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Chakras have been described in a number of ways through the ages. What is interesting is its description made in Wikipedia.org where a separate page has been devoted to the concept and different interpretations of the Chakra model have been made. A short summary of the various models that have been used to describe the concept of chakras, primarily sourced form the Wikipedia might put things in perspective. It makes interesting reading if you devote time to each, but a primer like this might help those uninitiated to the topic. 

Chakras is a Sanskrit word meaning circle or a wheel. Theories related to the Chakra fit within the system that links the body and the mind into a single unit. A number of models have been used to describe the concept of Chakras in their own unique manner, albeit addressing the same core concept.

Chakrology is a neologism or a new invention to old concepts that describes the concept of Chakra in a new light. It describes the Chakras through a number of Chakralogies and the interface that exists between the mind and the body is exemplified via a subtle system. It is believed in Chakralogy that no Chakra is supreme and each has a unique role to play. The Hindu model on the other hand has seen changes over the ages and some ancient Hindu Text claims the existence of 8 chakras and some stress on the existence of 5. A model that subscribed to 6 to 7 chakras has gained favor primarily due to the concept’s acceptance in Yoga teaching. The tantric model describes the Chakra in the energy creation paradigm, deriving its source from the creator of the universe or the Brahma. It stresses that the Chakras have to be awakened and the path to awakening is also the path to permanent happiness. The Buddhist Tantric model describes the Chakra, especially the Heart Chakra to be supreme and the source of all happiness.

DO you believe that you are a conscious being? What shall happen when you lose the conscious of the physical being?

As more Eastern philosophies emerge in the mainstream of the West, these philosophies affect the normal living styles of people, we tend to gravitate to systems and practices which are holistic in nature and also provide us solutions that are lasting and effective. A holistic solution to many of the modern day crises involving health and body related issues is often found in ancient Indian literature which has been preserved over the ages in the form of teachings of Gurus, Vedas and sculptures on temples and monuments. The study of the human anatomy and the relationship between the physical being and its emotional equivalence has long been studied as part of Indian literature. The teachings and findings guide us to the concept of Chakras.

The word Chakra means a wheel and derives its origin from Sanskrit; the language which is considered the mother of most modern day languages by historians today. Historians agree that the early Indus Civilization settlers might have used this language thousands of years ago. According to ancient Yogic teachings, the body thrives on a delicate balance between the physical entity and the emotive being. The Chakras hold the key to this balance. Chakras are the fulcrum on which the physical and the emotional being of a human life hinge.

Skin (Twacha in Sanskrit) according to ayurveda is one among the sense organs, and the seat of the sensation of touch. The sensation of touch is considered as the special sense of 2Vayu”, the air element.  The logic in this as for ayurveda is that the air could be better perceived through touch.  (Earth, water, fire, air and space are considered the 5 elements in ayurveda constituting the universe and the human body in their physical form. The special senses for each are Smell, Taste, Vision, Touch and Hearing respectively.)

More over this air element together with space element constitute the humour responsible for movement, control and coordination, “The Vatha dosha”.  This concepts gives further impetus to the skin and its role as the sense organ of touch in treating muscular, skeletal and Neurological impairments.

The formation of skin - is from Blood tissue says Ashtanga Hridaya an ayurvedic classic written around 600AD. “The skin is formed from the metabolism of blood, like a creamy layer forms on top of milk when you cook it”. Thus Skin disorders are often considered as due to Blood impurities.

When skin falls similar to blood, the dosha (humoural) predominance of Blood is also to be considered. Blood is considered the seat of Pitha( constituted by Fire element -the principal metabolic factor).The redness of blood is actually the fiery part (the red blood cells, the Hemoglobin) while the fluid part and the white parts (Plasma, WBC) are predominantly Kapha (constituted by the earth water elements, the Nutritional and stabilizing factor).

The ayurvedic classics describe the skin as having 7 layers. Their names are: Avabhasini, Lohitha, Swetha, Thamra, Rohini, Vedhini, and Mamsadhara. Their important functions, thickness etc. are also explained.

