 How
Can You Tell If You Have Ama?
Ayurveda
talks a lot about ama -- toxins that build up in the body due to an
improper diet or lifestyle or pollution and provide a fertile breeding
ground for disease. Ama clogs the channels of the body, preventing
nutrients from being delivered efficiently to the cells and preventing
wastes from being discharged efficiently from the body.
Say the
authors of the new book "The
Answer to Cancer": "If you were to take all the 'bad stuff'
circulating in the body and lump it together with a single name, that
would be ama. It's germs. It's partially digested food. It's oxidized
LDL (the bad cholesterol)...Ama is the forerunner of all disease.
If you have enough of it, you will get sick. The less of it you have,
the healthier you are.
So how
do you tell if you have ama? In the "The Answer
to Cancer", authors Sharma and Meade lay out a simple questionnaire,
which we reproduce here, with permission from Select Books:
To find
out how much ama your body has, complete the following test from the
book:
The
Answer to Cancer -- Ama Questionnaire
Circle
your response (1 = least; 5 = most)
1. I
tend to feel blocked in my body (constipated, congested in the head,
general lack of clarity, or other).
1 2 3 4 5
2. In
the morning when I wake up, I'm groggy; it takes me quite a while
to feel really awake.
1 2 3 4 5
3. I
tend to feel weak, physically, for no reason that I can see.
1 2 3 4 5
4. I
get colds (or similar conditions) several times each year.
1 2 3 4 5
5. My
body tends to have a feeling of heaviness.
1 2 3 4 5
6. I
just tend to feel that "something isn't working right" in
the body (digestion, breathing, bowel movements, or something else).
1 2 3 4 5
7. I
tend to feel lazy. (My capacity to work seems all right, but I have
no inclination.)
1 2 3 4 5
8. I
commonly have indigestion.
1 2 3 4 5
9. I
often have to spit.
1 2 3 4 5
10. Often,
I just don't have a taste for food. I have no appetite.
1 2 3 4 5
11. I
just tend to feel tired, even exhausted...in mind or body.
1 2 3 4 5
Add up
your scores to arrive at a rating for your level of ama: 45-55 Severe
35-45 Moderate 25-35 Mild 11-25 Minimal
Note: Ama Questionnaire reprinted with permission from SelectBooks,
Inc.
Reducing
Ama
If you've discovered you have a lot of ama in your physiology,
you might want to schedule a wellness appointment with an ayurvedic
expert, who will lay out an individualized program to clear the ama
out.
Following
an ama-reducing diet and lifestyle and periodic internal cleansing
with a Maharishi Ayurveda detox formulation such as Elim-Tox-O can help flush the ama out and prevent more from building up. Here
is an ama-reducing spice water recipe from our ayurvedic expert,
co-author of The
Answer to Cancer:
Ama
Pachana Spice Water
To make the water, boil two quarts of water and put it in a thermos
flask. Then add two to three thin slices of fresh ginger, 1/4 tsp.
cumin, 1/4 tsp. fennel, 2 black peppercorns, and 2 leaves of mint.
Let it steep. Drink this water throughout the day for a very purifying
effect. Also, this ama pachana water will help enhance your digestion.
E-mail this page to a friend
These articles provide a great resource from The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians on the knowledge, practices, products, and applications of Maharishi Ayurveda.
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of these newsletters is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention or cure of any disease. If you have any serious, acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. If you are seeking the medical advice of a trained Ayurvedic expert, call our Health Educators or e-mail us for the number of a physician in your area.
|
