WHAT IS INDIGESTION (ARJEERNA) AND HOW DOES AYURVEDA OFFER NATURAL RELIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!
INDIGESTION
(ARJEERNA) IS ONE OF THOSE UNCOMFORTABLE COMPANIONS THAT CAN GATE-CRASH THE
BEST OF MEALS, LEAVING YOU WITH BLOATING, BURNING, BELCHING, OR SIMPLY A VAGUE
SENSE THAT
“SOMETHING HASN’T
GONE DOWN RIGHT”.
IN AYURVEDA, ARJEERNA
IS FAR MORE THAN A PASSING NUISANCE: IT IS AN UNMISTAKABLE SIGNAL THAT AGNI –
THE DIGESTIVE FIRE THAT TURNS FOOD INTO ENERGY, IMMUNITY AND HEALTHY STATE OF MIND –
IS UNDER STRAIN. UNDERSTANDING INDIGESTION THROUGH THE AYURVEDIC LENS OPENS THE
DOOR TO HOLISTIC, SIDE-EFFECT-FREE SOLUTIONS THAT NOURISH RATHER THAN MERELY
SUPPRESS.
AYURVEDA
DESCRIBES ARJEERNA AS A DISORDER WHERE FOOD REMAINS UNDIGESTED OR POORLY
DIGESTED DUE TO IMPAIRED AGNI. RATHER THAN SEEING THE STOMACH IN ISOLATION,
AYURVEDA VIEWS THE WHOLE DIGESTIVE TRACT, THE GUT–BRAIN AXIS, AND INDEED THE
BODY–MIND COMPLEX AS A SINGLE INTEGRATED SYSTEM. WHEN AGNI IS “LOW” (MANDA),
FOOD STAGNATES; WHEN IT IS “IRREGULAR” (VISHAMA), FERMENTATION AND GAS RESULT;
WHEN IT IS “SHARP” (TIKSHNA), EXCESS ACID AND INFLAMMATION APPEAR. ANY OF THESE
STATES CAN BIRTH TO INDIGESTION.
INDIGESTION
(ARJEERNA) AND THE DOSHAS
- VATA-TYPE
INDIGESTION TENDS TO
PRODUCE ABDOMINAL DISTENSION, WIND, DRY STOOLS, AND A VARIABLE APPETITE.
- PITTA-TYPE
INDIGESTION BRINGS ACIDITY, BURNING PAIN, SOUR BELCHING AND LOOSE MOTIONS.
- KAPHA-TYPE
INDIGESTION SHOWS AS
HEAVINESS, UN-ACTIVENESS, FEELING OF VOMITING, THICK WHITE COATING ON THE TONGUE AND
LOOSE MOTIONS.
·
Common Causes of
Indigestion from an Ayurvedic Perspective
·
Irregular eating habits – long gaps, skipping meals and late-night
takeaways disturb vishama agni, a classic recipe for wind and cramps.
Mismatched food combinations – fruit with dairy,
fish with yoghurt or meat with cheese challenge enzyme systems, resulting in toxic metabolites.
Overindulgence in processed food, alcohol or coffee –
these rapidly provoke tikshna agni, creating acid and gastritis.
Eating under stress – cortisol shunts blood away
from the stomach, compromising secretions and peristalsis.
Sedentary lifestyle – low circulation and weak
abdominal tone favour manda agni, causing heaviness and sluggish motility.
The Five Signs Your Digestive Fire Needs Attention
- Post-meal bloating or discomfort
within one hour.
- Coated tongue on waking, especially
with a foul taste.
- Excessive burping, flatulence or
hiccups.
- Heartburn or regurgitation when lying
down.
- Alternating constipation and loose
stools.
Follow the 80-20 rule –
fill the stomach half with solids, one quarter with liquids and one quarter
left empty for digestive churn.
- For
Vata indigestion: flavour
soups, root vegetables, ghee and gentle warming spices.
- For
Pitta indigestion: choose
bitters like rocket leaf, coriander leaf, aloe and coconut water to cool excess
heat.
- For Kapha indigestion: emphasise light grains (quinoa, barley), pungent herbs (black pepper, trikatu) and eliminate refined sugar.
Home Remedies Straight from Your Kitchen Cupboard
Ajwain salt chew – half a teaspoon of carom seeds(ajwain) with
a pinch of rock salt (kala namak) chewed after food.
Cinnamon-cardamom infusion –
simmer two sticks of cinnamon (dalchini) and four green cardamom (elaichi) pods in 500 ml water for
10 minutes; sip warm.
Fennel seed mouth freshener –
dry roast fennel, add a drop of mulethi powder, chew slowly post-meal to curb
acidity and sweeten breath.
Ginger pickle – thin slices
of fresh ginger marinated in lemon juice and rock salt; eat one slice before
lunch to ignite agni.
CONCLUSION: REKINDLE YOUR DIGESTIVE FIRE, REKINDLE YOUR LIFE
Indigestion (Arjeerna) is not merely a quirk of the stomach; it is a
messenger from the core of your physiology announcing that digestive fire needs
tending. The Ayurvedic path offers a compassionate, root-cause-oriented
response – from mindful meals and kitchen spices to tailored herbs, detox
therapies and yogic breathwork.