Sinusitis, Virus or Flu?
Author: Linda Sinden Date Posted:5 June 2019
When you get a sniffle or the start of a sore throat your body is alerting you to an imbalance that has either already begun or is just starting. If you are alert to the early warning signals your body is gently sending to alert you, you can nip it in bud before it has a chance to settle in more deeply.
Recently I was sitting with a women with a head cold with strong sinus pressure, cough and the start of congestion on the chest. She had been unable to shake it off, so had come for help. Her history included some time away from home staying with family who like to eat their main meal in the evening. She had also been around some small children who had picked up a bug at playschool and brought it home. The father was recovering from it and now my client had caught it too. The infection had settled in her sinuses
Ayurvedically we would say that Seraphina’s bala or strength (the word for immunity) had let her down. Immune strength is determined by two factors - ojas and ama.
Ama is sometimes referred to as the villain and ojas the hero!
- Ojas is the substance of refined and complete digestion which nourishes immunity in the body, mind and consciousness. When Ojas is strong then resistance to disease is strong.
- Ama is the opposite - an accumulation of sticky impurities that arise when digestion is partial or incomplete. As this product of undigested food moves through the body it causes congestion blocking the channels through which food is carried to the cells, congesting the channels that remove waste and blocking the micro-channels of the immune system. As you would gather from this, the body’s self-healing mechanism can be severely challenged especially when the clogged channels become a breeding ground for further infection and free radicals.
What to do?
The first thing I recommended was rest, it is nature’s cure. As Seraphina had a temperature her body was actively fighting a virus or bug. To support her immune system while addressing the localised areas of sinus and chest I recommended:
- Eat lightly - kitchari soup is best, and be guided by your appetite. Have a broth soup only for the evening meal and have this before the sun goes down.
- Drink 3-4 cups of Sniffle Free Tea daily
- Do a hot water steam inhalation - add 2-4 drops of MA634 Breathe Easy Oil to very hot water and inhale the steam 1-3 times a day.
- Take 1-2 tablets of Amrit Kalash Nectar and Ambrosia at bedtime and at 10am to strengthen and support the immune system
- Take 1-2 tablets of of Congest Assist along with 1-2 tablets of Protection Plus Sinuses 15-30 minutes prior meals. If digestion is low then take Digest Plus 1-2 tablets after lunch and evening meals.
The amazing intelligence of the body was very busy within Seraphina. By aligning her behaviour to support what nature was trying to do she was able to recover one step at a time.
As she recovered we talked about the heavier evening meals and later nights that had weakened her immune system and we put together a herbal strategy to support her through the rest of winter.
Wishing you the bliss of balance this winter.
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Linda Sinden has been a practising Maharishi Ayurveda Consultant since 1990 and is a regular contributor to our weekly Insights. She has a practice in Auckland, New Zealand and also provides phone or Skype sessions for those who need assistance, but don’t have a consultant in their vicinity. Email: lindasinden@orbislife.co.nz Skype: Linda.Sinden |
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