IC and the Neti Pot

Kapha is the energy pattern of stability in the physiology  It is composed of the qualities of heavy, slow/dull, cool, slimy/smooth, liquid, dense, soft, hard, static, and sticky  Think of the mucous from the common cold and you will have a good understanding of the qualities of Kapha which supports bodily structures

When Kapha becomes excessive in the physiology it brings the static and heavy qualities in excess which block the lighter qualities of Vata and Pitta which are the primary instigators of the symptoms of the IC bladder pain syndrome  This blockage of the free flow of the Vata and Pitta energy patterns leads to their expressions of hot and mobile which leads to urinary frequency and burning on urination

The Kapha energy pattern is involved in the majority of cases of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia)  One of the simplest ways to deal with this imbalance is to use the neti pot in order to remove excess Kapha from the sinuses but in the process remove excess Kapha from the body  This practice followed by a breath technique of kapalabhati followed by oil drops in the nose will gradually and slowly loosen Kapha’s blockage in the physiology

Releasing this blockage allows Pitta and Vata to move once again and unblock the channels in the pelvis leading to the IC bladder pain syndrome

To do neti one needs a good sized container…500cc available on Amazon  If you’d like more information I can send you more on request

IC and Detoxifying Antiinflammatory Nutrition

The IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, GERD, IBS, fibromyalgia) is an inflammatory condition associated with serological inflammatory markers  It would make sense then that using an antiinflammatory nutritional format would be key  This also helps heal over time the microbiome that is universally affected in these conditions

This unique combination of alkalinizing greens and protein can make a complete meal or as side dish for other foods on the table(can be used with squash, grain, and chutney).  Using ghee and water separates the lipid and water soluble materials from the ingredients which aids in the digestion, absorption, and assimilation of the food. The alkalinizing impact of the steamed greens heals an acidic inflammatory environment of an unhealthy GI tract and its agni

Equipment  Food processor

2 quart sauce pan with cover(preferably glass)

Ingredients

Green source (choose one and vary from day to day)

Collard greens, Kale, Spinach, Chard rainbow or otherwise, Broccoli rabe, White daikon radish leaves, Tender beet greens

Subtle greens(choose one)

Cilantro, Fresh basil, Parsley, Mint

Lime juice

Ghee

Culinary spice mixture

Mom’s masala or High Pitta Masala(chandika.com)

Soma salt(chandika.com)

Protein(choose one)

White chicken

Eggs

Vegan powder(available at chandika.com)

Split mung dal, mung dal, split red, kuthi, black beluga, green-gray du puy, green french dal

Spring water is preferable(has more soma) in preparation

Instructions

Heat 1-2 inches water into a 2 quart pan with 2T ghee and 2t spice mixture.  Add chopped green and steam with cover on the pot.  Steam until water pretty much evaporated. If you want a juicier green dish then leave some water.  Place in food processor and process after adding soma salt, lime juice, and tapioca flour. Place a bunch of subtle greens and complete processing. Do not cook the subtle greens with the rough greens.

The vegan powder(chandika.com) can be mixed 4T powder and 8oz water and added to the green composite.

Add 1t olive oil if not cooking with chicken which is best when boiled. If using eggs cook scrambled and can then add to the green processed mixture. Another way to add the eggs is to poach them is boiling vinegar water, place them on toasted English muffins with ghee, and place the green composite over the top of the poached eggs and muffin.

Detoxification and the Green Composite Protein Recipe

Whenever one is undertaking detoxification such as panchakarma(PK), the use of the green composite protein recipe(GCPR) is ideal as it keeps the GI tract supported to receive the toxins and excess qualities that are released during the therapy session.  Even when not doing a PK event, the use of the GCPR can be beneficial as any liberated ama can be easily received as the GI tract is alkalinized and healthy.

At times one can experience unexplained fatigue as one of the side effects of clinical use of herbal memory nectars or transdermal creams.  This fatigue is related to circulating toxic load and can be countered by using a binding agent such as tapioca pudding which can be found as granulated tapioca in most stores. This binds the ama and keeps it from continuing to  circulate in the body.

IC and Food Allergies: An Energy Science Explanation

Interstitial cystitis (IC) pain is often associated with other conditions such  food allergies or sensitivities or GERD which we have written about in the past   This is difficult to understand from a molecular approach to dis-ease since the model looks at the problem within an organ system without taking into consideration the interrelationship of all organ systems

This is frustrating to physicians as well as patients seeking to understand the pain of IC and how to treat it   And it sometimes leads a real difficulty for IC patients in choosing foods thinking that perhaps their IC pain symptoms are related to their “food allergies”  so they are fearful of eating anything Often times elimination diets are used to try to sort it out but partially fail

The Dis-ease Origin Is the Same

With a different way of seeing the mindbody from an energy science viewpoint rather than the currently used matter science discipline it becomes clear that food allergies are interrelated with IC   Why is this so?