Management of Neurodermatitis in ayurveda

Neurodermatitis a chronic inflammatory condition characterized by the scratch-itch cycle is one of the important hurdles for Dermatology.  It is often precipitated by rubbing of clothes, or any such external body on the skin, followed by scratching and itching. This condition fall under the category of Skin diseases named: Kushta, in ayurvedic terminology.

The important management principle of this disorder is repeated purifications, (Panchakarma) Virechana- Purgation being most important. Nasya- the nasal cleansing, Vamana-emesis and Vasthi the enema are also advised whenever required. Once the heavily imbalanced doshas are purified, the further follow up is the use of decoctions, herbal teas and other herbal supplements to maintain a proper balance.

Charaka samhitha the ayurvedic classic mentions a group of herbs named “Kushtaghna"- curing kushta- dermatological disorders, as well as one called “Kandughna"- reducing itching(anti pruritic ).

The diet has to be well-balanced; for the body needs a lot of energy as a woman progresses during her pregnancy.


An ideal diet is a balance of various types of foods and one supplies the body with crucial inputs required during pregnancy. Producing a baby requires a lot of energy especially in the earlier months of pregnancy, since the division of cells is most intense. Moreover, energy that you build is needed not just during your pregnancy but also after delivery and during the lactation period. The body of a pregnant woman needs about 300 kilocalories per day. (A kilocalorie is a unit of energy, which is the measure of either 1 food calorie, or 1,000 energy calories).  Carbohydrates like wheat, unpolished rice, potatoes, beans, sugar fruits as well as fats like butter, oil, cream, and nuts are rich sources of energy. Though the fetal organs already do have fat reserves, nevertheless, supplying the body with additional essential fatty acids (EFA) during pregnancy holds one in good stead, both during and after pregnancy.


Minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, sodium and iodine are crucial during pregnancy. Chances are that the deficiency of these minerals may lead to complications and can have adverse effects on the unborn child resulting in physical or mental deformity of the child. So why take that risk?
(An ideal Indian Food Platter)

Child birth is an event. The road between conceiving and delivery is an adventure. After that, it’s pure joy!!

Bringing a new human life into this world is an exhilarating experience and every woman’s dream. From the time she knows she is pregnant, preparations automatically begin to give the best and most comfort to the baby . . . before it even begins to pop its head out and make its appearance into this big, wide, and wonderful world.

Experiencing the joys of motherhood is very spontaneous affair. One would hardly need any kind of confirmation or an outside source to let her know that she is pregnant. The connection between the mother and her unborn child clicks instantly. So deep is this attachment that the mother-to-be begins to prepare herself for the big day . . . the birth of her child; tuning in, adjusting to the constant changes that her body will go through intriguing, fascinating, and enjoying each step along the way.

The practice of Yoga during pregnancy not just enables you to enjoy a relaxed and smooth pregnancy, but will go a long way in ensuring a special kind of bonding between mother and child. While it is important to inculcate a feeling of happiness around you, without allowing minor things upset you, do remain cool, calm, composed and cheerful at all times. Yoga emphasizes on positivity of the mind and believes that it is the mind that can make or break a situation. The ability to gain complete control of the mind is important; the body willingly follows!!

As the baby within you grows, you will experience moments that you will enjoy and cherish . . . listening to the first heart beat of your child, the first kick that may catch you unaware at an odd time when your falling asleep or perhaps even when you are in the midst of a high-level conference at work . . .  The baby responds to sounds or music that you listening to the foetus receives signals, absorbs them, and responds to stimuli. This is most ecstatic!! Therefore it becomes necessary to feed the baby not just the best kinds of food for his physical growth but also with good emotional and spiritual material. How can this be done? Perhaps curl up in bed, read a good book in a relaxed atmosphere; listen to soft, soothing music that you’d enjoy; always carry kind and positive thoughts; avoid sudden and excessive bursts of emotions . . .

Fibromyalgia and its close ally the chronic fatigue syndrome has been a recent addition to the list of Psychosomatic disorders troubling human life. It is clearly a life style disorder when we verify the causes. An outcome of erratic life style, unhealthy food, stress, lack of exercise and a possible injury as a precipitating factor, this disorder disturbs normalcy in ones life.

