The liver is one of the most important organs of our body. It is an organ that has the extraordinary ability to regenerate itself. Chronic injury to the liver leads to the malfunction and deterioration of the organ. Healthy tissues of the liver get replaced by scar tissues and this restricts the blood flowing through the liver. This in turn impairs the ability of the liver to perform its perfunctory functions.

Yoga is considered to effectively help patients with liver cirrhosis. Yoga differs from other fitness exercises as it combines physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques and meditation in order to maintain a balance between physical, mental and emotional well being.

Yoga that helps the liver does not literally mean that the asanas exercise the liver, but rather mean that they stimulate and improve the functioning of the liver. Some poses provide a direct benefit by putting gentle pressure on the liver and stimulating it. While other poses help the body to recover from liver damage, improve circulation of blood and cleanse the system. It not only helps lower stress levels but also assists in enhancing the physical as well as psychological health. It helps feel better and aids the body to react more favourably to treatment.

The following asanas are recommended for treating liver cirrhosis:
Kapalbhati pranayama – This is a breathing exercise basically meant for complete fitness of the body. With devoted practice of this pranayama, cirrhosis might get permanently cured.

Matsya asana – This asana is also known as the fish pose. The posture falls under the category of backbends. It strengthens and stimulates the organs of the belly.

Sarvang asana – This is one of inverted postures in yoga that benefits the entire body. It promotes circulation of blood to the entire body especially towards the heart.

Hal asana – This is one of the basic postures in yoga. It stretches the spine and rejuvenates the entire body. Also known as the plough pose, this asana soothes the stomach, belly and liver.

Chakra asana – Also known as the wheel pose, this asana too comforts the liver and the stomach.

Marjari asana – This asana is also known as the cat posture. Inspired by the mannerisms of cats, this gives flexibility to the backbone.

Gomukh asana – This is also known as cow head pose. It massages the abdominal organs, increases blood circulation and activates the nervous system.

Garuda asana – Also known as the eagle pose, it aims towards balance and tranquillity of the body. It also strengthens ankles and calf muscles.

You should also do breathing exercises along with these asanas so that there is better supply of oxygen to the liver. Practising breathing exercises also aids in pumping clean blood which increases the metabolism of the body. Please ensure that you learn the various asanas under the guidance of an experienced instructor. This is because failure to do the asanas correctly may lead to injury. Also keep in mind that in addition to yoga, you need to follow a healthy lifestyle and maintain a strict diet.

According to ayurveda, cirrhosis is caused by highly damaged Vata. This is a disease that affects one of the most important organs of our body – the liver. The liver performs various vital functions such as production of bile, elimination of wastes from the body, production of urea, filtration of harmful substances from the blood, making of proteins, and so on. Symptoms of this disease include weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, abdominal pain, fluid retention in the abdomen and legs, etc.

Treatment of this disease through ayurveda might take time but it aims to destroy the root cause of the disease and increases the ability of the body to heal naturally. Once the cause of the disease is diagnosed, one can undergo a certain treatment or therapy or a combination of them. One such treatment is the Panchakarma treatment.

The basic aim of the Panchakarma treatment is to flush out the toxins from the body. This treatment not only improves physical health but also vitalises the mind. As the name suggests, Panchakarma means five types of therapeutic treatments that cleanses the body. The phases of the Panchakarma treatment are broadly classified as pre-purification, main purification and post purification. These phases are composed of various therapies such as oil massage, herbal massage, fermented liquid massage, medical enemas, nasal administration of oil, etc.

The pre-purification phase of the Panchakarma treatment aims to slacken the toxins from the body. It also opens up the circulation channels and prepares the body to release the toxins. The pre-purification method that is adopted for the treatment of liver cirrhosis is called ‘Snehapanam’. Apart from cleansing the body of its toxins, it also enhances memory. Snehapanam involves consumption of a concoction made from medicated ghee and sesame oil for a certain number of days.  Few other ingredients used for making the concoction include Aragwadha (Cassia Fistula), Bhringaraja ( Eclipta alba), Patola (Trichosanthes lobata)guggul (Commiphora Wightii), chopchini (Smilax China), ginger (Zingiber Officinale), neem (Azadirachta Indica), onion (Allium Cepa) and so on.

