There is a raging epidemic of infertility in today’s India. Ayurveda offers many successful strategies to combat it. Tubal blocks often result in infertility. While allopathy offers the invasive laparoscopic surgery to remove the blockages, often with limited success, ayurveda offers the healthier panchakarma treatment to help remove these blocks. In the words of Dr M Anuradha, a senior ayurvedic vaidya in Chennai with an MD in prasuti tantra and stree roga (obstetrics and gynaecology), “Three cycles of yogavasti with uttaravasti is extremely effective in clearing tubal blocks”. With more than 10 years of experience in obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr Anuradha has performed thousands of these procedures with successful results. The procedures are easy to perform and require no anaesthesia. It is done as a routine outpatient procedure.
Vasti, an important panchakarma procedure, is a kind of medicated enema. Usually a medicated tailam or kashayam is introduced through the anus into the colon. Uttaravasti is another procedure in which tailam or medicated oil is sent through the cervix into the uterus.
When mechanical parts of a machine do not function, we almost always apply a little oil. In simplistic terms, vastis are like that. But in reality one has to wonder at the genius of our acharyas who devised this procedure to address issues related to musculoskeletal problems and of the reproductive organs using various medicated oils and kashayams.
Dr Anuradha performs the yogavasti or a series of eight vastis consisting of two matravastis, followed by alternate kashayavastis and matravasti.
Dr Anuradha starts from the 15th day of the menstrual cycle and administers a total of five matravastis and three kashayavastis. She is an expert and performs these procedures with ease, which comes with long years of practice.
The matravasti is a relatively simple procedure as the quantity of medicated oil used is only 60 ml. Normally dhanavantaramtailam is used. The kashayavasti is more intense because the quantity of kashayam used is around 600 ml. Usually erandamula (castor roots) kashayam is used in the treatment.
Uttaravasti, the introduction of oil into the uterus through the cervix, is done on the 5th day from the start of the menstrual cycle when there is no bleeding. The uttaravasti is done on five continuous days. Dr Anuradha normally uses 2 ml of mahanarayanatailam. Three cycles of yogavasti and uttaravasti are performed on each patient. While in the days of yore, animal bladders, metal tubes and plant reeds were used to carry out the procedures, today vaidyars routinely use syringes.
Dr S Bharat Narendra, MD (Ayurveda), a young and dynamic vaidyar, is keen to find out ayurveda’s answers to infertility. He has also performed thousands of uttaravastis and seen its results, but he wonders why people have no faith in traditional medicine and still insist on spending humongous amounts of money in allopathic fertility centres.
Dr Narendra, who runs Bharat Clinic and Vibha Ayurvedic Centre in Chennai, has created his own module derived from the classical texts to clear tubal blocks. He follows a three-step procedure—virechanam or therapeutic purging is done in the last phase of a menstrual cycle. He uses four different medications—abhayadi modak, mishraka sneha, gandharvahastadi tailam and mimbamritaerandadi tailam—depending on the patient’s prakriti.
Virechanam is done to improve the deepanapachana status of the individual, that is to stabilise the functioning of the digestive fire. “Sometimes the tubal blocks get cleared up at this stage itself, ” says Dr Narendra. If it doesn’t work, he performs the yogavasti with some modifications depending on the prakriti of the person. If a person is of kapha prakriti, three kashayavastis are given; if one is of pitta prakriti, two kashayavastis are given. Again for uttaravasti (performed soon after the yogavasti), depending on the nature of the patient, varanadigritham, ksharatailam, dhanavantarmtailam or mahanarayanatailam is used.
Thus the procedure is tailored to the health status and prakriti of the patient, which makes
it extremely effective. Anyone who has problems conceiving should approach ayurveda first and explore its simpler, healthier and effective solutions.
The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at sheelarani.
