Looking in the mirror with fear and disappointment is a shared feeling by many struggling to sustain weight loss. According to Ayurveda, a poor self-image sprouting from weight problems is intertwined with one's doshas (body constitution) and a poorly managed daily routine, or dinacharya.

Ananda recently worked with a former triathlete struggling with weight loss. He was now a businessman in his early 40s keen to recapture the glory of his past athletic prowess. Detailing a life marked by haste, this pitta-kapha personality type shared his frustrations with our Ayurvedic physicians, reporting episodes of bloating, a history of gastroenteritis, and pain in knees from a meniscal repair surgery. Standing tall at 190 cms and 100 kilograms, the guest was diagnosed with over-weight or sthoulya. With visceral fat level at 8, 17% fat and a BMI of 27.7, he arrived for a 2-week Weight Management programme as a last resort to his multiple failed attempts to reduce weight.

The Wellness Journey: Knowing yourself ‘around the day’

With no family history of disorders, personal addictions, or significant other health issues, other than a few food intolerances, the course of clinical investigation for Ayurveda shifted to what’s happening with him ‘around the day?’

Circa diem or circadian rhythm, meaning ‘around the day’ regulates the internal cycle of the body every 24-hours. The physiologists trace its origins to the Ayurvedic concept of dinacharya which combines 'dina' (day) and 'charya' (activity). The ancient principle conveys that any process arising within an organism responds to its environment and vice versa. A faulty dinacharya disrupts normal metabolic processes and contributes to weight fluctuations. This inconsistency can trigger a cascade of negative health effects, including hormonal imbalances, metabolic disorders and a poor self-image.

His normal routine getting ready for work each morning, was a cup of coffee at breakfast and grabbing a working lunch to ‘make it quick’. Feeling a lack of control over his life during the working hours, he would try to get some well-deserved ‘me-time’ after sunset. Procrastinating on sleep was an obvious way to fulfilling this need for leisure. He loved his food, looked forward to fixing a big dinner for himself and his family. “It’s the meal I live for”, he confessed. With the expected consequence of sleeping as late as possible each day, a morning routine was certainly out of question.

Due to the prevalent belief that one equates to losing out on fun in favour of a healthy lifestyle, the critical importance of honouring a dinacharya is often overlooked by the mind. At this point, Ayurveda with its personalised approach steps in with an edge over conventional nutrition and health tips. The Ayurvedic tradition recognizes all life forms as Doshas that represent a unique combination of the five elements. Doshas manifest as very distinct physical, emotional, and mental characteristics in each of us. There are set of expansive rules listed for each personality type. These include wake-up and bedtime, consumption of food, nature of exercise, personal hygiene, daily habits and much more. These preferences are further customised as per the current state of mind, age, social life, cultural conditioning, climatic conditions, family history and so on.

Acknowledging the guest’s choices, the physicians at Ananda painstakingly explained the detrimental cycle of a poor dinacharya on ones’ body, mind and spirit and carved a realistic treatment and lifestyle plan for the sustenance of his weight loss. The easily bored Pitta personality type dominated by the element of fire, requires a calming yet engaging routine. A fitness routine at the gym, kunjal kriya (emesis), asana (yogic physical postures) and hydrotherapy felt apt to the guest’s athletic nature. To avoid strain, soothing Ayurveda therapies like abhyanga and choornaswedana, a bundle massage, Pranayama (breathing exercises) and yoga nidra were a start to his 14-day journey. For a pitta, who loves stimulation through food, the guilt associated with compulsive eating can exacerbate poor self-image and weight problems reinforcing the cycle of emotional distress. Hence a diet plan was designed to avoid experiencing starvation while satiating his palate.

By day 6 the body reflected symptoms of toxin saturation, which meant the collected toxins or ama was ready to flush out. Medically administered enemas or basti, virechana and other Panchkarma therapies continued till the second week of his stay, alongside Ayurvedic treatments like Udwarthana, a stimulating dry powder massage for weight loss. The last phase of the program involved nourishing the senses through pacifying food and therapies. This is important to induce a sense of security which helps in the sustenance of the recommended Dinacharya.

The End Result: The Crucial Role of Dinacharya

The guest lost 7 kilograms by at the end of the program. His visceral fat levels reduced by 25%, with a 3% reduction in fat and a BMI reducing by 7% to 25.8. He was advised a hot infusion of fennel and cumin alongside natural herbs before and after meals to maintain metabolism. To sustain the weight loss, the physicians advised that he continue following the dinacharya till the body feels familiar and secure with this new way of life.

There is a well-known relationship between excessive weight and optimal functioning of internal systems, as also the connection between self-image and weight issues. Fostering healthy body-image and sustainable weight loss requires realistic goal setting, and a supportive environment that celebrates individuality.