Dis-ease or lack of harmony in the mindbody begins in the gastrointestinal tract(GIT) and when there is too much of the hot quality it leaves the GIT to be eliminated through the urinary tract   The GIT is not healthy enough to deal with the excess hot quality

Food allergies that occur in the GIT leads to distress as well but the energy science explanation is due to lack of digestive strength   The same lack of digestive strength leads to two seemingly different forms of dis-ease

Lack of Digestive Strength

Digestive strength from a matter or molecular science approach is not enough digestive enzymes to do the job  Because of this toxic debris builds up much like a cold campfire has unprocessed charred remains   Acute symptoms occur after eating such as:

Poor appetite                     Coated tongue                      Nausea                   Bloating

Belching with smell of previously eaten food

Weakness and fatigue         Foul gas or flatus; bad-smelling feces       Unhappiness       Constipation or diarrhea

Abdominal pain and/or distention               Bad breath           Bad taste in the mouth        Restlessness

Heaviness after food

Congestion            Excessive sleep

These signs and symptoms represent poor digestive strength but as you can see could be interpreted as “food allergy”

Then chronic signs and symptoms may occur over years of poor digestion strength:

Tissue emaciation                     Malabsorption          Emotional eating                Food cravings                   Food allergies

Insomnia        Poor visual perception           Poor circulation           Abnormal color and complexion

Lack of luster(skin rashes)

Fear           Grief, sadness, and depression         Confusion          Apathy, repulsion      Shortened life span

Aggressiveness

Indecisiveness and lack of discrimination     Lack of intelligence(loss of clarity)           Impatience

Improper direction and inappropriate goals

Isn’t it interesting that fear, confusion, apathy, aggressiveness occur in this list of chronic symptoms?   The reason for this is that there is a mindbody connection   What happens in the mind happens in the body  What happens in the body happens in the mind

From an energy science view mind and body are intimately spliced   You cannot separate them  Mind is in every cell of the body   So we see that if the GIT is effected with dis-ease or disharmony then it will register in the mind and these psychological manifestations will be apparent

3 Things to Do to Improve Digestive Strength

As I have said in previous blogs eating according to your mindbody energy makeup is the most important thing along with avoiding poor food combinations   But here are some other general things you can do as well

1  Use a green composite protein recipe

2  Use of cooling spices such as cumin coriander fennel seed mint cardamon tumeric and fresh basil and avoidance of other heating spices   These will aid in digestion

3 Use a probiotic and make fresh homemade yogurt…dilute 80% water with 20% yogurt to make a probiotic drink  Drink after the noon meal

IC and Healing Emotional Hurts

In contrast to the matter science discipline the mind and body are intimately spliced…what happens in the body happens in the mind and what happens in the mind happens in the body  There is really no difference between mind and body  In the matter science(molecules) mind is located in the brain but the mind has escaped according to the energy science  Mind is located in every cell of the mindbody

For many these days the emotional traumas or hurts are thrown into a big black bag that we carry around with us so we don’t have to look at them  In the energy science that big black bag where we throw our undigested, unprocessed, thoughts, feelings, and emotions is the subconscious and the physical space anatomically where our subconscious is located is the fascia, a vast supporting connective tissue network of the body  As we accumulate more and more emotional “garbage” our fascia becomes tight, dense, inflexible, and rigid  It is no wonder that as we age we get more and more inflexible and stiff because we don’t process all of this undigested, unprocessed emotional “stuff”

Dealing with Emotional Hurts

This has enormous implications in healing emotional and/or psychological trauma because counseling can only go so far with the deep seated emotional problems that we are hiding from  And then there is the mind’s ability to deny that anything is wrong anyway  The mind and more specifically the ego actually averts our attention away from trauma we have experienced in the past

Simple day to day emotional hurts can be related to longstanding issues that we have never looked at before  And the first step in the process is complete and total acceptance of what is

Doing physical work deals with mind problems

The energy science model allows us to treat this in a number of different ways….marmani, meditation, pranayama, mantra, and herbs

As we have talked about in the past the marma system of the Ayurvedic discipline is analagous to the acupuncture system in the Oriental medicine discipline  Marmani are localized concentrations of mind topographically located on the skin in specific locations of the mindbody  Since they are mind localized to specific points we can use them to treat the mind using herbs

Meditation is important to quiet the mind so we can get to acceptance and be able to look at the emotional hurts in a more objective way without fear, criticism, judgement, anger, or passivity  The use of mantra(an instrument of the mind) can also help settle the mind

Pranayama is the use of the breath for healing and can be meditative but also can be used to support improving the heart’s agni or ability to digest unprocessed, undigested thoughts, feelings and emotions

All of this takes time and discipline but real healing always requires this of us

What does this have to do with the IC baldder pain syndrome?  Amazingly those imbalances that are causing the syndrome are the same imbalances that are causing the emotional hurts…deal with one and you’ll deal with the other

Palliative and Detoxification in IC

In the energy science of Ayurveda there are basically two ways to deal with clinical problems such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstital cystitis, fibromyalgia, chronic prostatitis, vulvodynia, and irritable bowel syndrome)  The first is palliative treatment

The second level of treatment to deal with clinical problems involves balancing procedures which correct the imbalances that produce the tissue disturbance leading to the symptoms in the first place  I’ve covered these methods in detail in previous blogs and will touch briefly on them again  But I think it’s useful for you to understand why and what methods are available in order to get an overview of the energy science methods of treatment

