You might ask, what is Ama? In Ayurvedic medicine, accumulation of Ama is responsible for most of the diseases, from a simple bloating/gas to complex and deadly diseases like cancer. So detecting the presence of Ama (beginning of accumulation) in your body is extremely important.
The most fundamental factor in keeping healthy is to have healthy digestion which requires balanced digestive fire for proper optimum digestion. If the digestive fire becomes weak and dull (due to reasons discussed in my book “Health + Happiness = Wellness”), the digestion gets impaired. As a result toxins or Ama is produced and if left unchecked, the accumulation of Ama continues.
Following is a common list of symptoms to look out for in identifying presence of Ama in your body:
- Coated tongue (stays coated throughout the day)
- Weak hunger (Lack of desire to eat)
- Feeling of heaviness in GI Tract
- Gas/bloating almost after every meal
- Gases with foul odor
- Foul odor in sweat
- Heaviness and feeling lazy (Lack of energy)
- Frequently feeling fatigued
- Stiffness in body, lumber region, spine or joints
- Incomplete or unsatisfactory bowl movements
- Sticky, poorly formed stools that usually sink with foul odor
- Frequent urine with foul odor
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms frequently, it is time to do the cleansing or detoxifying. Fasting and exercising (though not together) are the best way to “burn” Ama and cleanse the body systems. You can read more in another article “How to Detoxify Your Body” or in the book “Health + Happiness = Wellness”.
In case you have too much accumulation of Ama, the best course would be to see an Ayurvedic practitioner and perhaps go through “Panchakarma”. Panchakarma is an Ayurvedic protocol for detoxifying the body riddled with toxins in a matter of few days.
Of course your goal should be to catch the symptoms early enough so you can use self practice and less expensive means to detoxify and free your body of Ama or toxins. Wishing you the best!
Tags: Health Coaching
