FIBROMYALGIA AND AYURVEDA- ROOT CAUSE, MANAGEMENT AND CURE

Fibromyalgia is an extremely debilitating disease and comes with several chronic symptoms some of them are brain fog, widespread pains, widespread burning/neuropathy, constipation, insomnia, stress, severe backache, lethargy. At present, Fibromyalgia affects around 6% of the population of the world. In reality, this number is much more because medical community is still battling to identify the symptoms of this new disease of the century. This article will help you understand:-

• What causes Fibromyalgia,
• How can we prevent it from happening and what needs to be done to cure it (earlier the easier it is to cure) it.

So, WHAT CAUSES FIBROMYALGIA (Please note that the below mentioned points create a vicious circle so one would lead to another hence read all of them) :-

• One of the primary reasons of Fibromyalgia is creation of excess space in the body (when blood volume is less than volume of open blood vessels). This results in creation of different pockets of empty space and blood thereby weakening continuity of movement of blood. Thus in such people, blood moves in a snaky manner (with some part touching the walls of vessels and some part not). In Ayurvedic terms, this snaky movement is referred as Vata. Since, blood is the one that carries nutrition, oxygen, waste and even hormones released by different organs, this break in continuity weakens communication in between different parts of the body thereby robbing the body of its natural intelligence where in naturally healthy state different parts of the body are supposed to be working in tandem with each other. But then what causes this excess space in the body? The primary reason is exercising under the influence of vasodilating foods/medicines/drinks (those which dilate our blood vessels) like alcohol, onion, garlic, certain BP medicines like Sartan. Exercising under their influence pushes the blood in different directions and not in a controlled manner thereby increasing space. 
• Overactive minds especially in today’s world due to competition, stress, peer pressure, inertia heat up our body too thereby overinflating our body like an overinflated balloon. As such these people tend to overuse vasodilating foods/drinks thereby increasing space (as mentioned above)
• Moreover, overactivity burns blood and tissues faster than body can create them resulting in more hollowness (space). In turn, overactive mind also eats wrong foods thereby getting into a vicious circle.

*** Ayurveda, the ancient and highly advanced medical science for blissful livings states that there are three forces on which the entire body works. These are Vata, Pitta and Kapha.  Pitta is that forces which comprises of all the chemicals in the body that cause transformation of one substance to another. So all hormones, enzymes, neurotransmitters etc. circulating in the body are Pitta. Pitta is made up of water and fire (that is what chemicals are made of- heat and water at the base level). Kapha comprises of all the tissues that provide gross to our body and is made of earth and water. On the other hand, Vata is made of space and air. Ayurveda says that where nothing goes Vata goes. So where blood doesnt go Vata goes. When Vata is high in specific parts of the body, the nervous system begins to lose its insulation there due to loss of blood or the insulation becomes very thin. Since the speed of nerve impulses in our body is 40-50 times higher than the speed of blood, whenever our nervous system works fast (due to sudden heat/spicy food/ intense activity), then electricity in those areas where the blood is not reaching properly begins to burn the thin insulation thereby causing short circuit in between different nerves. This sudden surge in heat causes acid production and also pinching of nerves leading to pain and neuropathy.

• Instead of slowing down our mind and activity, we indiscreetly tend to take pain killers/sleeping pills/GABA/muscle relaxants/BP meds (remember, it is only INDISCREET use of these medicines that can cause fibromyalgia and other complications especially if used for too long for chronic diseases). This is because indiscreet use of these meds excessively cool down our blood causing it to drop down in lower body and inside the core especially during winters/colder days causing brain fog when blood doesnt reach there.
• When upper body and peripherals body donot receive enough blood , sudden heat (due to activity, summers, excess of red colored foods, highly pungent foods used in summers) increases hyperactivity of mind and burning in skin and pain in muscles due to poor insulation of nervous system (due to lack of blood) and accumulation of lactic acid due to poor circulation.

