Obesity is characterized by excess or abnormal body fat that can impair your health. Obesity is an increasing problem all over the world as lifestyles change and fast food chains gain popularity. Obesity increases the risk of many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, reflux disease, diabetes, tumors, and sleep apnea. One in four adults and one in 10 children in Canada are now living with excess weight.
Obesity is a complex illness caused by a number of different factors, including your environment, genes, emotional health, lack of sleep, medical problems or even some medications you may be on.
In Ayurveda, obesity is regarded as medoroga, a disorder of meda dhatu, which includes fat tissue and fat metabolism. According to Ayurveda, obesity begins with an imbalance of doshas (Vata, Pita, and Kapha) dominated by kapha, an imbalance of agni (digestive fire), an imbalance of the malas (waste products) or an imbalance of srotas (microcirculatory channels). This collection of imbalances then interferes with the formation of tissues or dhatus and leads to a tissue imbalance that we experience as excess weight.
In a balanced state, Kapha gives nourishment to these tissues through various micro channels. However, when it is aggravated, Kapha leads to production of toxins in the body. These toxins are heavy and dense in nature and accumulate in weaker channels of the body, causing their blockage. In the case of an obese person, toxins accumulate in Medovahi Srotas (fat channels), thereby leading to an increase in the production of fat tissue (Meda Dhatu). When the body produces more fat tissues, it causes an increase in weight. Overweight people have an excess of ama in their body. Ama is the toxins that build up in the body due to an unhealthy lifestyle and incomplete or inefficient digestion. Ama blocks the circulatory, lymph and other channels of the body. Ayurvedic treatment for obesity primarily aims at getting rid of ama.
According to Ayurveda, it is extremely difficult or perhaps impossible to lose weight in the presence of ama.It is because of this reason that people fail to lose weight even when they limit their diet. So it is important to get rid of ama first and then work on losing weight.
At Sevayu, our first approach is the determination of the appropriate weight according to an individual’s body constitution. As executive weight problems are commonly related to sedentary or irregular lifestyle, unhealthy dietary habits and stress, this can be managed very effectively by adopting preventive measures and periodical administration of life-enhancing therapies to correct the doshic imbalance thereby favouring an optimum level of fat metabolism.
Ayurveda emphasizes that losing weight is not about starving or suppressing the appetite; it is about balancing your fat metabolism by rebalancing kapha. The therapies help in clearing the channels that are blocked with metabolic toxins and ensure a free flow of energy within the body so the doshas are in a balanced state. This will encourage an increase in fat metabolism along with the administration of treatments like Udwartana, Swedana, Basti helping the body to eliminate the metabolic toxins along with fat.
To break the cycle, the Ayurvedic expert at Sevayu determines the unique nature of the individual (Prakriti) and the nature of imbalance (Vikriti). The essence of recommendation is generally comes down to addressing a few core issues like strengthening digestion (balance agni), removing ama, improving dietary habits and adjusting inappropriate daily routines and lowering stress.