Palliative Methods for IC

These methods can be lumped into a broad category of doing lifestyle behavioral changes such as the use of  nutritional formats according to energy constitution  Many people who I have seen over the years who have mild IC flares on occasion can be helped by this change alone as many IC bladder pain syndrome patients have experienced  Having said that no matter how far along one chooses or needs to go with respect to treatment methods nutritional change is necessary as it becomes foundational to all other therapies  If one is not willing to change one’s nutritional choices it is best to not go farther or one will be wasting time and money

Herbs as I’ve talked about in other blogs are supportive and adjunctive to other therapies and at any point can be beneficial in supporting the process of healing at any level  The common antiinflammatory herbs that I’ve talked about in the past like aloe vera gel, tea(cumen, coriander, fennel or CCF). turmeric used in formula or in cooking are common herbs to reduce the heat  in the system causing IC flares

Marma therapies can be both diagnostic and therapeutic in terms of helping with symptoms during a flare used with essential oils such as sandalwood with castor oil  Acupuncture is most often palliative and is akin to the marma therapy that I’ve discussed in the past

When you pay attention to proper rest and sleep, reducing stress, eating habits(such as no snacking, eating at appropriate times of the day, avoiding ice, stimulating digestion), and exercise, it can be amazing how such simple things can make a big difference in the flare rate, length of flare, and severity of the flare

Relieving Imbalances in the Tissues

As I’ve discussed in the past therapies that deal with the imbalances of qualities in the pelvic nerves that are often associated with most of the symptoms that revolve around the interstitial cystitis syndrome such as IC, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis

These therapies deal with imbalances in the peripheral tissues(nerves primarily) that have disseminated from the GI tract and are lodged in these tissues  As I hope you can appreciate palliative methods address not aggravating the condition and further

But procedures directed at the causative agency leading to the symptoms are unique and not for the average health consumer to undertake but they do offer patients the opportunity to eliminate the IC bladder pain syndrome completely  These techniques and methods are not for everyone but represent a clear divergence from what is presently available for IC

IC and 7 Ways to Reduce Pain

In the energy science of Ayurveda imbalance of qualities such as hot, cold, heavy, light affect the metabolic fire called agni  When this happens the end result is a toxic morbid substance called ama  This is essence is how disease occurs in the energy model discipline

In the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) the qualities of mobile and hot lead to early symptoms of the disease complex but as progression occurs more qualities become involved and deeper tissues become affected due to the mounting amount of ama

Clogging of Energy Channels

When energy channels become obstructed with ama then there is no free flow of energy in the mindbody  This leads to a buildup of the Vata energy pattern which is freely circulating in the channels(common channels we know from a Western perspective are the GI tract, large vessels like the aorta or vena cava, neural pathways, and the respiratory system)

Vata, when obstructed in the channels, causes pain  In Ayurveda there is no pain without Vata  So in the IC bladder pain syndrome pain is related to clogged channels from ama accumulation and the blockage of the free flow of Vata  Often this is neurologic like pain and follows what I have written about in earlier blogs about the origin of the syndrome

As you can see, keeping the channels open is essential for keeping vatagenic pain in check  It is also important for immunity, and overall health  To keep the channels open, it is important to eat fresh food with spices that help digestion so that ama is not formed  When ama (partially digested food) is formed, its sticky nature blocks the channels and aggravates vata  Also spices in your food, give a general warming effect to the whole body which helps to keep the channels open, and vata flowing

5 Ways to Prevent and Clear Pain

Staying warm  The Vata energy pattern has the qualities of cold, light mobile, dry, rough, subtle, and clear so when we don’t stay warm this can increase the Vata guna of cold and increase our pain  Think about it….if you get cold the mindbody contracts  Don’t let your feet get cold  Don’t eat cold food and drink  You might think ice cream is vata-pacifying because it’s dairy but it’s not  It is actually vata-aggravating  Anything cold you put in your system closes the channels and blocks the flow of vata   That’s why you get a headache if you eat cold things quickly

Transdermal creams can be used for pain control with reasonably good effect  One has to be consistent, persistent, and disciplined in their use but if applied properly they can be effective

Using massage oils which have magnesium in them is valuable as the oil and the magnesium both help pacify Vata

Avoid the sour taste such as lemons Limes(immature lemons) are rich in Vit C and are immunity boosters

Nutrition that causes pain   Large beans, bananas, winter squashes and extra heavy foods are all known in Ayurveda as visthambi, (clogging to the srotas or channels)  Avoid these items in your diet and you will find your channels are more open, and your vatagenic pain is less  Also avoid the nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant) because these toxic plants block the vibrational channels (nadis), which can subsequently cause the physical channels (srotas or channels) to shrink

Avoiding leftover foods or pre-packaged foods is important too  These foods are not easily digested by the body and result in ama right away  This promotes clogging of the channels and lessen the free flow of Vata

Daily schedules  Regular routine is Vata pacifying so daily schedules are irregular and hectic(Vata provoking) there will be a tendency to increase the Vata energy pattern