Almost two years have gone since the World halted in its tracks and has worked to reinvent itself due to the war on COVID-19 Virus.
From many different perspectives, religions, beliefs, and politics, the conclusion about the current state of the world is that the direction we were headed, to put it boldly, was not sustainable for the planet and the survival of our human race.
If anything, this virus has offered a moment of pause around the globe. A time to re-evaluate our goals, values, and purpose of our existence. Perhaps even understand that our human bio system can no longer sustain itself within the parameters of societal pressures and the ideals for power, and success.
How can a thing invisible to the eye wipe out the functioning of an entire planet?
Let yourself ponder on this for a moment.
Perhaps the way you are currently, based on your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual state, is dissonant with your roots in the natural ecosystem. A virus that is commonly mutating every year as part of the yearly flu, slightly more aggressive, has halted the entire planet’s current habits and behaviors. The one thing that blares red lights here is a collective compromised Immune System.
The world as we knew it no longer exists. As we thread the waters to this new world shift, an awakening of the human psyche has raised. Populations have started looking into various holistic modalities to understand our place on this Earth. At last. Ayurveda has a seat at the ‘big picture’ table of life.
This shift is about the institutional awareness of not just healing the body from a physical virus but looking deeper into the physiological phenomena of understanding human functions and behaviors in correlation to Nature. Exactly what the 5000 year old science, Ayurveda focuses on. Suddenly the topic of the wellbeing and functions of the human being, once only of interest to experts in specialized fields of medicine and biology, sociology and psychotherapy, has now become a headline in the daily lives of all people.
Viral Infections and Immunity
A microscopic infectious agent that only survives inside a host with rapid replication. It’s not even an organism. It cannot exist on its own.
From a holistic look, the root cause of the power this virus has over humans is a compromised Immune System. For decades we are trained to destroy invaders relying on our core programming of fight or flight systems designed for the survival of the species. This program of survival is closely related with the chemical distribution of hormones and communication with cells and proteins inside the body in response to the outer environment. Before even understanding this virus, let’s understand Human Immunity.
To know this machine that you exist inside of, and how it sustains you can further our knowledge about how then, we fit in this world. Perhaps when we connect to the basic nature of existence we begin to realize that there is no separation of us vs them and that we are all in this together. Here on this Earth to experience human life.
The Body Speaks
The Immunity is a complex network of cellular activity inside your body with multiple organs involved, and functions performed. It is your line of defense, protection, coordination and homeostasis of your internal environment as it reacts with the external world.
Compromised immunity leads to compromised body functions, sickness, imbalance and eventually end of life. It all starts here.
These highly intelligent immune cells keep a record of every germ and microbe defeated previously, and can quickly retrieve into defense should the same culprits attack again. Even can use them as partial imprints of similar attackers to form antigens against potential threats.
Intelligence exists in every cell in your body. Each cell performs a particular task in coordination and synchronization with other cells and organs. It is an intricate dance interdependent of one another. But this intelligence can be compromised by desentizing the cells and confusing the system, in turn, to attack itself. This is known as autoimmune disorder. Toxic internal environement happens due to overconsumption, overstimulation and failure to reach a fully connected homeostatic state. When the performance of organs is abused to the point where the internal environment no longer can eradicate toxicity, the immune response attacks the body instead.
But before this step occurs, the body speaks and signals in various ways to inform us that something isn’t resonating accordingly.
Do you listen?
There is a correlation to cells in your body with people on this planet. Channels such as blood flow in your veins and lymphs, and respiration, correlates to the river beds on Earth. Your tissues are made of water and so is the overall composition of Earth with many oceans, seas and lakes. The human body is just a micro version of the Earth body. This is the principal teaching of Ayurveda.
In simple and extreme terms, when out of sync, the cells mutate into a deformation that we call cancer. This is the body’s final way of communicating to your consciousness that something hasn’t been working properly some time now.
But when we hear the news, the diagnosis, it comes to us out of nowhere.
Just the same, this world has been in a state of distress and off sync for decades now, yet, a pandemic seems to have brought the entire planet to a halt in utter surprise.
Is it a surprise?
Take a moment to re-evaluate the overall positive outcomes during these seemingly bad times and the global shift of awareness that has led to profound new ways of approaching health, well being, existence and spirituality. Finally, after 5000 years, the teachings of Ayurveda reach the masses, viewing this existence from a holistic interdependent whole.