Many patients feel it is triggered by stresses such as an illness, emotional trauma, hormonal imbalance and heavy physical work. This is often followed by generalized pain, fatigue, sleep and mood disturbance .This is often accompanied by severe fatigue and tiredness. The work hours, family life and social life of the individual is usually affected, as the person fall into a vicious cycle.

Pain is generally distributed, but often has trigger points across the body where it is having higher intensity. Though Fibromyalgia is similar to the chronic fatigue syndrome it is characterised by the presence of severe muscular pain. Modern science relates it to low Serotonin level in blood. Basic approach in management is suggested as steps for Pain reduction, sleep improvement and maintaining stable Serotonin and Magnesium levels in blood. 

Fibromyalgia in ayurvedic
Ayurvedic classics have not referred this name or have mentioned any particular symptom complex similar to it .With a thorough reading of the classics do provide an understanding into this problem and its management.

Diagnosing Fibromyalgia- the ayurveda way
Analysing the symptoms it is clear that all its symptoms resembles a Vatha vikara(disease due to vatha increase or imbalance).But it is not mentioned with a specific name nor mentioned other than its symptoms .Here one may be curious to know ‘what does a Vatha imbalance signifies?’

Vatha one among the three functional attributes of our body is considered to be made of Vayu and Akasa (air and space elements).The reasons for its imbalance are as follows as mentioned in Ashtanga Hridayam the classic: 

a. Dietary reasons - intake of bitter, spicy and astringent tastes in excess, eating too little, eating too dry food, eating too much.
b. Life style reasons- holding natural urges like the one for urination ,defecation etc, pressing the natural urges , non sleeping at night ,talking too loud, excessive physical excretion, excessive sex ,too much of thinking and worrying
c. Clinical reasons- doing too severe purifications like purgation or vomiting
d. Emotional reasons- Fear (anxiety) and sorrow (depression)
e. Climatic reasons- summer
f. Diurnal variations- like end of day and night, and end of food digestion. 

Once Vatha is imbalanced then it could cause a multitude of signs and symptoms including Bala upaghatha(weakness) ,Asthisoola (pain related to bones) Malasanga(constipation),Atopa (bloating) Moha (hallucination )Bhaya (fear- anxiety),Soka(sorrow- depression),Samja nasa(unconsciousness),Nidra nasa(insomnia) and so on. Quite many of these symptoms we see in Fibromyalgia as well. The Primary functions of Vatha being movement and control and co ordination of sensory as well as motor functions- the functions of the Central nervous system, there are implications of vatha imbalance on this most important system of our body. The Vatha imbalance thus in a way may be synonymous to the upset of our nervous system which translates as pain.
Soolam (pain) is considered the cardinal sign of any Vatha imbalance in ayurvedic classics.

A first-time mother, when discovering she is pregnant, may wonder what is pregnancy like? Together with joy and excitement, she may experience some form of anxiety, doubt or fear of the unknown. RELAX. Nature is kind and takes care of itself. You will also find that, as time goes by, everything falls in place.

The first three months of your pregnancy is known as the first trimester. It’s the first twelve weeks of the nine-month period. The foetus or the embryo, as it is known in its initial stages, begins to appear and grows at an extremely slow pace. The skeleton of the baby minute in size is formed in the first month and grows at a slightly faster pace from the second month onwards. During this stage, the body goes through several hormonal changes; with the result some may experience nausea, vomiting, frequency of urination, unique food cravings, fatigue, and tenderness in the breasts as the size of your breasts increases. The heart, lungs, and the brain of the baby begin to form. In the second month, even the limbs which look like stubs begin to appear and so does the stomach, liver, spine and the central nervous system. By the time you reach the end of the first trimester, you baby is about three inches in height and an average of about four ounces in weight. The pregnant woman should listen to her body during this period; as the baby’s crucial formation stage is during this trimester. And therefore adequate rest is important.

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posted by: ayesha            Date Added: 03-03-2008