The intention of the main purification phase is to get rid of the toxins that were slackened during the pre-purification phase. The therapies for the main purification for cirrhosis are called ‘Nasyam’ and ‘Virechanam’. In the Nasyam therapy, herbal oil is poured drop by drop into the nostrils. Inhaling the oil opens up the head channels. The base ingredient of the herbal oil is sesame oil to which herbs such as bael (Aegle Marmelos), sida plants, etc. are mixed. Virechanam refers to the oral intake of herbal medicines. The toxins are then released through excreta. This therapy energises the entire body and improves appetite.

The Panchakarma treatment should be undertaken only by expert Ayurvedic practitioners. The treatment differs for each person according to the disease and the constitution of the body.

The ancient system of ayurveda is believed to have begun nearly 5000 years ago in the Indian subcontinent. Over the years, it has developed extensively and has found many followers worldwide. While in Indian, there are many believers of the power of ayurveda, in the western world, it is considered as alternative medicine.

Ayurveda is known to have cured many diseases. One such disease that has high success rate in getting cured by ayurveda medicines is liver cirrhosis. Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease most often caused by excessive alcoholism and chronic hepatitis B, C or D. In this disease, the healthy tissues in the liver get replaced by scar tissues that impair the ability of the liver to perform its vital functions.

The ayurveda treatment for liver cirrhosis emphasises on rectifying the cause of the disease, plummeting the damage done and preventing further damage. Certain ayurveda medicines or a combination of them are administered to patients suffering from this disease.

The following ayurveda medicines help reducing inflammation and blockage of liver cells:
•    Arogya-Vardhini
•    Shankh-Vati
•    Sharpunkha (Tephrosia Purpuria)
•    Kutki (Picrorrhiza Kurroa)
•    Punarnava (Boerhaavia Diffusa)
•    Bhrungraj (Eclipta Alba)
•    Tamra-Bhasma

The following ayurveda medicines are taken for better circulation of blood and to reduce oedema:
•    Punarnavadi-Guggulu
•    Gokshuradi-Guggulu
•    Punarnavadi-Qadha
•    Gokshur (Tribulus Terrestris)
•    Saariva (Hemidesmus Indicus)
•    Deodar (Cedrus Deodara)
•    Aparmarga (Achyranthus Aspera)
•    Sahinjan (Moringa Pterygosperma)

The following ayurveda medicines are administered to repair the tissues of the body:
•    Indrayav (Holharrhina Antidysentrica)
•    Patol (Tricosanthe Dioica)
•    Kutki (Picrorrhiza Kurroa)
•    Saariva
•    Patha (Cissampelos Pareira)
•    Musta (Cyperus Rotundus)

The following ayurveda medicines are given to prevent fibrosis and partially reverse the damage done to the liver:
•    Guduchi (Tinospora Cordifolia)
•    Amalaki (Emblica Officinalis)
•    Yashtimadhuk (Glycerrhiza Glabra)
•    Gokshur

The following ayurveda medicines are used to diminish immune dysfunction of the body:
•    Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera)
•    Shatavari (Asparagus Racemosus)
•    Bala (Sida Cordifolia)
•    Nagbala (Sida Humilis)

The following ayurveda medicines are given to soothe the liver and prolong life:
•    Panchamrut-Parpati
•    Suvarna-Parpati
•    Suvarna-Sutshekhar-Ras

In ayurveda, liver cirrhosis is known to have caused by the aggravation of three doshas: pitta, vatta and kapha. In order to avoid liver cirrhosis, one should take good care of one’s health and be careful regarding diet. Alcohol and caffeine should be avoided. One should exercise regularly, drink green tea and try and reduce stress levels.

