Jet Lag
What is Jet Lag?
At any given moment, a woman’s vaginal area is populated by both good and bad bacteria as well as various fungi. Sometimes, however, this area of the body winds up becoming imbalanced and therefore hospitable to harmful fungal infections.
Most specifically, Western medicine cites a proliferation of the fungus Candida albicans, and when this or other Candida fungi overpopulate, the vagina becomes infected and inflamed. The reason that this fungus can sometimes increase to an unhealthy level is that certain conditions in the woman’s body can promote its growth including the woman being pregnant, having diabetes, having a diminished immune function, douching, or her balance of good and bad bacteria has been disrupted by the intake of antibiotics.
When a woman has a yeast infection, she will possibly feel a variety of symptoms including itching and burning sensations, irritation, redness, pain, and either a thick, white vaginal discharge that resembles cottage cheese or a thinner, more watery discharge.
As there are women who are celibate yet still experience these infections, this condition is not considered a sexually transmitted disease; the infection can be spread, however, as a result of oral sex.
Vaginal yeast infections are very common, and are reported as affecting up to 75-percent of women at some point in their lives.
In the West, women often self-administer treatment of their vaginal yeast infections through the use of antifungal medicine in the form of creams, ointments, or orally administered tablets. More severe conditions, however, are treated with a more intense and prolonged pharmaceutical intervention. Western patients are often advised to take probiotic supplements to sustain a healthy balance of good bacteria and therefore diminish and even prevent symptoms. They are also advised to wear cotton underwear, avoid tight fitting underwear, and to stay out of particularly hot baths.
How Does Ayurveda View Jet Lag?
The fundamental Ayurvedic process for resolving disease in the body is to identify the root cause of the illness and eliminate it so as to prevent further disease from taking place. When addressing a vaginal yeast infection, and yeast overgrowth in general, an Ayurvedic practitioner will identify the imbalance of the patient’s doshas and prescribe a regimen that balances it through standard practices (dosha-balancing diet, herbs, etc.). In addition, it is the goal of the practitioner to specifically help the patient to relieve her of the fungus and harmful bacteria that are specifically causing the infection. Though identifying the root cause of the ailment is a necessary step, it is also important for the vaginal yeast infection sufferer to more precisely relieve the associated symptoms.
Vata-related vaginal yeast infections are characterized by severe pain, dryness, and sticky discharges. These infections are likely to be accompanied by insomnia, constipation, and dryness of the skin.
Pitta-related vaginal yeast infections are characterized by burning sensations, irritation, redness, and foul odor. These infections are likely to be accompanied by sweating, hyperacidity, and a general feeling of heat in the body.
Kapha-related vaginal yeast infections are characterized by itching sensations and excessive amounts of white mucus discharges. These infections are likely to be accompanied by respiratory congestion and feelings of lethargy.
How Does Ayurveda Treat Jet Lag?
Along with balancing whichever dosha is imbalanced as defined by the patient’s symptoms through a dosha-balancing diet, herbs, and other therapies, an Ayurvedic practitioner will treat the vaginal yeast infection sufferer by prescribing her remedies specific to symptoms associated with the infection. These remedies will include herbal douches that act as a natural antiseptic in relieving the vaginal area of infection as well as other methods.
Use the essential oils of lavender, oregano, tea tree, or cinnamon bark for an herbal douche. Mix one drop of oil to half a cup of water. Boil the water and then let it cool before mixing with the oil and using it.
If there is a burning sensation from the douche, increase the amount of water relative to the drop of oil. Ultimately, these proportions will be unique to the individual and will depend on the thickness or sensitivity of the vagina’s inner lining. The douche can be administered with a ‘douche flush’ bought from a pharmacy.
The goldenseal herb can also be used for a douche. Prepare the goldenseal as if making tea with it. Let it cool and use it as a douche. Use one tea bag for one cup of water.
Lifestyle Changes for Jet Lag
When we neglect to establish the root cause of one illness, it can turn into another, stronger illness in the future. The first step in resolving a specific ailment or disease in the body is to assess the nature of our lifestyle and make general modifications. Living our day-to-day life with a deliberate intention to improve our health will help us to both resolve the disease we are suffering from and prevent further incidence of it and other diseases in the future. The following list of tasks will help you to lessen your vulnerability to jet lag, which in turn will lessen the severity of your symptoms:
- Begin to shift your sleeping schedule in the days before departure so that it more closely coincides with the local time of your destination.
- Obey all urges to move bowels or gas as soon as possible.
- Favor cooked foods over raw foods, and add oil or ghee to foods after cooking them to increase lubrication of the colon.
- Favor nourishing foods such as white basmati rice and barley.
- Apply ghee to foods and mix the ghee with a pinch of ginger, licorice, black salt, and/or triphala.
- Take a tablespoon of ghee or sesame oil with half a cup of warm water a few times a day.
- Avoid dry foods such as chips, cold cereals, cookies, crackers, and nutrition bars.
- If it is a problematic symptom in response to travel, follow the list of remedies and lifestyle changes in this application to help overcome constipation.
- Create more stillness through the practicing of calming yoga postures and the full breath breathing practice.
- Avoid being in the wind.
- Starting a few nights before traveling and an hour before bed, take either a teaspoon of triphala powder in a half cup of warm water or take half to a full tablespoon of castor oil, also in a half cup of warm water.
While on the Plane:
- Massage a little sesame, coconut, or almond oil into the nostrils with the small finger every few hours.
- Add a little ghee to the food you eat on the plane.
- Take the suggested herbs and herbal teas on the plane in a hot cup of water every few hours.
- Massage some sesame oil into the scalp for better sleep and health of the hair.
- Take a teaspoon of ghee, sesame oil, or coconut oil a few times during the flight for the health of the throat.
