vàta doùa Þ a key player in the pathology of...

c r a c k i n g a n d

popping of the joints

caused by decreased

cholesterol is meda

kùaya, as well as organ

prolapse Þ where

organs fall out of their

normal anatomically correct position; osteoporosis

and degenerative arthritis is asthi dhàtu kùaya; loss of

memory, some forms of dementia and sensory loss

and dysfunction is majjà dhàtu kùaya; and

oligiospermia and oligomenses are examples of

÷ukra and àrtava dhàtu kùaya. øukra and àrtava are

essential for the maintenance of para ojas. Apara ojas

is built-up through tissue nutrition, therefore loss of

tissue or ill-nourished tissue causes immune

dysfunction within those tissues and they fail to

discharge their functions properly. This is why rasa

dhàtu kùaya causes loss of nutrition and enjoyment

because ojas maintains the proper functions of each

tissue. When there is loss of para ojas and loss of

pràõa, the person dies. Treatment of catabolic vàta is

achieved primarily through the use of rasàyana

(restorative) substances and bruhana therapies,

which nourish the tissues.

In ageing, there is an accumulation of loss

which culminates in loss of self-esteem and loss of

purpose Þ the sense organs begin to fail, the body

begins to lose its functions and elderly people lose

peers and life partners. This is one of the most

important aspects of treating and caring for the

elderly as repeated loss causes a failure to thrive Þ

pràõa kùaya. Giving support to the person for who

they are right now is the highest spiritual therapy,

including accepting without judgement the reality

they are in at this moment Þ especially when

working with dementia and Alzheimer's patients.

The second form of vàta disorders is called

anabolic vàta, where fat, àma (toxins) or kapha block

the channels of tissue nutrition and, like a dam,

cause all subsequent tissues to be depleted. This

category of anabolic vàta caused by màrgàvarodha

is illustrative of the age-related disorders caused by

death-resistant cells. Death-resistant cells such as

cancer cells have a propensity of mass proliferation

causing dhàtu v•ddhi is some parts of the body and

dhàtu kùaya in other parts. Cancer cells also have

the ability to make their own ojas, tejas and pràõa

(subtle kapha, pitta and vàta) Þ meaning they can

survive in a variety of internal climates and locals

and have a strong cellular self-esteem Þ aha§kàra,

often stronger than our own. The treatment

protocol for anabolic vàta follows that of ÷odhana

(purification) and laïghana (cleansing) therapies if

the patient is strong enough. These include agni

dãpan and àma pàcana (substances to increase

digestion and decrease toxins), and anulomana or

pa¤cakarma, whereby toxins and excess doùas of

vàta, pitta and kapha are released from the tissues

and brought to the GI tract and their main seats of

accumulation, where they are eliminated from the

body. Vamana or emesis therapy removes excess

kapha from the stomach and lungs, virecana

(laxative therapy) removes excess pitta from the

small intestine, enema therapy or basti cleanses

excess vàta from its site of the large intestine, nasya

(nasal cleansing) removes residual doùas from the

head and neck, and rakta mokùa (blood-letting)

clears stagnant blood, heat, toxins and doùas from

the blood, instigating the spleen to squeeze clear,

clean filtered blood both locally and systemically Þ

a practice which may also help treat those

pathological changes caused by ama inside and

outside cells (what gerontology refers to as junk

inside and outside cells). Because these treatments

are by nature depleting, one must be strong enough

to go through this strain. If not, then ÷amana

(palliative) treatments are employed to pacify the

doùas while they are still in the body through herbs,

yoga, diet and lifestyle, and all those practices

employed by Ayurveda to balance the digestive fire.

The Role of Pãñhara and Pilu Agni in Cell

Mutation

Pãñhara agni mandhya or the improper functioning of

that agni within the nuclear membrane and DNA

molecules causes nuclear mutations and

epimutations and DNA mutations. Disturbances

from outside, exposure to toxins and heavy metals

in the environment, as well as pesticide and

When we look at ageing and the process

of ageing, we are mainly looking at the

influence of vàta doùa. Vàta prevents

the constituents of the body from remaining in their

right places Þ in situ, nothing in the body moves

without vàta. It keeps the heart beating efficiently

and rhythmically and the sense organs conveying

information and stimulus accurately from the

outside world. Vàta governs all time processes,

from the last stage of digestion to the fall and early

winter seasons and our final phase of life; all

transition periods like those of dawn and dusk; and

the third phase of metabolism called the catabolic

phase. During the catabolic phase, waste products

are produced and old cell parts dismantled and

removed from the cytoplasmic boundary of the cell.

