KAYACHIKITSA

Deals with the treatment of  general systemic diseases. Kaya means body. It constitutes the substratum for health and diseases.The measures(diet, daily regimen,therapies,medicines etc) employed to bring about equilibrium of this body is dealt in kayachikitsa. Kaya also refers to the’ digestive fire’. Ayurveda believes that  diseases are caused due to imbalance of the digestive fire(agni). Hence, kaya chikitsa deals with the correction of agni which in turn helps in restoration of health. It finds its parallel in modern discipline of general medicine .

Kaya chikitsa focuses on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of various general diseases like diabetes, arthritis, skin disease and many others. The scripts of kaya chikitsa can be traced in the text Charaka Samhita.

 According to kaya chikitsa most of the diseases are the result of an imbalance in the harmony of tridosas (vata, pitta and kapha) in the body. Kaya chikitsa provides several measures to maintain the balance between these dosas. Moreover, it also tells how to maintain a harmony between the body, mind and soul. It also discusses the basic methods of treatment by various types of therapies and purification methods.

Ayurveda has discussed six stages of a disease, which includes aggravation, accumulation, overflow, and relocation; build up in a new site and manifestation into a recognizable disease. Kaya chikitsa also various measure to stop any disease in any of the six stages of disease. One of the most important treatment method followed by kaya chikitsa is panchakarma, which helps in purification and detoxification of body and maintain the harmony of doshas to attain good health, calmness of mind and happiness in life.

Kayachikitsa uses several herbal and natural therapies to treat various ailments and hence has no side effects to the patient. It has been successfully implemented in the treatment of several chronic and common disease such as muscular dystrophy, spinal and cervical problems, Erythroderma, obesity, thyroid disorders, reproductive disorders, ADHD, severe mental disorders and paralysis.

As per ayurvedic scriptures, our body is made of seven types of dhatu or tissues namely plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow and reproductive fluids. Kaya chikitsa with the help of several medications and physical and mental therapies helps in the proper maintenance of these factors in our body and thus keeping us healthy.