Recognizing your dosha to know your ideal dinacharya is crucial for sustainable change. Adopting dinacharya cultivates discipline and mindfulness. The routine not only aids in weight management but also enhances mental clarity, emotional stability and improved self-esteem.

Mood disorders affect nearly every facet of a person's life, often stirring up a sense of hopeless withdrawal. In cases of bipolar disorder, the mood changes can be extreme, ranging from manic highs to depressive lows. Ananda's Yogis met an entrepreneur in a comparable state, who came seeking clarity and effective coping mechanisms. Immersed in high occupational stress and early signs of bipolar disorder, he was eager to adopt meditation through the Dhyana Meditation Programme to avoid another burn out.

Burdened by responsibilities of family inheritance, the young man in his early twenties with a pitta constitution, turned to yoga with a plethora of questions about life and its purpose. Yogic philosophy believes mood disorders have the potential of pushing the svabhava or true nature of the self to a tamasic state of existence, the attribute or tendency dominated by ‘darkness’.

The constant battle with negative thoughts and low self-esteem further compounds these challenges, making it hard for individuals to see a way out of their condition. The guest’s slouching spine, stiff ankles, calves and hamstrings, drooping shoulders, and a forward-tilted head were evidence of the tamasic darkness in his inner world.

The Wellness Journey

The persistent congestion, facial pain, and pressure of chronic sinusitis can leave a person longing for life’s simple necessity of an uninterrupted breath. Sinusitis often leads to headaches, fatigue, mood disturbances, and disrupted sleep due to frequent awakenings.

A young lady who had been suffering from these symptoms for 11 years approached Ananda recently for a lasting solution. Nasal surgery, prolonged use of antidepressants, and medication for digestive problems were no longer offering solutions for her Pitta-Kapha personality type. Her turbulent personal life led to traumatic stress episodes, exacerbating bloating, flatulence, nasal blockages and interrupted sleep with vivid dreams.

The subtle and tiptoeing signs of hypothyroidism might typically take several years before they are apparent. Speaking of a similar experience to Dr Naresh Perumbuduri, was a man in his early 50s, who visited Ananda with uncontrolled weight gain and an elevated lipid profile. Raising medication was no longer a viable answer for the Pitta personality type, whose situation worsened due to high stress, irregular lifestyle choices and excessive intake of alcohol.

“The 2-inch long, butterfly shaped thyroid gland is very critical for ones’ overall health; the variety of symptoms of an imbalanced thyroid not only surface in a wide variety across the body, the manifested conditions differ in complexity with age, sex and time between onset and diagnosis of the imbalance” says Dr Naresh.

Month by month, to witness deteriorating figures on a lipid profile is a very distressing experience. Investing faith in the hands of Ananda’s wellness team, the guest dedicated 22 days to resolve his lipid profile and hypothyroidism.

The Wellness Journey

Ananda’s experts dived into an in-depth investigation through several in-person consultations and tests, which revealed abnormal ranges in cholesterol levels, thyroid-stimulating hormones, uric acid, triglycerides, and fasting glucose.

The guest’s treatment plan was a highly personalized Panchakarma Programme through phases of rigorous detox therapies, yoga therapies, and food elements comprising of very specific herbs in measured quantity.

He was advised to undergo pacifying therapies and a kapha balancing diet to restore mental strength, as well as therapies like abhyanga, marma-abhyanga, and choorna swedana. One-on-one sessions in yoga, pranayama, meditation, and functional training kept alive the motivation to get better. While the sensory exposure to the sights and sounds of nature during treks in the Himalayan foothills recreated the memory of relaxation that had eluded him. The physicians prescribed de-stressing therapies like Pada-abhyanga and shiro-abhyanga, to raise strength, preparing the mind and body to expel toxins in the days ahead.

Once the guest reflected a stable circadian rhythm and mental strength, physicians escalated intake of herbal ghee or snehpana aiming for the stage when the body shows signs indicating its willingness to expel toxins. Virechanam, sneha vasti, kashaya vasti, nasyam, and other therapies to balance vata or stress levels were to follow. The guest started to lose weight during this stage post a long struggle in the past with stubborn fat.

The End Result

The guest continued to steadily lose weight and his parameters started to return to normal. Post the expelling of toxins followed Ayurvedic shamana therapies to restore vigor and vitality through rasayana or herbal tonics, alongside therapies like pizhichil, shirodhara and navarakizhi, with a diet similar to the initial phase with additional herbs and nutrition for restoration.

With a total weight loss of 6 kgs during the programme, significantly lower cholesterol, and normal thyroid stimulating hormone levels, the guest completed his 22-day stay feeling calmer, mentally lighter, and more energized than he had in years! His digestion and metabolism felt renewed, and the normal status against parameters provided the relief he had been seeking.