Ayurveda is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent nearly 5000 years ago. It is a system of traditional medicine that is fast becoming popular all over the world. Ayurveda lays emphasis on healthy living. In order to keep illness at bay, ayurveda stresses on hygiene, yoga, exercise and herbal preparations. And in order to cure ailments, it emphasises the importance of diet, physiotherapy and ayurvedic medicines.

In ayurveda, the liver is referred to as ‘yakrut’ or ‘yakrita’. The derivation of the word comes from ‘yaha’ meaning one and ‘krut’ that literally means does. Thus the liver is considered to be an extremely important organ of the body that performs various vital functions. The basic functions of the liver include eliminating wastes from the body, producing urea, cholesterol and bile, filtering harmful substances from the blood, making proteins, maintaining an appropriate level of glucose in the body and so on.

The basic fundamentals of ayurveda are based on the principle that the human body is composed of four basics – dosha, dhatu, mala and agni. According to ayurveda, liver cirrhosis is known as ‘yakrut vishamyata’. In this disease, the liver cells decay as the kapha, meaning phlegm of the body, mixes with impure blood. This disease is categorised into three parts according to the increase in a particular dosha in the body. The three parts are:

•    Vataj, which is caused by excess vatta in the body.
•    Pittaj, which is caused by excess pitta in the body.
•    Kaphaj, which is caused by excess kapha in the body.

Ayurvedic solution to the treatment of liver cirrhosis has been found to have a high success rate. Many medicinal plants and a combination of them are administered to help cure this disease. Some very effective medications to cure liver cirrhosis are ‘bhringaraja’ (eclipta alba), arogyavardhini and ‘katuki’ (picrorhiza). While taking ayurvedic medicines, one should take special care regarding their diet.

According to ayurveda, the amount of sleep you need depends on your mind-body constitution or body type. People with Kapha constitution need the most sleep - about eight or nine hours in order to feel rested. Pittas are next, with a need of seven to eight hours. Vatas can manage with six to seven hours of sleep.
Your requirements of sleep also depends on what stage of life are you in. Babies can sleep as much as 15 or 16 hours out of every 24. Children frequently sleep 10 hours or more. At the other extreme, elderly people rarely enjoy a sound, unbroken sleep of more than four or five hours.
According to Ayurveda, there are two main causes for insomnia: Unbalanced Vata and the interruption in the routine of an individual. The signs of aggravated Vata include restlessness, anxiety and worry. Mental stress, increased body activity, fasting, staying up late all can create disturbance in the normal body system and thus bringing a total imbalance in Vata.
Other causes of insomnia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• A general feeling of ennui and boredom
• Frequent ingestion of stimulants, particularly illegal drugs and prescription medicines
• Eating heavy food before bed
Ayurvedic Herbal Remedies for Insomnia
There would seem to be quite a contradiction with the herbs required to treat insomnia. Because ironically though the idea is to “cool-off” the afflicted doshas, you do so by using hot spices!! This is because the heat generated warms the internal system back into a state where it can begin the process of cooling off!!
1) The most effective herb for this remedy is calamus root. It is to be taken in powder form added to warm water or milk three times a day.
2) Use sesame oil, brahmi oil, jasmine oil, cow’s ghee or jatamatnsi oil, and massage gently for a few minutes on the scalp and the soles of the feet before going to bed.
3) Depending on an individual’s body type, different kinds of oil are used at varying temperatures to relax the nervous system. These include Coconut oil (pitta type, used at room temperature), Sesame oil (vata type, applied warm), and Mustard oil (kapha type, applied warm).
4) A cup of chamomile tea at bedtime is truly beneficial for inducing sleep.
5) Early to bed and early to rise is what ayurveda believes in. One should sleep at around 10 pm and should try and get up by 4 am.
6) Meditation and yoga is another factor that can help cure the disease. These will help us to stay calm and away from anxiety and depression which are the major causes of insomnia.

