Download ma – Metabolic Waste, The root cause of disease

°ma – Metabolic Waste, The root cause of disease
°ma is big topic in Ayurveda. In fact, all diseases are classified with or without
Àma. It is what makes us sick, what gives us diseases and what we need to
eliminate from our bodies.
°ma is the result of undigested matter that gets lodged in our bodies. Once it
starts to accumulate in the body it will not only affect our body but our mind as
well. If it is not removed it will result in any number of symptoms which
ultimately if untreated can result in disease. Ayurveda states that many diseases
begin as Àma. Once undigested matter accumulates in the body the digestive
functions become weak and this leads to a weakened immune system. This is
why a strong agni is so important as it is the strong fire of our agni that has the
ability to digest everything we eat and burn up any Àma in our system. So, if our
agni is weak, our fire will not be strong enough for proper digestion and
anything we don't fully digest will form Àma. Once Àma is in our body it travels
around until it finds a nice little place to settle and it will grow and grow. Not
only will it grow, but it will also travel and spread throughout the body.
So how do you know if you have Àma? Let’s consult a classic text.
The signs and symptoms of Àma are clogging of channels, low
energy, sense of heaviness, restlessness, lethargy, indigestion,
kapha-type congestion (expectoration), accumulation of the three
malas (wastes: feces, urine, sweat), loss of taste and exhaustion.
-AÈÇÀðga HÃdayam SÂ XIII.23
Other signs to look out for are:
 Coating on the tongue
 Bad Breath
 Strong Body Odor
 Blockages - constipation, sinus, etc.
 Loss of appetite
 Aches and pains
 Loss of enthusiasm
 Lack of mental clarity
 Waking up tired, even after a good nights sleep
Well pretty much any symptom of illness is a sign that your body is not in
harmonious balance and that Àma may have started to form.
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But don’t despair there are things you can do to remove Àma and strengthen
your agni. Treatment will depend on your constitution, your doshic imbalances
and your bodily limitations, but here are some general things you can try:
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Tongue scraping
A light, fresh, whole food diet. The diet would
mainly be a kapha reducing diet as Àma is heavy,
sticky and has the ability to get stuck, just like
kapha. So stay away from dairy, nuts, bread,
pastries, sugar, red meat, eggs and root vegetables
for starters, and have lots of ginger and other
heating foods and spices (be careful if you have
excess pitta). Avoid processed foods, heavy, oily,
fried food
Regular eating habits - Eating meals at the same time each day. Avoid
over-eating, fast eating and eating late at night.
Ginger, cardamom, fennel, cinnamon, or dandelion root tea - choose based
on your state of imbalance (vikÃti).
An Àyurvedic self massage. This type of massage uses hot oil which is left
on the body for at least thirty minutes. It helps removes blockages and
Àma (toxins) from the body.
Vigorous Exercise. My teacher swears by jogging as a sure fire way to get
your digestion working and burn up Àma. But any sport or vigorous
exercise that will get your heart moving, heat you up and get you
sweating is great. This will burn the Àma and flush it out of the system.
Living a sedentary life leads to Àma.
Reduce stress – yoga, meditation, tai chi, qi gong, etc.
The Sanskrit word Àma means raw, uncooked, unprocessed metabolic waste. It is
a morbid substance that becomes toxic to the system. °ma in the gastrointestinal
tract is easy to eliminate, but Àma in the liver, dhÀtus (tissues) and cells can be
very difficult to detoxify.
Sources:
Text book of Ayurveda: Volume 2 by Vasant Lad
AÈÇÀðga HÃdayam by Vagbhatta
http://www.antheasayurveda.com/
J I V A K A
A Y U R V E D A
———————————————————————————————————————————————
949-497-3134

[email protected]

www.jivaka.com
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