How to expedite healing with Ayurveda?

It’s commonly said about Ayurveda that it works very slowly or that one has to take herbs for a long time. It’s true in some cases.

However, in my experience, Ayurveda treatment can produce sure and sooner results, but ’how soon’ depends on four things- I call them as 4 levers of healing or recovery mentioned below.

Health Practitioner’s skills are of crucial importance and given in recovery. Therefore not included in these 4 levers.

Most important to know that the patient has full control of these 4 levers!

1. Realistic expectations:

   One must keep realistic expectations when they are pursuing healing through Ayurveda.

   Sometimes Ayurveda is compared to modern Medicine. Ofcourse, modern medicine has so many technological advances when it comes to surgery, diagnostics that there is no match for them in alternate therapies, when they are needed as part of recovery process. If a surgery is necessary, it’s better to do so, period. Hoping Ayurveda to create recovery in similar time-frame as surgery is an unrealistic expectation.

   Quite a few times, Ayurveda and other alternate health therapies are sought after exhausting mainstream medicine options and then quick results are expected from Ayurveda. If someone has been experiencing the disease condition for a long time, any treatment including Ayurveda will also take more time for recovery. Ayurveda aims to treat root cause which caused the disease and hence requires more time than therapies which treat only symptoms.

   Having relevant comparison and setting realistic recovery time expectations corresponding to length of the disease condition will avoid disappointments when unrealistic expectations are not met and help in healing process.

   Keeping realistic expectations also provides patience- an essential quality which is demonstrated by Nature in every way.

2. Acceptance & Ownership

   It is a critical but difficult step in recovery. It takes a long time to accept our responsibility in rectification of disease condition. Many of us (myself included) spend long time in asking ‘why me’, or in denial and blaming everything - from ourselves to everyone and anything around us. It’s normal human reaction. But it hurts the healing process as it creates ‘resistance’ per se. Acceptance of our own role in recovery opens the window to healing as it removes the resistance.

   By accepting the ownership of our healing process- willingly doing whatever necessary for recovery- further hastens the healing and provides perseverance- ability to keep doing whatever is necessary.

   Ayurveda believes in patient-practitioner shared responsibility based on this concept of ownership.

   Following Ayurvedic lifestyle and dietary recommendations, daily routines becomes easy after assuming such ownership. By detoxing the body and mind, they clear pathways for the herbal remedies to work effectively. They also act synergistic with bodywork therapies, expediting the recovery.

   Some people expect only herbal remedies or bodywork therapies to work while they neglect important role of these two important factors, while continuing to abuse the body with incompatible food and unhealthy lifestyle habits and, more so expecting quick results!

3. Receptivity

   Being receptive changes everything. Often we do not allow ourselves to be healed through various ways, like:

   Fostering doubt: Doubt creates resistance, openess enhances healing action. Allowing yourself to be more receptive- by being more open to healing options than doubting the system of medicine- is the key.

   Applying labels: Many a times we get stuck in labels. I have ‘xyz’ disorder. This ‘xyz’ may be your condition, but it does not define who you are.

   I like this analogy- Imagine a sinking person holding the rock. To float and come back to surface, all they got to do is to let go of the rock. It’s under their own control. It’s so easy to let go of these rock-like labels.
   The sooner we get rid of such unwanted labels, or even replace them with helpful ones, sooner will be recovery.

   Rumination thinking: Sometimes we stay in denial, or think and act as if ‘nothing is going to help’ or ‘it’s my fate to be sick’. Again, its same rock analogy above is applicable. But for this lever 4 below will help more.

4. Belief

   There is much evidence about the role ‘belief’ plays in recovery- belief in self, in form of medicine, in practitioner/doctor, belief in something Higher than our self. The placebos, nocebos, confirm operation of such belief.

   The more the patient cultivates these 3 beliefs, speedier the recovery becomes:

   • Belief in self that ‘I am going to get better soon’. Psychologists have proven with research the role such belief-hope, optimism- plays in overcoming many adversities.

   • Belief in Medicine that it is going to work and is working. If one is seeking any system of medicine, it’s better to follow that particular system with this belief, than doubting that system or even thinking ‘let me try and see if this works’. Doubting will 100% provide no benefit, while believing will have atleast some chance of giving desired result. So why doubt- right?

   • Belief in Higher Self: The Higher Self can be according to your faith- it can be your own bodily Intelligence (core Ayurvedic concept, that keeps the bodily functions working 24x7, even when you sleep), Nature, God, Universe, anything Higher than us- whatever you have faith in. Such faith or trust is proven to work in so called mysterious ways, yet unknwon to us. So why not utilize this help than not?

   I am certain that by controlling these 4 levers of recovery will definitely expedite healing, whether its Ayurveda or any other medical science helping the healing process.

Case Study:

Belinda suffered from UTI symptoms since age of 16 & tried many avenues to seek recovery, with little or no relief. When she came to Ayusha, being one of the most receptive patients, she meticulously followed the treatment advise- all bodywork treatments, herbal remedies, dietary changes. She implemented 4 levers and was able to experience significant relief from her symptoms in under 6 weeks.