You surely have experienced the common cold a few times throughout your lifetime. Thus, you know that with proper rest, and light, warm, easy to digest nutritious meals, and plenty of liquids, the common cold is out of your system in 5 to 7 days.
Has the state of the world rested?
Like the body’s way of speaking louder until heard, the Earth has spoken just as loud to raise awareness that the collective immunity of the world is at stake.
Understanding the stages of Virus, and Preventative Methods
Fever is the Immune response mechanism against a foreign invader. Are you aware of global warming?
It happens when toxic material enters the body, grows and blocks the channels in your body. The body heat increases in order to digest the toxic material.
In response to the current virus, if the body already has improper metabolism, then the immunity will be over aggressive, and can cause further complications, such as lung damage and pneumonia.
According to Ayurveda, the pathology of a Flu/ Viral infection is seen and treated in three stages. And Covid 19 is no different. This virus in particular is attacking the human body a bit more aggressively than the common cold, and that could be due to an overall collective weakened Immune system.
Ama Avastha
The first stage is Ama Avastha, which simply means, toxic material invades the body and grows. This stage usually lasts 5 to 7 days. During this time, you will experience loss of appetite, mild fever, weakness and fatigue. It is important in these first days to take proper rest and nourish the body with light warm meals, soups, and teas to strengthen the body’s endurance in order to fight against the virus. For COVID 19, day 5 is the most critical day. By this day, you will know if you are healing or going into further complications.
A generally healthy individual with a healthy metabolism and proper digestion, can survive the heat rise in the body without damaging organs. However, should you experience further inflammatory responses, such as; tightness in the chest, lack of appetite and general signs of sickness and weakness, day 5 and onwards, be sure to contact your physician. This is a first sign toward respiratory and lung complications known as Cytokine storm inside your lungs, a unique moderate to severe symptom for Covid 19.
By this time the oxygen saturation levels in the lungs have dropped, leading to the possibility of roughly 30-40% lung damage. Most often this is the time when the patient rushes to the hospital, and may be diagnosed with complications such as Pneumonia and given steroids. To avoid this complication, visit your physician after day 5 should your symptoms still be moderate.
Pachyamana Avastha
The second Stage is from the 5th through roughly the 10th day of illness. This stage in Ayurveda is called Pachyamana Avastha, which means inflammatory stage. Simply put, to digest/cook the danger. During this stage the body’s inflammatory response is on the rise, accelerating the heat in the body in order to cook the virus.This is the natural immunity response in the body. Should an individual be prone to metabolic disturbance, the side effect can be a hyper immune reaction, and the high grade fever begins attacking healthy tissues. This is the time when not only immune boosters, but rather immunomodulators should be given.
Immunomodulators adapt and modify your immune response to act and attack invaders in the body properly. An Ayurvedic herb Gudduci churna, also known in latin as Tinospora Cordifolia (Gilloy) has strong immunomodulating properties, as well as reduces inflammation and improves metabolic functions in the body. The property of this herb helps control the cytokine storm in the lungs. It helps in preventing lung damage that normally happens around the 10th day, should you overlook the symptoms of extended dry cough, chest tightness, breathlessness and continuous fever. Even for prevention, this is a good herb to take together with any immune boosters, such as ginger, Vitamin C, and mushroom extract tinctures.
During the second stage it is important to be aware of diet and breathing practices. Kumbhaka Pranayama is a breathing exercise that focuses on breath retention. You inhale and hold the breath in your body for a few seconds, before releasing into exhalation. This helps to improve and strengthen your lung capacity.
Nirama Avastha
The third stage is the resolution stage, Nirama Avastha, where you either are on your way out of sickness, or possible further complications, such as blood clotting, thrombosis, lung collapsing and respiratory failures.
Cinnamon has excellent blood thinning properties and is highly useful during this time, and especially in preventing blood clots and thrombosis.
Licorice root tea is a mucolytic, and helps aid a productive cough, in removing the respiratory blockage, whilst soothing your cough.
Oftentimes patients might not exhibit any symptoms of illness after being exposed to the virus from a family member, and only experience a mild version of its complications, such as blot clotting or chest tightness. These patients, who might have not been aware, or presented any symptoms to the virus, later demonstrate a much higher rate of antigens in their body, meaning their strong immune response prevented the virus from expressing.
