More and more people suffer from recurrent pain of the intestines in combination with constipation, diarrhea, flatulence and/or bloating. Those suffering can’t explain why the symptoms occur or what triggers them. In many, the entire diagnostic toolbox was applied without a clear cause being found. Sometimes it helps to change the diet, but usually only temporarily, because often an increasing number of foods are blamed for the complaints. Women experience that the symptoms are intensified or triggered with the onset of menstrual bleeding. Pregnancy or menopause, on the other hand, have a mitigating effect. The unpredictability or the apparent permanent state of the symptoms are described by those affected as extremely stressful or “unbearable”. The symptoms can reach such an extent that the quality of life significantly suffers, and this for a very long time.
In Ayurveda, similar symptoms are already mentioned in the oldest writings. From the point of view of Ayurveda, an impairment of the agni, the digestive fire, is the cause. The agni in turn is influenced by 3 essential factors, the diet, the external conditions, and the way mental and emotional situations have been “digested”. Especially the last point plays a prominent role in the development of irritable bowel syndrome. In the old writings, the following mental and emotional triggers are explicitly mentioned:
- Bhaya (Anxiety)
- Krodha (Anger)
- Irshya (Jealousness, Envy)
- Vishasha (Sadness)
Today we know that the intestine has a complex nervous system (our 2nd brain) which, according to new findings, is anatomically closely linked to the central nervous system and thus to our world of thoughts and feelings. The control of the digestive process is complex and is significantly influenced by the action of higher neurological instances. “Misinformation” at this level could therefore easily lead to malfunctions and the symptoms described above.
Therapeutically, we therefore act exclusively holistically, both to strengthen the digestive fire on the physical level, to cleanse the energy pathways of clogging slag substances and to achieve a harmonious balance on the mental-soul and sensory level. For the latter, in addition to light yoga and meditation exercises, a well-founded analysis and processing of the individual need structure is applied. Overall, this is a process that requires patience, discipline, and the willingness to change the perspective on the previous life and associated attitudes and thus to give the healing process a realistic chance.