Age-related dying is the cumulative damage

procured throughout a lifetime of metabolic activity.

All metabolic activity causes some amount of

damage, which accumulates over time and

eventually leads to pathological changes. We know

that most of these are age-related disorders because 1 they do not become evident until middle age. This

approach or definition offered by gerontology is the

cornerstone and focus of Ayurveda as the science of

longevity. Aubrey de Grey outlines seven types of

age-related damage: cell loss/entropy Þ dhàtu

kùaya; death resistant cells Þ màrgàvarodha; nuclear

mutations and epimutations and DNA mutations

Þ pãñhara agni mandhya; protein cross-links Þ ojas,

tejas and pràõa vi÷ràmsa and dhàtu duùñi; junk inside

cells Þ apàna vàyu duùñi; and junk outside cells Þ

apàna, vyàna and udàna vàyu duùñi.

The Role of Catabolic vs. Anabolic Vàta in

Entropy and Death Resistant Cells

There are two types or causes of vàta disorders Þ

catabolic vàta and anabolic vàta. The first type,

called catabolic vàta, is that which is caused by or

by C. Scott Ryan

Vàta Doùa Þ A Key Player in the Pathology of AgeingAn Ayurvedic and Gerontological Comparison in Age-related Dying

created by tissue depletion Þ dhàtu

kùaya, which follows pratiloma

sampràpti. In catabolic vàta,

pathological changes take place

in the opposite direction of

normal tissue nutrition and

development. Therefore, cell loss

and tissue loss Þ dhàtu kùaya, or

synonymously Þ entropy, causes vàta to increase in

the body as there is now a space of emptiness or a

space of debility. One example of this is

dehydration Þ rasa kùaya, the depletion of rasa dhàtu

whose function is prãõanam Þ nutrition. In

dehydration, there is a sunken anterior fontanel;

sunken eyes; dry lips, eyes and tongue; increased

tachycardia; loss or turgor of the skin Þ the skins

ability to retain its shape after its being pinched;

and most importantly dropping BP Þ normal BP is

very important for maintaining the proper healthy

function of all organs of the body. Another example

of dhàtu kùaya is osteoporosis, where bone loses

calcium quicker than it can be replenished. There

are three causes for this in allopathic medicine. The

first is due to disuse, where unexercised muscles

fail to provide for adequate calcium exchange

resulting in bone tissue being absorbed back into

the blood stream. The second is due to parathyroid

disorders where the årdhva jatru granthi* Þ the

parathyroid glands, and årdhva jatru agni fail to

provide nourishment or to regulate properly the

amount of calcium and mineral salts which flow

into and out of the osseous tissue. The third type is

caused by menopausal changes and changes within

the estrogen levels of females when they are

pregnant, resulting in bone loss and deterioration.

Hence dhàtu kùaya can happen within any tissue

causing an increase of catabolic changes Þ for

example, dehydration is rasa dhàtu kùaya; anaemia is

rakta dhàtu kùaya; muscle wasting is ma§sa kùaya;

Light on Ayurveda Journal, Vol. VIII, Issue 4, Summer 2010 13Light on Ayurveda Journal, Vol. VIII, Issue 4, Summer 201012

c r a c k i n g a n d

popping of the joints

caused by decreased

cholesterol is meda

kùaya, as well as organ

prolapse Þ where

organs fall out of their

normal anatomically correct position; osteoporosis

and degenerative arthritis is asthi dhàtu kùaya; loss of

memory, some forms of dementia and sensory loss

and dysfunction is majjà dhàtu kùaya; and

oligiospermia and oligomenses are examples of

÷ukra and àrtava dhàtu kùaya. øukra and àrtava are

essential for the maintenance of para ojas. Apara ojas

is built-up through tissue nutrition, therefore loss of

tissue or ill-nourished tissue causes immune

dysfunction within those tissues and they fail to

discharge their functions properly. This is why rasa

dhàtu kùaya causes loss of nutrition and enjoyment

because ojas maintains the proper functions of each

tissue. When there is loss of para ojas and loss of

pràõa, the person dies. Treatment of catabolic vàta is

achieved primarily through the use of rasàyana

(restorative) substances and bruhana therapies,

which nourish the tissues.

