Body, mind, heart and spirit are all subjected to the ravages of day-to-day stress. Worries about security, economic difficulties, emotional trauma-stressors like these can take a toll on health and longevity if not addressed in a timely fashion. Excessive physical strain causes three sub-doshas to go out of balance: Shleshaka Kapha, the subdosha concerned with lubrication of the joints and moisture balance in the skin, Vyana Vata, which governs the circulation, nerve impulses and the sense of touch, and Tarpaka Kapha, which governs the neuro humors.Emotional stress disturbs Sadhaka Pitta, the mind-body operator concerned with the emotions and functioning of the heart. To balance emotional stress, you need to favor Pitta-pacifying foods and routine, such as: -

• Eating lots of sweet juicy fruits
• Favoring Pitta-pacifying foods such as the sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.
• Drinking a cup of warm milk with cooling rose petal preserve before bed
• Cooking with cooling spices such as cardamom, coriander, cilantro, and mint
• A daily self-massage with a cooling oil such as coconut oil
• Going to bed before 10:00 p.m.

Mental Stress

Mental stress, according to ayurveda, is caused by an overuse or misuse of the mind. For instance, if you perform intense mental work many hours a day, or if you work long hours on the computer, it can cause an imbalance in Prana Vata, the mind-body operator concerned with brain activity, energy and the mind. The first symptom of Prana Vata imbalance is losing the ability to handle day-to-day stress. As the person becomes more stressed, it impacts mental functions such as dhi, dhriti, and smriti-acquisition, retention, and recall. The person's mind becomes hyperactive, yet the person loses the ability to make clear decisions, to think positively, to feel enthusiastic, and even to fall asleep at night.To address day-to-day mental stress, it is important to begin by managing mental activity. Secondly, you can take measures to pacify Prana Vata, for example, by:

• Favoring Vata-balancing foods, such as sweet, sour, and salty tastes.
• Favoring warm milk and other light dairy products
• Performing a full-body warm oil self-massage everyday

It is important to get plenty of rest, and if you are having trouble falling sleep, avoid stimulants like caffeine and sip on herbal tea instead. Relaxing aromatherapy and meditation can help calm the mind.

Basic aim of the therapy is to procreate healthy progeny and to increase sexual potency in man.Specific drugs are mentioned to improve sexual vigour, sperm motility and sperm count.Generally all kapha increasing drugs act as vajikarana.

Examples:-

• Yastimadhu ( glycyrrhiza glabra)
• Atma gupta ( mucuna pruriens)
• Jatiphala ( myristica fragrans)
• Masa ( phaseolus mungo)
• Asvagandha ( withania somnifera)
• Satavari ( asparagus racemosus)
• Abhyanga (oil massage), satvavajaya ( positive mind) can also act like vajikarana.

Function of sukra dhatu :-

• Bijartham/ garbhotpadanam-ferility/ to initiate conception
• Harsa-libido or sexual desire
• Deha balam-strength of the body to withstand adverse extrinsic and intrinsic conditions
• Priti-fondness or attraction towards opposite sex
• Cyavana-sensation of proper ejaculation and orgasm
• Dhairya-boldness

Sukra niskramana- ejaculation :-

• Eight factors mentioned by caraka acharya, which contributes to the process of ejaculation are
• Harsa-libido
• Tarsa-patio or desire for ladies
• Saratva-mobility of sukra
• Dravata-fluidity of sukra
• Paicchilya-sliminess or viscidity of sukra
• Gaurava-heaviness or gravity of sukra
• Anu pravana bhava-tendency to flow down due to property of atomicity.
• Maruta druvatva-propulsion by apana vata

Rasayana denotes rejuvenation

It is one of the 8 branches of ayurveda. Rasayana means the circulation of rasa( plasma). Rasa is the fundamental fluid of the body and the tissues are nourished by it.It prevents old age and prolongs life span.Specific herbs to prevent remission of illness are mentioned.Rasayana also includes life disciplining procedures like yama and niyama ( right living, discipline and religious rites). They modify the behavior and create mental and physical health.Rejuvenation produces regeneration of vitality, energy and stamina.Rasayana also denotes mercurial compounds which can be used as rejuvenating medicines.

Causes of degeneration of body Food:-

Excess salt, spicy, bitter, raw, non-nourishing, decayed, irregular food habits, alcohol abuse.

Activities:-

• Excessive exercises, day sleep, excess sex, suppression of urges.
• Psychological:-
• Anger, violence, fright, sorrow, greed and dejection

Process of degeneration :-

• Disturbance of agni
• Imbalance of tridoshas mainly the aggravation of vata
• Influence of vayu in seven dhatus starting from rasa.
• Diminution of ojas.

Aim of rasayana :-

• Restoring dosic balance.
• Maintaining the integrity of dhatus.
• Stimulating the gastric fire.
• Improving vitiality
• Invigorating the sense organs.
• Removing fear, grief, anxiety, depression etc..
• It reestablishes metabolism and enhances the zeal of life and capacity to work.

