PSORIASIS- UNDERSTANDING THE DISEASE FROM AYURVEDA AND ASTROLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WITH MANAGEMENT/CURE

We have discussed in the previous blogs that autoimmune diseases like cancer, ulcerative colitis, diabetes type 1 , multiple-sclerosis, fibromyalgia are nothing but extreme vata imbalance where a specific part of the body is extremely high on vata (i.e. less on blood/nutrition) vis a vis other body parts (i.e. more blood/nutrition). This high vata, meaning less of blood/nutrition leads to excessive agni, since agni is a product of vata and pitta leading to extreme inflammation of the specific vata driven body part. In, this blog we shall touch upon Psoriasis which is another high vata imbalance disease.

THE ROOT CAUSE

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease

where excess agni on the skin  manifests in form of red patches primarily due to excess vata towards it (skin) with extent of inflammation and spread varying from person to person.

Now those who have gone through the blog on prana vata imbalance would have realized that most of the vata diseases usually begin due to high prana vata (vata of the mind) due to less blood reaching there which pushes kapha and pseudokapha (sourness) in the body. This is because mind is the engine of the body and a highly Rajasic (restless) mind (high on VP-high prana vata and pitta) characterized by lack of sleep (in terms of quantity or quality or both) and other associated symptoms, doesn’t let the body rest and repair. The result is that weakest part of the body gives up first due to inability to repair itself at the same speed as the other body parts. And the weakest part of one’s body is that part which is highest on vata (due to paucity of blood) which in case of psoriasis is the skin.

This post is an extract from the book THE ROOT CAUSE- Ayurveda, Astrology and beyond for a blissful life”. To pick up a copy of the book, please click the link/s mentioned at the end of this post…

MANAGEMENT/CURE

On ground too, it has been found in majority of the cases that people with Psoriasis are hyperactive/restless minds. Thus the treatment of this disease should cover the following aspects :-

• First should be to pacify prana vata of the person with the help of medicines like medha vati/manas mitra (to be taken in night only if only prana vata is high)
• Second should be to use medicines like mukta pishti in the day time to reduce excess pitta in the body arising due to excess sourness and pungency
• Third is to locally apply cold, sweet, astringent, bitter and mildly pungent herbs like aloe vera on the skin so that bitter dilates the blood vessels on the skin, sweetness with the help of astringency removes deep seated vata and pungency dissolves toxins deposited on the skin. (*** Thus it has to remembered that local application of a taste may have different effect than when they are consumed so while bitterness and astringency increase vata due to effect of gravity, applying such tastes locally along with sweetness helps to heal the local vata pitta issue by pulling blood there).
• Lastly, a person with psoriasis is likely to be a high VP personality and therefore cannot afford to have too much of astringency which will further aggravate vata and therefore other than cold and astringent medicines mentioned above such a person should abstain from vata and pitta increasing tastes.

ABSTINENCE

Since highly bitter, pungent, astringent foods like tea, coffee, onion, garlic, chocolates, alcohol, tobacco, beetroot, broccoli, menthol etc. increase vata of peripherals (meaning they reduce blood from brain and skin) due to haywire circulation of blood, abstinence from consuming such foods is a must to cure/manage this disease.  In fact such foods are the triggering factors for this disease. As such excess of prana vata can push kapha in the lower body leading to poor agni and weak peristalsis leading to poor elimination and accumulation of toxins which move into the blood stream and increase vata in entire body.

***** Triphla can be used in certain cases to scrap of the accumulated toxins from the colon and relieve constipation however triphla can increase vata of the upper body leading to issues like headaches and other associated symptoms of aggravated prana vata and that is why this medicine should be used carefully)

Overall, the person should consume foods exactly in line with vata constitution however they cannot increase too much of salt and sour foods since both increase pitta and will again aggravate the disease, though this is also true that due to less blood towards brain (high prana vata) such people are desperate to have highly spicy, sour, salty and sugary foods as such foods increase volume of blood thereby taking it towards brain and giving it a kick. Also such people look for bitter tasting foods as mentioned above like alcohol since such foods dilate blood vessels and give temporary relaxation to an otherwise tensed brain and body. However the fact is that such foods further increase vata and pitta.

HOW ALLOPATHY FURTHER AGGRAVATES THIS DISEASE

Since allopathy doesn’t understand the concepts of VPK and neither the working of different tastes, the only way it controls this disease is by reducing pitta which reduces the inflammation. However, what happens in the bargain is that pitta not only of highly inflamed parts (i.e. skin) but of the entire body gets reduced and when pitta reduces below optimum levels, it leads to production of toxins due to inability of body to breakdown food in absence of sufficient heat (pitta). All this leads to further increase in vata as toxins build up in the body thereby blocking blood circulation leading to further inflammation of the skin in the long run since even less blood stops reaching there. Thus allopathy takes the patient into a vicious circle and never hits the root cause.

ASTROLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

From Astrological perspective this disease is found in those people in whose birth charts,

(a) First house is highly vata ridden e.g. Rahu (indicating high prana vata) and

(b) Mercury (being the significator of skin since skin is driven by equal ratio of VPK and mercury too denotes VPK) is in close proximity to sun (high pungency). More the proximity, higher the inflammation of skin and extent of this disease.

For example in the above mentioned chart, Sun and mercury are sitting just 1 degree apart which is further marred by mars (spicy and salty) and venus (sour) planets (foods) along with Rahu in the first house leading to an extreme case of Psoriasis.

*** From Kaalpurush kundli perspective, we can see that first zodiac consists of four planets also being influenced by Rahu, ketu and moon from the center. It shows that the beginning of fetus of native started at high Pitta (Sun and Mars), high sourness (venus) affecting VPK (mercury) i.e. Skin, thereby showing that the basic constitution of the person itself carries this disease which can only be managed with right lifestyle but not cured.