Disease and limbs of Ayurveda

Question 1

What are the Ashtanga Ayurveda (8 limbs of Ayurveda)?

Answer 1

Kaya chikitsa (Internal Medicine)
Shalya tantra (Surgery)
Shlakya tantra (Opthamology & ENT)
Kaurmarbhritya / Bala roga (Pediatrics)
Bhuta vidya (Psychiatry)
Agad tantra / Danshtra (Toxicology)
Rasayana tantra (Geriatrics)
Vajkarana tantra (Science of fertility & verility)

Question 2

Kaya Chikitsa

Answer 2

Internal medicine - treatment of body through use of ayurvedic medicines internally or externally

Question 3

Shalya Tantra

Answer 3

Surgery - management of diseases caused by shalya (harmful foreign particles)

Question 4

Shalakya Tantra

Answer 4

Opthamology & ENT - Treatment of most diseases of eyes, ear, nose and throat

Question 5

Bhuta Vidya

Answer 5

Psychiatry - Diseases acquired/inherited from unknown causes

Question 6

Agad Tantra / Danshtra

Answer 6

Toxicology - Knowledge of toxins posionous animals and management of toxicological problems

Question 7

Rasayana Tantra

Answer 7

Geriatrics - Any medicine, material or behavior which enhance longevity and slows down the process of aging ; deals with prevantative heal care

Question 8

Vajikarana Tantra

Answer 8

Science of fertility & virility - management and treatment of sexual disorders

Question 9

What is the natural cycle of the doshas?

Answer 9

Sanchaya - Prakopa - Prashama

Accumulation - Aggravation - Palliation

Question 10

Source of disease in Ayurveda including subfactors

Answer 10

Sahaja (karmaja): Beyond our control
Apathya: Improper diet/lifestyle
- Parinama (kala): Time (season, time of day, age)
- Prajna Paradha (buddhi): Intellect
- Asatma indriya artha samyog: senses/faulty sense perception/sensorial stress

Question 11

Sahaja

Answer 11

(karmaja) - Cause of disease that is:
- Beyond our control
- Genetic/karmic/inherent
- Includes disabilities/ differently-abled
- Our birth situation
* Can be managed but not cured

Question 12

Apathya

Answer 12

Cause of disease that is:

• Due to improper diet/lifestyle according to our dosha
• These types of diseases are curable
• 3 factors/causes of apathya - hetu-traya:
• Parinama (kala)
• Prajna Paradha (buddhi)
• Asatmya indriya artha samyoga

Question 13

Parinama (kala)

Answer 13

One of three hetu-traya (3 causes) that affect apathya and cause disease.

• Time (season, time of day, age, weather)
• Ecological stress

Question 14

Prajna Paradha

Answer 14

One of three hetu-traya (3 causes) that affect apathya and cause disease.

• Crime against wisdom/mistaken intellect
• Doing something you know is not good for you
• Cognitive stress

Question 15

Asatma indriya artha samyoga

Answer 15

One of three hetu-traya (3 causes) that affect apathya and cause disease.

• Sensorial stress
• Imbalance of sensory perception/object
• Ways senses get imbalanced:
• Ayog/Heen - Under use, no input/not enough
• Atiyog - Excess use, too much input
• Mittyayog - Improper use, wrong type of input

Question 16

6 stages of disease as outline by Ayurveda

Answer 16

Sanchaya - Accumulation of doshas
Prakopa - Vitiation/aggravation
Prasara - Overflow/spreading
Stana samsraya - Localization
Vyakti - Manifestation
Bedha - Complications/ diversification/ disease becomes chronic

Question 17

Sanchaya

Answer 17

Accumulation of doshas - 1st stage of disease

• Doshas still in home site
• Happens when demands of system are higher than normal biological functions can handle
• Affects agni, can lower/raise body heat, slows circulation, and causes accumultion of doshas (ie gas in vata, hyperacidity in pitta, more muchs in kapha)
• Easily resolved through diet/lifestyle/fasting

Question 18

Prakopa

Answer 18

Aggravation/vitiation - 2nd stage of disease

• Doshas still in home site, but the quality of accumulated dosha changes and symptoms start showing up
• Dryer/denser stools in Vata
• Looser stools in Pitta
• Congestion in Kapha
• Still easy to resolve through diet/lifestyle/fasting

Question 19

Prasara

Answer 19

Overflow/spreading - 3rd stage of disease
- Dosha leaves it’s own site and spreads to new location
Ex: Burning symptoms of pitta in feet/hands , Drying action of excess vata as dry skin
*Possible to reolve by diet/lifestyle/fasting & simple herbal remedies, agni promotion/adjustment

Question 20

Stana samsraya

Answer 20

Localization - 4th stage of disease

• Makes home in the body by lodging in a specific spot
• Stage when disease process starts
• Doshas/ama have moved into the dhatus and a new material has been formed
• The new material moves into weak areas of the body - more obvious symptoms begin to appear
• Resultion of disease at this point takes more dedication & sophisticated herbal remedies

Question 21

Vyakti

Answer 21

Manifestation/Expression - 5th stage of disease

• Full form of disease starts to show up
• Consiered by Ayurveda as late in the disease cycle
• Diagnosis can now be made in allopathic medicine
• Disease is more difficult to treat at this stage stage, but is still possible w/ sophisticated practices

Question 22

Bedha

Answer 22

Diversification - 6th stage of disease
- Bursting into complications (upadrava)
- Disease becomes chronic
Ex: Diabetes is the vyakti stage, but it becomes bedha when it eventually affects the kidneys, eyes, skin, etc.
*Becomes nearly impossible to cure at this stage - the focus is now on symptom management