Benefits of rasayana:-

• Increased life span
• Improved memory and intelligence
• Overall vitiality
• Establishment of youthfulness
• Color and complexion
• Good voice
• Clarity of senses.
• Good sleep
• Optimum health.

Types of rasayana:-

There are two types of rasayana

• Kuti pravesika (indoor regimen)
• Vatatapika (outdoor regimen)

Before doing the rasayana, a classical panchakarma treatment should be done.The purpose of panchakarma before rasayana is to remove all disturbed dosas from the system.

Prior to it, a combination of haritaki ( terminalia chebula), amalaki ( Indian gooseberry), guda ( jaggery), vaca ( acorous calamus), vidanga ( embelia ribes), haridra ( turmeric), marica ( pepper), sunthi (dried ginger) should be given.

The following should be avoided :-

Spicy, bitter, salt, sour foods curd, etc.

Exertion, stress, day sleep, emotional outburst.

Alcohol and exposure to sun.

Life Style Disease Management

Hypertension:-A systolic blood pressure of 160mm hg or more and/or a diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or more is taken as hypertension (Rakta chapa)

Adverse effects: Cardiovascular death, stroke, heart failure, and myocardial infarction.

Management: Samanam, sirodhara, parisheka, satwavajaya practices like yoga, dhyana etc, restricted salt intake, sound sleep and regulated life style.

Insomnia:-Sleep become shorter, lighter and more broken, with greater difficulty in getting back to sleep again. Disturbing factors -> anxiety, depression, pain constipation, cramps, day napping, cough etc.

Management: Regulation of sleep timing, dhaara, medhya rasayana, satwavajaya.

Obesity :- it is a condition of the body characterized by over accumulation of fat under the skin and around certain internal organs. That is imbalance in when the flesh around the abdomen is more than 2inches when pinched that state is taken as obesity. Cause: excessive in take of sweets. Cold items, unctuous food, fat food. Lack of excerise, sleeping during daytime, excessive intake of alcohol, hormonal problems.

Sign & symptoms: reduction of longevity, premature aging, low sex drive, unpleasant body odour, excessive sweating , difficulty in breathing, excessive hunger and thirst.

Obesity:-Obesity is caused by overeating (Glutony). The excess food is that which is more than body needs for its healthy functioning, more than the elements lost in body, and excess amount of food which body can digest. The food which body cannot make use even after proper exercise is also comes under excess food. Obesity also occurs in persons with hormonal defect. In obese persons, hyperactivity of digestive fire also will be present. The calorie which is in excess in the body is stored as fat.

Treatment: A dictom says that there is no treatment for obesity. Control of food and following healthy lifestyle is the only remedy and also exercise like swimming, morning walk will be optimum for obese persons.

Alcoholism: A substance, because of its tamoguna, masks the budhi and cause mada is called madaka dravya (narcotic drug)

If a person who is durbala, (weak) and of thamasika prakriti consume excessive alcohol, all three doshas get vitiated and localize in the budhi. This produce obstruction in the activities of the speech body and mind leading to vaishamya (vitiation) of sanjnavaha srothas and prana vaha srotas.

Treatment:

There are two options in the treatment protocol

1. To follow doshic line, i.e. treat the dosha predominantly present, since madatyaya is a tridoshaja roga, i.e. vata, pitta, kapha.

2. other option is treat kapha sthana first then pitta later vata

3. After digestion of ama Madhya when appetite and taste sensation returns, variety of alcohol beneficial to the individual should be given.

Diabetics:- due to various factor kapha under going increases, vitiates the medha(fat), mamsa(muscles), and kleda( body fluids) and draws them to the urinary bladder and produces more Madhumeha.Madhumeha (diabetes mellitus) is the disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. Madhumeha is one of the Eight Maharogas because it affects most vital organ of the human body and every cell of human physiology. The ancient ayurvedic physician described not only the sweetness of urine as one of its major symptom, but also the relationship of the disease to the disturbance of the five sheath of the body. It one of the 20 types prameha.

Management:

According to Ayurveda the line of the treatment of prameha is strictly based on individual constitution and the following factors.

1. Prakrithi of the patient.
2. Dosha predominance of the disease
3. Dushya vititiona.
4. Obstuction of srotas.
5. Manasika prakriti.
6. Ahara and vihara
7. Heredetary factors

Treatment:

In general type 1 DM, vataja prameha the patients are advised to have brimhana medication as well as diet which increases dhatu in the body.In type 2 DM, obese diabetic patient the optimal body strength having intence increase of dosha, purification of the body is advocated.  This is depended on dosha predominance.

1. Snehanam
2. Shodhanam
3. Samanam
4. Pathya and apathyas
5. Vyayamam

In strong prameha patients with increased dosha, shodhana chikitsa is prescribed.