In ageing, there is an accumulation of loss

which culminates in loss of self-esteem and loss of

purpose Þ the sense organs begin to fail, the body

begins to lose its functions and elderly people lose

peers and life partners. This is one of the most

important aspects of treating and caring for the

elderly as repeated loss causes a failure to thrive Þ

pràõa kùaya. Giving support to the person for who

they are right now is the highest spiritual therapy,

including accepting without judgement the reality

they are in at this moment Þ especially when

working with dementia and Alzheimer's patients.

The second form of vàta disorders is called

anabolic vàta, where fat, àma (toxins) or kapha block

the channels of tissue nutrition and, like a dam,

cause all subsequent tissues to be depleted. This

category of anabolic vàta caused by màrgàvarodha

is illustrative of the age-related disorders caused by

death-resistant cells. Death-resistant cells such as

cancer cells have a propensity of mass proliferation

causing dhàtu v•ddhi is some parts of the body and

dhàtu kùaya in other parts. Cancer cells also have

the ability to make their own ojas, tejas and pràõa

(subtle kapha, pitta and vàta) Þ meaning they can

survive in a variety of internal climates and locals

and have a strong cellular self-esteem Þ aha§kàra,

often stronger than our own. The treatment

protocol for anabolic vàta follows that of ÷odhana

(purification) and laïghana (cleansing) therapies if

the patient is strong enough. These include agni

dãpan and àma pàcana (substances to increase

digestion and decrease toxins), and anulomana or

pa¤cakarma, whereby toxins and excess doùas of

vàta, pitta and kapha are released from the tissues

and brought to the GI tract and their main seats of

accumulation, where they are eliminated from the

body. Vamana or emesis therapy removes excess

kapha from the stomach and lungs, virecana

(laxative therapy) removes excess pitta from the

small intestine, enema therapy or basti cleanses

excess vàta from its site of the large intestine, nasya

(nasal cleansing) removes residual doùas from the

head and neck, and rakta mokùa (blood-letting)

clears stagnant blood, heat, toxins and doùas from

the blood, instigating the spleen to squeeze clear,

clean filtered blood both locally and systemically Þ

a practice which may also help treat those

pathological changes caused by ama inside and

outside cells (what gerontology refers to as junk

inside and outside cells). Because these treatments

are by nature depleting, one must be strong enough

to go through this strain. If not, then ÷amana

(palliative) treatments are employed to pacify the

doùas while they are still in the body through herbs,

yoga, diet and lifestyle, and all those practices

employed by Ayurveda to balance the digestive fire.

The Role of Pãñhara and Pilu Agni in Cell

Mutation

Pãñhara agni mandhya or the improper functioning of

that agni within the nuclear membrane and DNA

molecules causes nuclear mutations and

epimutations and DNA mutations. Disturbances

from outside, exposure to toxins and heavy metals

in the environment, as well as pesticide and

When we look at ageing and the process

of ageing, we are mainly looking at the

influence of vàta doùa. Vàta prevents

the constituents of the body from remaining in their

right places Þ in situ, nothing in the body moves

without vàta. It keeps the heart beating efficiently

and rhythmically and the sense organs conveying

information and stimulus accurately from the

outside world. Vàta governs all time processes,

from the last stage of digestion to the fall and early

winter seasons and our final phase of life; all

transition periods like those of dawn and dusk; and

the third phase of metabolism called the catabolic

phase. During the catabolic phase, waste products

are produced and old cell parts dismantled and

removed from the cytoplasmic boundary of the cell.

Age-related dying is the cumulative damage

procured throughout a lifetime of metabolic activity.

