta rises again.
• From 2am – 6 am, kapha increases again.

How season affects doshas

Solstices and seasons too influence our doshas. For instance: when it is dewy and in spring, there is an imbalance of kapha; in summer, the kapha balances and vata rises; in the rainy season, there is an imbalance of both pitta and vata; in autumn, vata balances, and pitta imbalances; and in winter, pitta balances.

If you have a weak immune system, then the imbalance of a dosha may manifest as disease depending the season. For instance, if you have a weak system, and it is spring, the natural kapha imbalance may manifest as respiratory tract problems.

How taste affects doshas

Even foods/beverages of different tastes affect the doshas. The sweet taste leads to an increase in kapha, and balance in pitta and vata; the sour taste increases kapha and pitta and balances vata; the spicy taste increases vata and pitta and balances kapha; the bitter taste leads to increased vata and balanced pitta and kapha; the astringent taste causes vata to rise and pitta and kapha to balance.

Restoring balance

The imbalanced doshas can be balanced using two approaches:

• Pacify the doshas within the body through medications/food/lifestyle changes.
• Purify the doshas from the body through panchakarma procedures.

Ayurveda balances the doshas with herbs and lifestyle modifications. It understands the qualities, tastes, or other causes of dosha imbalance and uses the opposite qualities, tastes, and potencies to balance them. Therefore, everything in the universe—a root or a fruit of a plant or even breeze flowing from a particular direction—can be used as a medicine.

Strive to balance your doshas. If your doshas are in equilibrium, you will be in your natural element.

This was first published in the May 2011 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

The post Know your nature appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.