For many of us, unhealthy elimination is a somewhat routine occurrence. If we are completely honest, most of us have suffered from constipation, diarrhea, or some other symptom of a bowel imbalance. Yet, generally, we are embarrassed to talk about our elimination patterns. Fortunately, Ayurvedic experts are very comfortable with this aspect of our health and have a lot to say about it. The truth is, our bowel habits and stools show us a great deal about whatever problems our bodies may be going through and what we need to do to return them to balanced functioning.
Ayurveda recognizes that the digestive tract is the very first place imbalances arise in the body. According to Ayurveda a malfunctioning digestive system is the root of all disease. Ayurveda places great importance on the digestive system and its ability to transform foods into energy and nourishment. Without the proper digestion, foods cannot be broken down and absorbed in the body to fuel tissue renewal; instead, excessive waste is created, leading to a buildup of toxic sludge (ama) and eventually disease. Thus, bowel imbalances tend to function as early warning signals that something is amiss in our physiology.
If an emerging imbalance is not properly addressed, it will either take root in the digestive tract and become a more serious condition or spread to other tissues and create imbalances there. If we can learn to understand the early indications of disharmony in our bodies and respond appropriately, our bodies can self-correct and heal. Ayurveda’s teachings on elimination serve as a valuable tool for maintaining overall health and wellness.
According to Ayurveda, healthy elimination occurs one to two times every day. Generally, the first bowel movement should happen in the morning, within a few minutes of waking up, and should not be stimulated by food intake. Stools should be well formed, have the consistency of a ripe banana, and maintain their shape after being eliminated. They should be light brownish-yellow, should float, and should be oily enough to keep from sticking to the sides of the toilet bowl. Their odor should be mild, not strong or pungent.
Most people’s stools fall short of this ideal. Modern lifestyles make it difficult to maintain perfect digestive health—that’s why talking about elimination is so important, so we can foster balance in our bodies, in our stools, and in our lives as a whole.
In Ayurveda, physiological systems such as the reproductive, digestive, and urinary systems are called channels. All channels perform various functions that are vital to sustaining our overall health. Ayurveda accentuates the importance of proper movement in all the channels to maintain a disease-free body. The regular movement of the bowels plays a fundamental role in ensuring the proper flow of biological materials, nutrients, and waste though the digestive channels.
The foods we ingest undergo the process of digestion and absorption through the action of agni, or digestive fire. An individual’s agni largely determines how well food is digested and eliminated. When agni is in balance, it supports strong immunity and a long, healthy life. Balanced agni also supports emotional health and makes life more enjoyable. The strength of agni is inevitably diminished by a poor diet, improper food combinations, an unhealthy lifestyle, emotional disturbances, and even damp, rainy weather. When agni weakens, so does our body’s resistance to disease. Strengthening agni and understanding the particular needs of your doshic constitution are key to finding a truly balanced diet.
In general, the qualities of foods are similar to the qualities of the doshas. The intake of food that has the same quality of a dosha will tend to aggravate that dosha. For instance, when a vata (dry) person eats popcorn (dry), that person’s tissues will become even drier. Opposite qualities tend to be balancing, such as when a pitta (hot) person drinks mint tea (cooling). This fundamental principle can help you select foods that are balancing to your own unique constitution. While there are certainly many things we can do to generally foster healthy elimination, identifying which doshas are involved in a specific imbalance enables us to pursue harmony on a deeper level and to create a more focused therapeutic strategy.
Sometimes it is very easy to identify personal bowel movement tendencies at a glance—if so, you can find dosha-specific support in Ayurvedic teachings to help you restore balance. If you remain uncertain, please see a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner for a more personalized assessment of your needs. It is also important to know that long-standing imbalances in the elimination channel often involve more than one dosha and can easily lead to more complex disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These conditions are more serious and should be treated by a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner.
Vata Elimination
In vata elimination imbalances, the excess vata that accumulates in the digestive channel tends to cause dry, hard, scanty stools that can be painful or difficult to pass. Vata buildup can also cause gas, bloating, colicky pain, gurgling in the intestines, irregularity, and constipation. Some vata types tend to alternate between constipation and diarrhea. The symptoms are usually accompanied by an irregular appetite and variable digestion. Other related ailments caused by excess vata include low back pain, sciatica, non-bleeding hemorrhoids, a prolapsed rectum, and fissures or fistulas.
When vata is too predominant, you must balance its cold and dry qualities with warmth and a lot of fluids, along with healthy oils. It’s also important to slow the pace of life, keep warm, and stay hydrated. Support your digestion and elimination with Triphala or Hiṅgvāṣṭaka or consider taking haritaki instead of Triphala if you’re sure that excess vata is the root cause of your problem. You should also adopt the following diet and lifestyle practices.
Diet
Focus on eating vata-pacifying foods in which sweet, sour, and salty tastes predominate.
Eat three solid, freshly cooked meals a day, ideally at about the same time each day; vata types need consistency. This practice increases the digestive fire and helps with weight control and detoxification of the body.
Enrich your diet with multiple sources of fiber, such as oatmeal, wheat bran, oat bran, and other whole cooked grains and cooked vegetables.