There are various factors that affect the sleep. The more active one is, the healthier a person is, the better they sleep.
 Food
The evidence for the direct effects of food on sleep tends to be fairly meager. On should try and have dinner as early as possible and should not sleep immediately after it. Dinner should be the lightest meal of all the meals taken during the day and should not be skipped.
Alcohol
With small doses of alcohol, it acts as a relaxant so one goes to sleep. Slightly higher doses means the brain is not going to awaken as readily so in a sense the sleep is a little bit deeper but it is actually its ability to response that has changed. The brain can’t react as quickly as we would want to. Associated with that is poorer breathing, snoring and disturbed sleep.
Caffeine
Caffeine’s an interesting compound in that people vary in how they react to it. An example is women who are pregnant may suddenly react very badly to having caffeine, and then after can drink it again. It probably impacts mainly on the wakefulness promoting system. It doesn’t actually prevent sleep by switching sleep off; it just makes us more alert.
Medicines
Most medicines have an impact on sleep, particularly if they’re psycho active. So those that are used in psychiatry, say for depression will have an impact on sleep. Medicines normally relax our reflexes so they make the person sleep.
Smoking
Smokers can have quite a hard time of sleeping. Time for which nicotine is actually active in the bloodstream is quite low. So as soon as they’ve stopped smoking the reaction of not having nicotine around that time can disturb sleep. Generally their circulatory systems are quite poor so their breathing is disturbed during sleep. The two add up together to not having a good night sleep.
Exercise
It’s a myth that people think that if they really Exercise hard prior to going to bed, they’re going to get a better night’s sleep. But in fact, the exercise itself at that point can both be a stress and can raise body temperature and can create a problem. But Exercising regularly leads to good health, and that experimentally has been shown to generally improve sleep.

Asavam and Arishtam
Either decoction/ aqueous extract or fresh juice is made from the crude herb to which nutrients/ sweetners such as sugars like jaggery, honey or sugar, singly or wholly are added. To the resulting solution certain fermenting aids like Dhataki pusha etc and prakshepa choorna are mixed and kept it in a fermentation vat for 30- 60 days. In this condition alcohol is self generated and alcoholic extracts from prakshepa choorna is obtained. It is then filtered and kept for settling. Such preparations are called Arishtam.
In the case of Asavas, the intial step of the preparation of the aqueous extract from the medicines are taking place as from the second step of preparation of Arishtam.
The asava- arishta has therapeutically higher potency, clear liquid with pleasant odour. As these preparations mature over a period of time the efficacy also increase.
Normal dosage is 15 ml to 25 ml preferably after food.
Medicated oil/ thailam/ coconut oil/ kuzhambu
Medicated thailam/ Coconut oil:
The base of these preparations is either sesame oil or coconut oil. The process consists of addition of water extracts( kashayam), swarasa ( juice), kalka ( paste) subjectiing the mixture prepared in a regulated temperature. The oils are prepared under the basis of references texts. So the medicated oils having the property and efficacy almost in the same manner since it contains the potent ingredients. It is used generally for inunctions and massage.
Kuzhambu is a speciality preparation of Kerala. In this preparation the base is a special combination of sesame oil, castor oil and ghee in a uniquely blended manner. This is proven more effective than the same medicated thailam. The continuous use of Kuzhambu is more effective in the diseases which affect the bones.
Leham/ Rasyan
The new herbs are collected, identified properly, then cleaned and dried. Each of the ingredients for powdering is pulverised separately and homogenously mided together as per formula. Prepare the kashayam( decoction) or swarasam ( juice) or with warm water, mix it with jaggery/ sugar or sugar candy and concentrate to required consistency. The powdered raw herb is added as prakshepa choornam, well mixed and laced with ghee, honey as pe text.
Normal dosage is 10gms to 30 gms.
Kashayam ( Kwath/ Qwath)
As per the formula the herbs are collected, identified properly, then cleaned and the raw herbs for drying are to be dried. Weighed quantity of ingredients as per formula is made in to coarse powder, mixed with sufficent quantity of water well boiled and reduced to attain the proper specifications. This is properly preserved, tested and packed.

