Ayurvedic therapy: regulating wind, fire and water

In Ayurveda, "wind (Vata), fire (Pita), and water (Kapha)" are the three basic attributes that make up the human body's energy. The essence of adjusting them is never to pursue a universal balance of "the three are completely equal", but to return to the baseline of your innate physique. The essence of all therapies is to help you bring the energy that has deviated from the baseline back to its original track. There is no universal "perfect adjustment plan."

The first time I came into contact with this logic was when I was staying in Rishikesh three years ago. At that time, I had just finished a big project and I was so weak that I couldn't even take two steps. The Chinese medicine doctor at home said that I had Qi and blood deficiency, and I didn't feel better after taking supplements for a month. I followed a friend to the local Ayurveda clinic. The old doctor touched my wrist, looked at my fingernails, and said, "Vata is about to run out of the sky." I was stunned.

Only later did I slowly understand that these three attributes are simply an analogy to the operating status of the human body: wind is like a courier in your body, responsible for circulation, excretion, and nerve signal transmission. If it runs too fast, it will miss items (constipation, insomnia, eyelid twitching), and if it runs too slow, it will pile up goods (cold hands and feet, slow reaction).； Fire is the master chef in the kitchen, responsible for digestion, metabolism, and body temperature regulation. If the fire is too strong, the vegetables will be burnt (inflammation, acne, irritability, and bitter taste). If the fire is too high, the side dishes will be raw (you will have diarrhea if you eat something cold, and you will suffer from chills all year round). ； Water is the housekeeper at the front desk, responsible for joint lubrication, nutrient storage, and immune protection. Too much water will overflow (edema, excessive phlegm, and laziness and unwillingness to move), and too little water will cause dryness (joint pain, skin chapped and flaked).

My condition at that time was typical of Feng Piao. The old doctor didn't prescribe any supplements for me. He just asked me to drink 5ml of warm sesame oil on an empty stomach every morning, soak my feet with 3 drops of ginger oil every night, and wouldn't even let me touch salads, saying that cold things would make Feng run more joyful. I dubiously followed it for a week. My constipation was cured and I slept a lot more peacefully. Then I realized that this thing actually made sense.

Later, I talked with Ayurveda practitioners from different systems, and found that everyone’s priorities for adjusting wind, fire, and water are very different: doctors in Himachal Pradesh, North India, pay more attention to "daily behavioral adjustments." If you have a Vata imbalance, you will be criticized even for wearing pants that expose your ankles. I feel that the cold air entering the body will only aggravate the wind disorder.； Traditional doctors in Kerala, South India, are much more relaxed. They feel that herbs and body oil therapy (Abhyanga) are enough to help the energy return to its original position, and they don’t need to be so stuck on the details of life, as long as they don’t do it for a long time. I've tried both, but the latter is more suitable for me - after all, it would kill me not to drink iced Coke in winter. As long as I don't feel bloated or have a headache, it's not a problem.

Nowadays, many bloggers like to clearly list the three imbalance adjustment plans. If the pita is strong, drink neem tea, and if the kapha is heavy, take ginger powder. In fact, there are many people who fall into this trap. I had a friend who suffered from recurring red and swollen acne. She followed the blogger and drank neem + burdock tea for half a month. The acne did not go away but she had diarrhea for a week. Later, when she went to see a doctor she knew well, she found out that it was not excessive fire at all, but damp fire caused by blockage from too much water. Drinking cool neem suppressed the fire, and the water blockage became more severe. The next time the acne breaks out, it will only be more severe. The plan I made for her was very simple. First boil water with dried ginger and cloves and drink it for three days to improve her luck. Then I added a little bit of chrysanthemum to clear the air. All acne disappeared within a week.

Of course, I also know that many people have doubts about Ayurveda. A few years ago, the FDA reported that some Ayurvedic herbal preparations contained heavy metals that exceeded the legal limit. I don’t care about this at all: there are too many messy “Ayurvedic products” on the market. Kapha powder, which is said to be able to lose weight, and pita tea, which is said to be able to remove acne, are mostly "three-no" products. If you really want to adjust them, you should find a regular practitioner with medical qualifications. Don't buy them blindly. After all, no matter what kind of treatment, safety is the first priority.

I still can't remember all the attribute classifications of all foods. Every time I forget, I take a photo and send it to a doctor I know well for questioning. I don't feel any shame. In the past two years, I have seen too many people make a long list of taboos and force themselves to follow them as soon as they are diagnosed as Vata Pita mixed type. They collapse after not persisting for a week. Instead, the imbalance becomes more serious due to anxiety.

In fact, it is really not necessary. It is not that complicated to adjust Feng, Fire and Water. Yesterday I stayed up until three o'clock writing a plan. When I woke up in the morning, my mouth was dry and I was constipated, so I warmed 5ml of sesame oil and drank it on an empty stomach. I had a bowl of hot pumpkin porridge for lunch. I put oil on my feet and put on socks before going to bed at night. Everything was fine the next day. To put it bluntly, the essence of this thing is to teach you to listen to your body. When it feels comfortable, the wind, fire, and water will naturally flow.