Taking a Closer Look at Your Nervous System with Ayurveda

Taking a Closer Look at Your Nervous System with Ayurveda – The human body is a wonderful working mechanism that controls complex structures and systems that enable you to perform everyday tasks with ease. You don’t even think about most of the tasks that your body does, but it coordinates everything so that you can function efficiently every second.

The human body and nervous system

The nervous system is responsible for almost all the activities that happen in your body. It is often dubbed the command centre because it is under the control of an array of processes you might not even think about such as breathing. The nervous system is essentially what makes you human because it enables you to understand the world around you. It can be divided into two subregions: the central nervous system or CNS and the peripheral nervous system. The CNS includes your brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system takes information from the CNS and sends it to other parts of your body, such as your organs.

The peripheral nervous system can be further broken down into the autonomic nervous system and the somatic nervous system. The CNS and peripheral nervous system consist of cells known as nerve cells or neurons. Neurons use electrical signals to communicate with each other and with other cells in the body. Neurons interpret data and make you aware of what is happening. When you look at a butterfly, neurons interpret what you are seeing to help you understand what it is. Neurons form a large network so that communication can take place throughout your body.

The nervous system affects all parts of your health. How you respond when you are emotional is controlled by the nervous system. Likewise, your ability to move the way you want is the responsibility of the nervous system. The nervous system manages your memory and your thought processes. The ageing process is also controlled by the nervous system. It affects your senses so that you can feel, touch, see, taste and hear. It controls the development of your body like puberty and even your digestion.

When there are anomalies in the nervous system, our whole body goes into disarray. Let us discuss in detail the nervous system in the context of Ayurveda and also mention the best nerve tonics to help in Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic Perspective of the Nervous System: Majha Dhatu

In Ayurveda, each person has a different body composition. five elements; Fire, earth, sky, water and air are the foundation of all living things. Doshas determine your unique body type which defines your mental, physical and physical self. A person has different proportions of each of these three doshas which make up his constitution. This is what makes a person separate from others. The nervous system is controlled by Vata dosha according to Ayurvedic principles.

In Ayurveda, sarira (body), manas (mind), and prana (life force) are essentially supported by that. Overall, Ayurveda identifies a total of seven dhatus, one of which is the marrow.

Ayurveda refers to the nervous system as the marrow. This includes the brain, spinal cord, vertebrae and skull.

The marrow that controls and regulates the functions of the brain and nervous system, maintains physical characteristics, strength and nourishment of bones and mental and emotional state. Poor diet, insomnia and suppression of emotions along with the effects of modern lifestyle have a devastating effect on the marrow that. Other metals include:

• Ras dhatu (plasma)
• Rakta dhatu (blood)
• Mamsa Dhatu (muscle)
• Meda dhatu (fat)
• Bone metal (bone)
• Shukra dhatu (male reproductive tissue)
• Arava Dhatu (female reproductive tissue)

When prana or life force energy is healthy, your bodily functions are at their optimum level and this is the desirable state in which you should be. However, problems start to arise when prana does not flow properly slowly. This indicates a problem in the marrow. Tissues or dhatus in Ayurveda are working to achieve balance in mind, body and prana. Whatever you do that makes the medah dhatu unbalanced, it is responsible for the prana related problems that you experience. External factors can also be out of balance in your medah dhatu like accidents.

The Effect of Doshas on the Majja Dhatu :

Understanding how doshas affect the marrow is the key to understanding how it is all connected.

Excess of Vata leads to weak and improper tissue formation. When Vata is out of balance, problems like excessive or low prana can occur. Changes in prana can be sudden or they can build up to a problem gradually over time. This means there may be too much activity or there may be too little activity. When the problem related to Vata lasts for a long time, it can cause the tissues to become fragile and thin. The tissues may also become dry, which hinders the efficient functioning of prana. Fragility and other defects present in excess can cause damage.

When pitta dosha is high there is a possibility of inflammation as the tissues build up faster than normal. This causes the tissues to heat up, causing the tissues to swell. This inflammation leads to neuritis. Another problem that happens is that the metabolism becomes very fast. While this may seem ideal for burning fat, according to Ayurveda this is not a good thing as it means that structures adjacent to the veins are also more prone to burns.

When kapha is in excess, it builds up more tissue than normal. While high tissue formation may sound good, it is not because the tissue quality is poor. An excess of phlegm makes the medulla thick and heavy which slows down the rate at which neurons communicate with each other. This affects the Prana flow as it slows down and creates more problems. You are unable to process information and respond appropriately to your environment. If the problem gets out of hand, life can stop which means more serious and serious health disorders. This usually happens over time.

Marrow and body

Nervous system disorders are mainly the result of Vata dosha. For this reason, the disorder of the nervous system is called Vata Vyadhi. However, two other defects can also affect the nervous system causing it to work less efficiently than usual. If Vata is the cause behind nervous system disorders and diseases, then the symptoms you will experience will be of Vata nature. For example, you will experience pain and not be able to walk normally. Pitta dosha causes inflammation and a prolonged condition can burn myelin and nerve tissues. If there is kapha dosha, it slows down nerve conduction to a great extent which can impede the processing of information and lead to an abnormal flow of nerve impulses.

Effect of Medha Dhatu on Mind

Majha dhatu has a positive effect on your psyche when it is healthy. That is, you feel that everything is perfect in the world and you feel at peace. You don’t have any negative emotions and if you do, you can quickly shift your focus because your focus is on the good and not the bad. When the marrow is functioning optimally, a sense of calmness and understanding prevails. Conversely, a poor marrow dhatu gives us a hollow feeling or some kind of emptiness and dissatisfaction in life. However, when Medha Dhatu is high, it can lead to a feeling of stagnation and loss of motivation that prevents you from performing in life.

What are the issues related to the nervous system?

Nervous system problems are related to an imbalance in the optimal levels of the three doshas, ​​but primarily it is the vata dosha that is responsible for the smooth functioning of the nervous system. Vata represents movement, and an imbalance of this dosha level can lead to neurological problems such as anxiety, stress and depression, in addition to a wide range of psychological problems, some of which are serious and life-threatening can do. There are currently over 600 neurological disorders. 

Some of the most common disorders of the nervous system are as follows:

The strokes

A stroke happens when your brain doesn’t get blood normally. Since blood carries oxygen, the absence of blood means that your brain cannot receive the oxygen it needs, and so brain cells begin to die. As it progresses, it can cause permanent disability or death.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is classified as a disease in which people start having seizures. It is a mental disorder and people’s behavior can be out of the ordinary. Epilepsy occurs when neurons communicate incorrectly and are unable to send the correct signals.

Meningitis

This disorder occurs when the meninges become inflamed. The two major types of meningitis involve bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis. The former is rare but can cause death. Viral meningitis occurs when a virus enters the brain and causes meningitis.

Cervical spondylosis

As you age, cervical spondylosis tends to worsen as research has found that more than 80% of people over the age of 60 are affected by this neurological disorder. Cervical spondylosis affects the discs of the spine in the neck region.