Acknow ledged cat egories of food restriction are :
• Anahar : grain consumption .
• Pa lahari : one w ho eats fruit .
• Dudhahar : consumption of milk or milk products .
• Ni rahar : strictly w ater intake . The duration of a fast might be diverse for each individual person , but t he purpose is t ra ditionally the same : gaining liberation and inner purity . According to the an cient Hindu t exts ,
Vrata assists t he person doing t he Vrata to achieve and fulfill his desires , while performing Vratas brings the divine grace and blessing .
WHAT IS THE AYURVEDIC VIEW ON FASTING ?
In Ayurveda , fasti ng is seen from an overall healt h perspective . It eliminates t oxins f rom t he body and purifies body , mind and soul in this w ay . The body becomes light and the mind will become soft and pea ceful which w ill improve mental and spiritual capacities . In the night , w e all undergo a short " fa st ", which eliminat es t he toxins from our body . However , this may not be enough , according to Ayurveda . In modern day life , we are all exposed t o many t oxins : environmental toxins , stress , negative emotions , lack of exercise , refined food , food additives etcetera . If t his build-up of t oxi ns - called Amain Ayurveda - is t oo la rge , t his w ill cause im bala nce and fi nal ly develop int o illness . To prevent this storage of toxins , Ayurveda recommends its extensive detoxification program Pancha Karma , which consists of different clea nsing therapies such as massages , sweat therapies , diet and a definite el imination from t he t oxins f rom the digestive t ract . But as a ho me-cleansi ng t hera py , we ca n o bserve a fast wit h only liquids and very easily digestible foods , such as fruit- and vegetable juices and pureed veget able soups . This w il l give t he metabolism t he opportunity to cl ea n up what w as left behind . How ever , in Ayurveda w e As k Ayu rveda Does Ayurveda recommend fasting ?
It is ut most impo rta nt t o know who the person is , mo re precisely : what his body constit ution is , his lifestyle , eating habit s , digestive capacities etc . The body constitution is t he healt h profile of a person , his metabolic blueprint and it tells exactly what his strengths and susceptibi lities are . Before fasting is observed , it is ve ry im portant to look at t he individual co nstitution . If a person has Vata-constitution , he should not observe fasting for more than t hree days . Act ua lly , eating at t he right times is for Vatas already fasting , because t hey tend to be very irregular . If a Vata-person considers t o do a fast , it is best for him t o ask for proper medica l guidance , since Vat as have more difficult y staying grounded .
A fast for more t ha n four days will aggravate Pitta . For Pittas a fast for one day per month is advised . But it is unquestionable , t hat fast s work best fo r Kapha-t ype persons . They can do a liquid fast for 1 day per week . Kaphas can skip meals , but t hey can also observe prolonged fasts . Their body will burn Ama and feel lighter , more energetic , t hey will have more mental cla rity and w il l overall feel happier .
DIGESTION
The main reason why Ayurveda recommends fasting , is that it is beneficial for overall digestion . In general , Ayurveda sees a relationship between healt h and t he digestive st rength / fire called Agn i . A healthy and st rong digestive fire will burn t he sticky t oxic material Ama , which can build up throughout t he body and slow digestion and elimination down . Ayurveda considers t he accumulation of Ama in o ur cells and tissues to be t he underlying ca use of disease and illness . Furthermore , Ayurveda says t hat digestion- and t herefore health - can be improved by regularly rest ricting the food int ake . But , at t he sa me time , this can be dangerous , or at least risky if not perfo rmed under professional medica l supervisio n . The digestive secretions t hat are essential for our health , metabolism and t he build-up of our body tissues , are derived f rom t he food or meals t hat we have digested . Prolo nged starvation of nut rients will lead to deficiencies in secreting digestive product s in the st oma ch , liver and pancreas for example . It is also highly important , after a period of fasting , to restart t he del icate digestive process and " rekindl e t he flame " under careful professional guidance . If t his is not managed properly , this may lead to a generalized t oxic co ndition ( Ama ).
36 MANTRA Issued Feb / Mar 2016