SO HOW CAN WE PREVENT IT FROM GETTING WORSE OR HAPPENING AT ALL

• Eat food and spices in line with weather. Cold food/spices (even medicines that reduce heat) in winters will cause poor circulation and hot foods and spices in summers will cause over excitement. Both the reasons weaken core as well as peripheral organs, muscles and other tissues. So learn which foods, spices are meant for which seasons.
• Eat those spices in winters which are warm but not pungent so that they dissolve the plaque and improve blood circulation but do not stimulate nervous system e.g. asafoetida, ajwain, ginger. One can also use Hingwastak churna along with nutritious food to dissolve plaque, improve circulation and also provide new proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. In summers starting mid March or so (which may vary from place to place and year to year), one should totally remove the winter spices and instead have colder spices like cumin, coriander etc. One should also avoid winter vegetables, fruits, and cereals in summers and vice versa.

*** Indiscreet use of heat/pitta reducing medicines/foods/spices like BP meds, antihistamines, recreation drugs, alcohol etc. especially in winters, when Pitta/heat is as such low in the weather, weaken our circulation, thereby kickstarting the process of fibromyalgia. It is therefore important that we should know which food to eat in which weather.

• Donot consume stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol. Donot eat red foods/drinks. Red being high on wavelength spreads farther and weakens core which is the case with most of the fibromyalgia patients. In winters, go for warm vegetable soups (not too sour) and in summers go for cooling drinks like Rose or Khus (made from Poppy seeds) syrup (syrup means sharbat). Increase more of bitter foods in summers as bitter foods weaken nerve conduction (electricity) which goes as such high in summers. Hence pitta reducing foods/medicines are fine in summers (but strictly no in winters) but again not to be taken indiscreetly in large doses. As such aim should be to learn which food works which way on our body which is why ONE MUST LEARN BASICS OF AYURVEDA. As such nature has provided us cooling (hydrating and bitter in nature) vegetables in summers like cucumber, members of gourd family etc. and heating ones in winters like mustard, spinach, mushrooms etc. So avoid having them
• Eat nutritious and very well cooked foods so that it flows freely in the blood vessels without causing obstructions (No raw foods, not even salads except cucumber being easy to digest. All grains, cereals, pulses should be well cooked so that they dont cause obstruction in our vessels). Avoid fermented cheese, it being very heavy, sticky and sour. Example of some quick snacks could be Buttermilk with chana Sattu (roasted floor of horsegram), pink rock salt and ghee is an excellent food which is pre-digested, has iron, lot of proteins, fats and most of the essential minerals including vitamins especially Vitamin B12 that would give create instant blood and  other tissues and thus strength. It can be followed after a few hours by lemon water with chana sattu, pink rock salt, a bit of sugar if need be as this will provide Vitamin C. (we cannot combine lemon with buttermilk).
• Donot go for medicines like having chawanprash during summers. Chawanprash is warm, pungent, sour and is good only for winters not summers. It will overstimulate body and mind. Similarly tomatoes should be totally avoided during summers being red and also sour (even excess sourness is bad during summers except for mild sourness in form of lemons etc to get necessary dose of Vitamin c). Go for warm oil massages but only during extreme winters. During summers they will overexcite you and cause health issues.
• Most importantly Fibromyalgia creates confusion (fibrofog) due to weak communication and excess space and therefore one must rest and do Asanas and Pranayama which reduce space. One of wonderful tools to reduce space is Tribandh Asana (click to learn Asana).  Apart from this, the patients should rest, meditate and consistently look inwards to know which all Asanas will help them. For example, Shivananda Yoga regime can be used by those who walk a lot and have more blood towards lower body than brain resulting in pains in upper body (One can use inversion machines instead of headstands especially in initial stages if upper body is weak which is the case with most of the fibro patients, however it is important that apart from headstand, the other asanas should also be performed as mentioned in Shivananda regime to strengthen the other body parts else it will create imbalance). Those having pain in back or constipation would need to go for cobra pose (bhujangasana) however it can reduce blood from brain. 
• THE PROCESS OF GETTING FIBROMYALGIA IS GRADUAL AND IN INITIAL DAYS WE TEND TO IGNORE THE SYMPTOMS AND TAKE QUICK FIX MEDS WHICH FURTHER CREATE ISSUES. HENCE THE PROCESS OF IMPROVEMENT WILL ALSO BE SLOW AND GRADUAL BUT ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING CAUSE, YOU SURELY WILL RECOVER.

This blog would have given you enough food for thought to understand what causes fibromyalgia. Since fibromyalgia creates several imbalances, one must learnt to look inward to understand what is needed for one’s specific requirement.