All metabolic activity causes some amount of

damage, which accumulates over time and

eventually leads to pathological changes. We know

that most of these are age-related disorders because 1 they do not become evident until middle age. This

approach or definition offered by gerontology is the

cornerstone and focus of Ayurveda as the science of

longevity. Aubrey de Grey outlines seven types of

age-related damage: cell loss/entropy Þ dhàtu

kùaya; death resistant cells Þ màrgàvarodha; nuclear

mutations and epimutations and DNA mutations

Þ pãñhara agni mandhya; protein cross-links Þ ojas,

tejas and pràõa vi÷ràmsa and dhàtu duùñi; junk inside

cells Þ apàna vàyu duùñi; and junk outside cells Þ

apàna, vyàna and udàna vàyu duùñi.

The Role of Catabolic vs. Anabolic Vàta in

Entropy and Death Resistant Cells

There are two types or causes of vàta disorders Þ

catabolic vàta and anabolic vàta. The first type,

called catabolic vàta, is that which is caused by or

by C. Scott Ryan

Vàta Doùa Þ A Key Player in the Pathology of AgeingAn Ayurvedic and Gerontological Comparison in Age-related Dying

created by tissue depletion Þ dhàtu

kùaya, which follows pratiloma

sampràpti. In catabolic vàta,

pathological changes take place

in the opposite direction of

normal tissue nutrition and

development. Therefore, cell loss

and tissue loss Þ dhàtu kùaya, or

synonymously Þ entropy, causes vàta to increase in

the body as there is now a space of emptiness or a

space of debility. One example of this is

dehydration Þ rasa kùaya, the depletion of rasa dhàtu

whose function is prãõanam Þ nutrition. In

dehydration, there is a sunken anterior fontanel;

sunken eyes; dry lips, eyes and tongue; increased

tachycardia; loss or turgor of the skin Þ the skins

ability to retain its shape after its being pinched;

and most importantly dropping BP Þ normal BP is

very important for maintaining the proper healthy

function of all organs of the body. Another example

of dhàtu kùaya is osteoporosis, where bone loses

calcium quicker than it can be replenished. There

are three causes for this in allopathic medicine. The

first is due to disuse, where unexercised muscles

fail to provide for adequate calcium exchange

resulting in bone tissue being absorbed back into

the blood stream. The second is due to parathyroid

disorders where the årdhva jatru granthi* Þ the

parathyroid glands, and årdhva jatru agni fail to

provide nourishment or to regulate properly the

amount of calcium and mineral salts which flow

into and out of the osseous tissue. The third type is

caused by menopausal changes and changes within

the estrogen levels of females when they are

pregnant, resulting in bone loss and deterioration.

Hence dhàtu kùaya can happen within any tissue

causing an increase of catabolic changes Þ for

example, dehydration is rasa dhàtu kùaya; anaemia is

rakta dhàtu kùaya; muscle wasting is ma§sa kùaya;

C. Scott Ryan is an Ayurvedic Practitioner and

Yoga Instructor, as well as, a Chartered Herbalist.

He was an English and Philosophy Major at

Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he

completed two years. He has been studying

Ayurveda and Yoga for the past ten years. C. Scott

Ryan is member of NAMA, as well as, The Yoga

Association of British Columbia. He currently

lives in British Columbia where he runs Golden

Lotus Ayurveda, an Ayurvedic Clinic and Yoga

Studio with his wife Dalia Yanai. Contact at: E-

mail: <[email protected]>, Web:

www.GoldenAyurveda.com, Tel.: 250-344-8685.

herbicide use can create changes within the

structure of the deoxyribonucleic acid, causing

nuclear and epimutations by disturbing the

metabolism of the cell at the pãñhara pàk level, where

nutrients are converted into consciousness. At this

subtle level of molecular biology, the line of

demarcation fades between body and mind as

substances are rarefied to the point of micro-mahat

or the unified field, which holds the blueprint for all

creation much like the role of DNA, while the role of

RNA is the sequencing of protein formation or

synthesis received through the instruction of DNA.

It is here that the culminative effect of our habits

and actions find their realization and what was

once different from our self has become our self.