The dosage can be fixed according to the condition of the patint and disease. Normal dosgae is 15ml mixed with 2 times boiled and cooled water.
Choornam
The ingredients are collected, identified properly then cleaned and dried. Each of the ingredients is pulverised separately and homogenously mixed together as per the formula. These powders are used directly or with additives or used for making decoction according to the condition of patients and diseases.
Gulika/ Vati/ Vattu/ Tablets
The medicines from palnt orgin, animal orgin and mineral orgin are collected, identified properly amd cleaned. The ingredients for making powders are to be dried and pulverized separately and then homogenously mixed together and ground into the base as per the formula up to the proper consistency for making gulika. The medicines which require purification, are identified and purified as per the textual references and the purity analytically checked to ensure the medicine is devoid of side effects.
Ghritam/ Medicated ghee
The process consists of addition of water extracts, Juice, Paste subjecting the mixture prepared in a regulated temperature. The medicated ghees are prepared according to refernce texts, so medicated ghee has the property of the active and potent ingredients. It is also generally used for inunctions, tarpanam and massage.

The ingredients are collected, identified properly then cleaned and dried. Each of the ingredients is pulverised separately and homogenously mixed together as per the formula. These powders are used directly or with additives or used for making decoction according to the condition of patients and diseases.

Obesity is the excess amount of body fat. According to Ayurveda, there are basic elements in the human body known as the seven dhatus. These are present in human body in particular proportions and any change in their equilibrium leads to diseases. In obese persons, meda (fat) is nourished excessively, while other dhatus get malnourished and vata, kapha and pitta (doshas) in the body are out of balance as kapha is accumulated.
The causes of obesity are:
- Not exerting physically or mentally.
- Sleeping in the afternoon.
- The diet and life styles, which cause an increase in the Kapha dosha.
- Consuming sweet foods.
Obese persons are also prone to following:
–  Diabetes
–  Kidney related problems
–  Hepatitis
–  Skin problems
Numerous tips to reduce obesity have been mentioned in Ayurveda, Some are:
· Exercise like brisk walking, jogging, Yoga - asanas as well as pranayama. Physical exertion like doing housework, etc.
· Mental exertion like being involved in finding solutions to problems restricts food consumption and reduce intake of calories.
· Having sex frequently is also good physical output.
· Consumption of honey is advisable for non-diabetic patients. Consuming two teaspoons of honey with a glass of herbal tea, which includes weight-reducing herbs, helps.
· Sleeping for fewer hours, avoiding sleeping in afternoons helps to increase the burning of calories.
· Avoiding food and beverages, which increase Kapha and medha, like sweets, sweetened drinks, large quantities of carbohydrates and oily food. Consuming wheat products more than rice products helps to reduce obesity.
· Using Green gram and horse gram helps in reduction of Kapha and Meda. Moong, Masoor and Amla powder in one’s diet are a good means to treat obesity. And always try and drink warm water.
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Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional way of Indian healing system   believes that all the activities are combination of both physic and physical factors and that any illness including memory disorders too involves both of these aspects. Hence it deals with both while treating the same.

Memory is the capacity to retain and then recollect the information about all the past and present situations. Ayurvedic treatment  includes regular yogic practice which helps to flush out the toxins that are blocked in channels. It also increases the circulation of blood to the brain thereby improving the concentration and memory power. It is a  discipline that includes asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques) and dhyana (meditation).
 
Asanas – The gentle  stretches of body postures when done slowly and with a focused mind cleans the organs of the body and helps in eliminating the trapped toxins from the channels thereby increasing the memory power.  Inverted postures increases the blood supply to brain which aids in enhancing the intellectual powers and also treats the memory disorders. Vrikshasana or the tree pose and Natarajasana or the dancer’s pose helps to improve balance/concentration thereby toning up the memory power.

Pranayama – Breathing techniques helps the mind to focus on the inhale and exhale of our breath and the oxygen or prana (energy) flow is increased in the body and brain.  This leads to concentration and treats all kinds of memory disorders.

Dhyana – It strengthens one’s mind and helps one drastically reduces the unnecessary and irrelevant thoughts and thinking. It helps one to attain calm and a tension free mind. When one meditates on the third eye between the eye brows, the  brain activation and the memory power is increased.
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