Effective Tips for Piles Relief at Home Gentle Safe Dr Hansaji

Namaskar! There are some health conditions that grows slowly, quietly through daily habits. Piles is one such condition. Today I'm going to talk about how piles could be controlled, prevented and even reversed through yogic living and natural care at home. First, let's quickly understand that what piles are. Piles or hemorrhoids are actually a normal part of human body. They become a problem only when the blood vessels in the anal canal swells and start causing bleeding, pain, itchiness and heaviness. Studies show that nearly 50% of adults experience piles at some or other time, mostly due to lifestyle related causes. The reasons are simple such as training, hard stools, delayed bowel habits, long sitting, less movement, pregnancy, obesity and mental stress. You must understand that most of these causes are avoidable. In yoga therapy, we don't see piles as only a local problem. We look at the whole person. We work with four important pillars. Ahar, Vihar, Achar and Vichar. Ahar is your diet and digestion. Vihar means proper rest and recreation. Achar refers to your habits and routines and Vichar is your state of mind, your thoughts and emotional balance. So let's start with Ahar. We try to make digestion easier because it is very important that bowel movement should happen without force. For this you need more fibers and water. These can soften your stools and reduce pressure on rectal veins. You get natural fibers from bananas, sprouts, unpolished red rice and fruits. One very useful and traditional recipe is red rice kanji. Soak unpolished red rice overnight, then cook it with extra water till it becomes soft, almost like a porridge. Add just a pinch of rock salt and a few drops of ghee. Take this warm, especially at lunch or dinner. The fiber holds water and the ghee gently lubricates the intestine. Take soups or buttermilk with meals. Reduce excess salt as it causes fluid retention and causes swelling in veins. Eat in a relaxed manner. Overeating or rushed meals disturb digestion. Avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, heavy food, non-vegetarian food, spices and processed food. Lemon water between meals is also good for your digestion. A piece of gold or a small quantity of casserole at night can help with easier bowel movements. Chemical laxatives should be avoided as they can irritate the anal region. Now in Vichar, we think about rest and recreation. Being physically active is important because prolonged sitting causes blood to accumulate in the pelvic veins. If you have to sit continuously for long hours, take short walks of 10 minutes twice or thrice daily to keep your circulation active. Go swimming or do some activities like walking, jogging, etc. Simple relaxation practices once or twice daily can calm your gut. Brain connection plays a major role in your bowel health. Next achar is about your daily habits and local care. Always respond immediately to the urge to pass stools. Suppression dries the stools and increases strain later. Avoid sitting on the toilet seat for a long time. Now I'll give you some simple tips which are very effective. Sit in squatting posture during bowel movements. You can place a small stool under your feet if you don't have an Indian style toilet. This will help by aligning recto-anal angle naturally. Take a cold bath and apply cold press at anal region daily. Do it about 10 minutes. This helps to constrict swollen veils and reduce pain and itching. Apply coconut oil to the area to soothe irritation and heal tissues. Avoid dry toilet paper which can cause friction and injury to sensitive tissues. Use water to clean instead. Do gentle clockwise abdominal massage using warm sesame oil. This is good for the intestinal movement. It prevents waste from stagnating in the system. Yoga practice such as viparit karni or sarvangasana helps venous drainage and reduce congestion and forward bends like as padashan improves digestion. You can do ashwini mudra to strengthen the anal region and prevent enlargement of piles, but it must be avoided during acute pain. Avoid heavy lifting and excessive strain because such activities increase abdominal pressure. Then we have vichar which is about what happens in your mind. Long term stress directly affects your digestion and Ayurveda explains that disturbed mental state weakens your digestive fire. Learn to let go the constant worry by replacing worry with activity that can make life better for you. Such as cleaning of shelves or dusting furniture. Eat with full awareness to help your digestion. Cultivate gratitude daily because it makes you more positive minded. When person suffers from constipation, he develops constipative mind, holds on to things. Regular meditation really helps here. It calms your nervous system. Trusting life reduces internal tension which reflects directly in the body. Natural method works best when it applies early. Remember when we stop fighting the body and start supporting it, healing follows naturally. Piles are the message to simplify food, listen to natural urges, move your body and calm your mind. Namaskar