Can we apply the three stages of disease to save the Planet too?
Fight or Flight, Antigens vs Vaccine
High number of antigens in people who did not show symptoms of the virus can lead us to an understanding of how to train our Immune response. After all, the basic principle of creating a vaccine is to quickly train and modulate the immune response so it recognizes and attacks viruses better. However, the one-size-fits-all principle might no longer be the solution to a very fragmented and hurting world.
When we look at this as a whole, creating lab-made antigens to infuse humanity with, while continuing on the path that led us here in the first place, isn’t really a solution. We cannot continue behaving in the manner we have so far, and expect different results and outcomes. The umbrella effect does not actually eradicate the root cause rather gives us time to look the other way.
Please note that this is not a discussion about taking sides ‘to take, vs, not to take’ the currently available vaccine against Covid. It is simply an invitation to contemplate the real reasons why most people choose one or the other side and how this is affecting the future of our existence.
This virus is simply attacking that which is already weak inside of us. On a global scale the human immunity system and organism is weakened due to certain lifestyle choices influenced by the rapid development of societies disconnected from nature. Our infrastructure of survival has been compromised, and we’ve become fragmented from our body and mind as a whole.
Holistic Awareness: Everything is Connected
Ayurveda’s teachings focus on the mind, body, and spirit connection as an interdependent and integral part of the existence of the universe. Everything fits into the Domino effect analogy, where each particle is influenced by and will in turn influence forward another particle. Spiraling inward or outward, toward growth and expansion or destruction.
When we stepped out of nature and into concrete jungles with technological and inorganic advancements, we lost our sense of instinct, intuition, and that very essence within us that creates and nurtures our primal needs such as the Immune system. The body naturally undergoes stress throughout the day and rebalances itself back to homeostasis. Stress is needed for the body to complete digestion, stay awake, simulate the functioning of vital tissues, processing and activating conscious actions of thoughts emotions, cognition response and alertness. Stress is the regulator of the fight or flight response from the most primal parts in us. But even stress needs regulating, and this is where our society is today. A place where the regulator of primal responses about survival in safety, security, and wellbeing, needs regulating too. A fear response has become the new normal, numbing our existence to simply motor functions, while compromising our vitality and essence of life.
We do not check in with ourselves and evaluate our relationship with our body. We repress and dust off emotional stimuli and trauma in order to cope in today’s fast paced societies. So much information but not enough connective experience.
Our consciousness is what has given us advantages in the Animal Kingdom, but has also been that which has shifted our relationship with ourselves, to turn against our own kind.
The pandemic is not only attacking the human body. But it’s awakening the collective consciousness into a global awareness that a necessary change in perspective is on the rise in order to preserve the existence of our world.
According to Indian Philosophies the baseline for human awareness, understanding yourself as a mere part of this world rather than a separate entity is the first step toward arriving in a healthy mindset.
Indian Philosophies explain that the existence of truth lies inside each of us. Truth is only that which you believe and perceive. Truth is fluctuating and impermanent. So is existence and life. Change is inevitable and truly the only constant in this life. How we approach change is only a reflection of the knowledge we have about ourselves.
It is a prime time to step out of the old programs and paradigms about life expectations and truly look deeply inside yourself. The most profound knowledge and understanding exists within and is yet to be understood fully. Wellbeing encompasses an entire spectrum of knowledge in history, geography, biology, psychology, sociology, and anatomy. So much information, without direction.
Conclusion
What is happening to the world today begins with the invisible culprits that have settled into a host and shifted the paradigms of our existence. On a macroscopic scale, the virus of Earth has sent our planet into Global Warming, while on a microscopic level, Humanity has been threatened by a more aggressive Flu virus long enough to raise awareness that perhaps a shift is necessary in the way we exist from within the institutional, physiological, emotional and mental realm.
Arriving at a comprehensive understanding about the nature of the body functions and systems begins with the reconnection with Nature itself.
Ayurvedic teachings offer tools of how to navigate your way back to your True Self through behavior adjustment and awareness of lifestyle that corresponds with the tides of the Sun and Moon. This includes diet and exercise that optimizes each individual constitution based on history, background, biology and psychology.
The goal of aligning with Vedic teachings is to prevent dis-ease, and tune into the creator within you, optimizing the truest most authentic version of yourself.
UnearthThis 