Continued. Part one — “Accumulation”: how ama gathers in the gastrointestinal tract, why balance is easiest to restore at that stage, and how to recognise the first signals.
Stage two: aggravation
As soon as we start feeling better, thoughts about changing our diet and lifestyle usually leave us. We keep ignoring the body’s warning signals and go on accumulating ama. Eventually quantity turns into quality: ama becomes active where it has accumulated — in the digestive tract — and the second stage of the disease begins.
The accumulated dosha keeps growing in its own area of the body:
- Kapha tries to rise into the lungs;
- Pitta — into the stomach and gallbladder;
- Vata — to move into the lateral parts of the abdomen.
At this stage the disease can already be felt. Excess Pitta may show up as heartburn, increased stomach acidity and even nausea. Excess Vata — as pain in the sides or lower back and shortness of breath.
Stage three: spread
Having overflowed its place of origin — the gastrointestinal tract — ama is carried by the doshas into the tissues. It enters the bloodstream and the body’s general circulation together with nutrients during metabolism, and begins to spread from the place where it accumulated.
The disease has now reached a stage where removing the causative factor alone is no longer enough. A cleansing programme is needed — Panchakarma or similar cleansing measures — to return the doshas to their proper places and remove ama from the body.
What changes by the third stage
In the first two stages the dosha stays in its own area, and balance can be restored by removing the cause: the change of season, diet and lifestyle. By the third stage ama has already left the gastrointestinal tract — here a cleansing programme is required.
Ayurveda is a traditional system for assessing health, not a medical diagnosis. Stages and signs of imbalance are best discussed with a specialist; in acute conditions consult a doctor.