Every thought, breath, every particle of food and

every toxin we ingest eventually makes its way to

this most subtle level of our being and effects for

good or for ill the pãñhara agni. Pãñhara means

ßparentû because we are born out of its functioning.

The equivalent to protein cross-links (the

interaction between proteins) in Ayurveda is ojas, 2 tejas and pràõa vi÷ràmsa (displacement) resulting

in the impairment of normal tissue function. In

allopathy, the interaction between proteins studied

via cross-linking is how proteins group together

and interact with each other to build cells, tissues

and organs, thus disorders caused by protein cross-

linking has not so much to do with the sequencing

of a protein molecule (amino acid sequence), as it

does to how that molecule behaves and groups

together with other protein molecules. Ojas

m a i n t a i n s t h e

identity of these

molecules and their

i m m u n i t y o r

integr i ty a long

with aha§kàra .

Tejas gives priority,

separateness and

d i s t i n c t n e s s ,

therefore when

tejas is displaced or

is being affected by

doùic influence, it

loses its intelligence to perform these duties

correctly. Lastly, pràõa allows for communication

between molecules and cells, therefore when it is

misplaced or affected adversely, the information

these molecules are receiving will be wrong and

what they in turn communicate will be clouded

with confusion. All three of these vital essences are

essential for maintaining not only the sequencing of

amino acids but how those protein molecules

interact with each other and whose relation is

essential for maintaining the proper function,

identity and immunity of all cells, tissues, organs

and systems within the body.

Pilu agni within the cell controls, digests and

regulates what substances are allowed into the

cytoplasm and what substances are dumped back

into the extra-cellular fluid, along with samàna,

vyàna, apàna and udàna vàyus. Vyàna vàyu

circulates nutrients and wastes throughout the

body Þ dysfunctions of which can lead to

stagnation, pooling and varicosities, all of which

means that nutrients are being supplied to those

tissues and that wastes are being ineffectually

removed. Thus vyàna functions to help to clean the

blood and fluids of its impurities along with udàna

vàyu, which removes CO and apàna vàyu which 2,

retains and releases waste and toxins from the body.

Samàna vàyu moves laterally bringing nutrients

close to the cell membrane, where pilu agni selects

those requirements specific for that cell. It is the

intelligence of the pilu agni which selects what is

useful or not, even through the processes of passive

transport such as osmosis, invaginitis and

pinocytosis. Waste products and junk inside cells

are removed by apàna vàyu so apàna vàyu duùñi

causes toxic accumulations systemically through

the body as well as locally within the tissues and

cells themselves.

Hence the postulate is that metabolism

eventually leads to pathology and we can minimize

or cure ageing if we can keep the level of damage

below the threshold of pathology Þ that is by

reducing catabolism and removing excess vàta doùa.

It is important that we recognize that metabolic

activity is essential for the maintenance of life, that

it is not just a matter of reducing metabolism, but

rather that metabolic activity reaches some form of

equilibrium between the anabolic phase, the

metabolic phase and the catabolic phase as

expressed in Su÷ruta's definition of health: sama

doùaþ samagnis ca sama dhàtu mala kriyàþ,

prasannatmendriya manaþ svastha ityabhidhãyate 2(Su.Sa§.15 line 38). Health and longevity is the

totality of balance and proper functioning of all

three doùas, all forty agnis, all seven tissues, all

three waste products, all sense organs and the mind

with one established within one's own Self. Health

and how gracefully we age is the culminative affect

Þ the karma vipàk, of all that we do, think, feel, act

and eat throughout our lifetimes. We cannot cure

ageing Þ some would argue that this is defeatist;

others would even argue that to never die is

undesirable. However, to increase longevity is

Ayurveda's greatest promise and our greatest

potential lest we have forgotten the purpose of life

and the purpose of this body Þ to transcend this

tiny enclosure we call ßIû, to live a life of bliss and

awareness absolute and to be intelligently one with

the nature inside and outside this membrane of life

experience and to embrace the void when

eventually it calls with a song of thanks on our lips

and gratitude in our hearts.

References

1. Aubrey de Grey. Ted Talks: Ideas Worth Spreading, Filmed

July 2005, posted October 2006.

2. øusruta (awaiting info from author)