- Practice full breath for some minutes every few hours. This will regulate and balance circulation better.
- Take a mask and wear it over the nose and mouth to keep out recycled bacteria in the air.
Better Foods For Jet Lag
Ayurveda teaches us that disease and sickness are derived from poor digestion and inappropriate food choices. We then have the opportunity to make deliberate and more conscious decisions as to what foods we do and do not put in our body which increases the chance of resolving the body’s imbalance.
Food needs to be in season, in moderate combinations of one or two food groups, not too hot or cold, in a modest enough quantity to allow for room in the stomach later, consumed without too much liquid which hinders digestive power, and should be fresh and not left over for more than a few hours. Foods should be light and in small quantities for quick digestion; this will eliminate any latent bacteria or other harmful substances in the body. The following foods will help to balance Vata energy and encourage grounding in the body and mind:
Sesame oil
Oats (cooked)
Ghee
Milk
Pineapples
Mangoes
Peaches
Apricots
Grapes
Fresh figs
Pears
Olive oil
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Asparagus
Foods To AVOID In Response To a Vaginal Yeast Infection
While some foods can help to balance an aggravated dosha, other foods can cause further imbalance. Dry and cold foods as well as pungent, bitter and astringent tastes will dry out the body and aggravate the Vata dosha.Sour, salty and pungent tastes as well as spicy foods will add more heat to the body and aggravate the Pitta dosha.Sweet, sour and salty tasting foods will add heaviness to the body and aggravate the Kapha dosha. The following foods can aggravate Vata energy, and should therefore be avoided in response to jet lag:
Apples
Pears
Watermelon
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Celery
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Corn
Oats (dry)
Barley
Raw and cold foods
Most legumes including green lentils and garbanzo beans
Beverages For Jet Lag
Generally, Ayurveda discourages the consumption of too many cold beverages, as doing so hinders the strength of the body’s digestive fire. Instead, favors room temperature or hot beverages to encourage the strength of the digestive fire. The following beverages will help create regularity along with the bedtime remedies listed above:
- Hot water, especially during meals and first thing in the morning
- Herbal teas of ginger, cardamom, and fennel. Herbal teas and infusions in warm water will support the immune system the best during travel.
- Avoid cold and frozen drinks
- Avoid sugary or fizzy drinks that blend with the digestive juice and make it weak.
- Avoid alcohol, coffee, and black tea, especially during travel.
Herbs For Jet Lag
Herbs are used in the Ayurvedic system much like Western medicine utilizes drugs and vitamins and can be taken like tea 2 to 3 times a day. Herbs aid in the digestion of food, the breakdown and elimination of toxins, and help to strengthen the cellular structure of our system for greater vitality. Herbs become more potent once mixed with other herbs of similar properties. Mix together 2 to 4 different herbs from the below list by adding a quarter to a half teaspoon full of each, for a total of 1 teaspoon. Drink these in half cup of hot water.
Ginger
Cardamom
Flaxseed
Fennel
Psyllium
Sesame (seeds, oil)
Aloe
Senna
Triphala
Kantkari
Vidanga
Bala
Chamomile
Jathamumsi
Castor Oil (before bed for the few days before the flight, as noted above)
Guduchi (for the immune system)
Ashwaghanda (for body strength and immune system)
Brahmi or Gotu Kola (for better sleep and nervous system health)
Yoga Postures For a Vaginal Yeast Infection
When applied therapeutically to specific ailments, yoga postures provide an opportunity to strengthen the body, rid it of toxic matter, and restore balance. The postures included in this section can be practiced as part of a more general sequence or can be focused on in short sessions. When first exploring yoga postures, it is best to only practice them for twenty minutes or so per day and buildup from there once the body becomes more flexible.
Knee to chest
Camel
Shoulder Stand
Spinal twist
Forward bend
Corpse
Easy seat (while leaning forward a bit)
Aromatherapy For Jet Lag
Aromatherapy utilizes the fragrances of essential oils when applied to the skin. Essential oils can burn the skin and therefore must be diluted with a base oil such as sesame, coconut, sunflower, canola, or mustard oil. Mix 1 fluid ounce of base oil with about 12 drops of essential oil before applying to skin. You can also just mix 5 drops of base oil to one drop of essential oil if using on one spot.
- Jet lag can be treated with basil, camphor, cedar, eucalyptus, frankincense, ginger, lavender, lily, lotus, musk, myrrh, patchouli, sandalwood, or cinnamon oil.
- Use a sesame oil base.
- Apply oil on the skin between the eyebrows and below the belly button.
- Some of these oils can be rubbed on your mask to disinfect the air and also make the experience more pleasant.
Mantra Therapy For Jet Lag
Ayurvedic tradition suggests that repeating certain words or sounds can help a person suffering from an ailment to restore subtle balance to nerve tissue and enhance one’s mental clarity. Different sounds are prescribed to either repeat mentally or chant outwardly. These sounds are also used and repeated in the mind for the purpose of spiritual growth.
- To help resolve symptoms associated with jet lag, repeat the syllable “Ram” (pronounced Rahm) for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
- As a Vata-related disorder, it is helpful to inwardly repeat this syllable for the duration of time it is practiced and not say it out loud.
Breathing Practices For Jet Lag
Controlling the breath is a central practice toward developing peace and stillness in the mind and body. When the breath is under our control, we are no longer at the mercy of the senses that are stimulated by everything and lead to greater fluctuations of the mind. When applied to the context of resolving specific ailments, the breath is used as a tool for developing lung capacity, heating and cooling the body and resolving mental afflictions like anxiety and stress. Like with the yoga postures above, breathing exercises are likely to be of significant benefit to those who suffer from considerable amounts of stress.