Increase your dietary quotient of high-quality oils, such as ghee, sesame oil, and olive oil.
Eat more fruit. Consume it at least one hour before and after other foods, and do not eat it cold. Room temperature fruit is the best choice.
Drink at least 60–80 ounces of fluid each day. Warm or hot water and warm herbal teas are the most beneficial. Stay away from iced and cold liquids.
Chew on a slice of fresh ginger about the size of a nickel with a pinch of sea salt, a few drops of lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon of honey 30 minutes before lunch and dinner.
Lifestyle
Focus on establishing a vata-pacifying daily routine; consistency in the structure of the day is especially balancing for vata types. Focus on calming the mood and energy and nurturing the body.
Get plenty of vata-pacifying exercise: Make sure that your exercise routine is not overstimulating; instead favor gentle and grounding activities like walking, hiking, light jogging, swimming, or gentle cycling.
Practice vata-pacifying yoga or a handful of slow and purposeful sun salutations each morning.
Practice 5–15 minutes of alternate nostril breathing every day on an empty stomach.
Give yourself a daily massage with sesame oil after warm shower or bath.
Pitta Elimination
Excess pitta in the elimination channel tends to cause frequent, urgent bowel movements, with stools that are soft, loose, liquid, or oily. The stools may fall apart of after being evacuated. They are also often hot, causing burning pain when eliminated, and have a strong and frequently offensive sour or acidic odor. If left unaddressed, this type of imbalance can develop into chronic diarrhea. Excess pitta in the digestive tract can also cause heartburn, blood in stool, bleeding hemorrhoids, and acid indigestion as well as an insatiable appetite.
In order to balance pitta, one must balance pitta’s hot, sharp, light, and liquid qualities with food, herbs, and experiences that are nutritive, heavy, cooling, and dense. It is important to keep the mind and body cool and avoid heavy exercise and exercising at midday. Support your digestion with amalaki or with Avipattikar. Triphala is also an option. Focus on the diet and lifestyle suggestions outlined below.
Diet
Eat a pitta-pacifying diet that favors sweet, astringent, and bitter tastes.
Consume cooling foods—not cold but, rather, foods that have a cooling effect, such as cilantro, coconut water, peppermint tea, coriander, fennel, mint, and cucumber.
Drink moderate amounts of fluid, mainly at room temperature and avoid iced and sour drinks as well as sodas.
Take a few tablespoons of aloe vera juice or gel two to three times per day to cool and soothe the channels of digestion.
Include moderate amount of good-quality cooling oils such as ghee, sunflower oil, or coconut oil in your diet.
Lifestyle
Focus on pitta-pacifying routines to ground and cool the fiery intensity of pitta.
Practice sheetali pranayama every day on an empty stomach for 5–10 minutes. A few minutes of alternate nostril breathing will also help balance pitta.
Perform pitta-pacifying yoga at a gentle and purposeful pace. Do not make yoga a competition against yourself or others. Moon salutations are useful in balancing pitta.
Daily exercise is important, but it should not be overly intense; relax your efforts. Walking, swimming, cycling, light jogging, and hiking are best for pitta types. These individuals should exercise when the day is the coolest, in morning or evening, and breathe through their nose the entire time.
Kapha Elimination
Counteracting kapha’s heavy, slow, cool, oily, smooth, and sticky qualities requires foods, herbs, and experiences that are light, sharp, hot, dry, rough, and clarifying. In general, when kapha is aggravated, it is important to keep warm and dry, to avoid daytime napping, and to stay active. Trikatu is helpful for stimulating the sluggish digestion of kapha types. Bibhitaki is better than Triphala, but Triphala can also be used. The following diet, lifestyle recommendations will help restore balanced functioning to a kapha-dominant digestive system.
Diet
Adopt a kapha-pacifying diet.
Minimize the presence of oil and fat in your diet (the best oils for kapha types are sunflower oil and olive oil).
Reduce intake of processed foods and sugars.
Favor warm and hot beverages, and be careful not to overhydrate. Hot water and herbal teas like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, or clove can help to liquefy and remove excess kapha and ama.
Eat three square meals each day (at about the same time each day), and try not to snack between meals.
Focus on making lunch the main meal and eating smaller quantities of food at breakfast and dinner.
Incorporate a wide variety of spices into your cooking.
Stoke the digestive fire about 30 minutes before lunch and dinner by chewing a slice of fresh ginger (about the size of a nickel) with a pinch of sea salt, a few drops of lime juice, and about ¼ teaspoon honey.
Lifestyle
Focus on establishing a kapha-pacifying daily routine.
Get plenty of kapha-pacifying exercise: Make sure that your exercise routine is fun, vigorous, and stimulating. Kapha individuals thrive on activities like walking, hiking, running, cycling, and high-intensity interval training.
Practice kapha-pacifying yoga or a handful of invigorating sun salutations each morning.
Perform bhastrika pranayama every day on an empty stomach. You can start with just one or two rounds of 10 breaths and slowly build up to five rounds of 10 breaths. A few minutes of alternate nostril breathing can serve as a wonderful complement to this practice
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of Ayurveda. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease.