Prof. Ashtavaidyan Narayanan Nambi (IND)

The evolution of Āyurveda as a scientific discipline presents unique challenges and opportunities. The Collaborative Medicine and Science (CoMS) concept introduces a groundbreaking approach to bridging the gap between traditional Ayurvedic practices and modern scientific methodologies. This presentation explores the integration of Āyurveda within the contemporary medical landscape, emphasising the necessity of collaboration, research rigour, and interdisciplinary engagement.

Central to the CoMS concept is the understanding that Āyurveda offers a holistic, individualised perspective on health and well-being. Through the principles of Pañcamahābhūta, Doṣa, and Prakṛti, Āyurveda provides insights that can complement and enhance modern pharmacology and personalised medicine. However, translating these principles into practice in modern healthcare requires systematic research, validation, and collaboration across various scientific domains.

The challenges lie in developing standardised methodologies, creating reliable assessment tools, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure the compatibility and integration of Ayurvedic principles with modern scientific paradigms. The CoMS concept highlights the need for a concerted effort from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to establish common frameworks, protocols, and evaluation criteria.

In conclusion, the CoMS concept offers a promising path toward integrating Āyurveda into modern medicine. It calls for a collective endeavour that embraces the richness of Ayurvedic wisdom while adhering to scientific rigour and collaborative research. The outcome could lead to more effective, personalised treatments, opening new avenues for understanding, researching, and applying traditional and modern therapeutic approaches.

Ksheeradhara is a unique Ayurvedic therapeutical procedure in which the whole body (except the head and neck) is poured with milk (medicated with herbs for a prescribed period of time). It is indented to bring down Pitta -Vata drastically and enhance Kapha, besides its inherent capacity to improve Ojas and Rasayana.

Though the therapy is similar to Pizhichil (Kaya seka, Sarvagadhara, or full body pouring with oil), it has multifaceted potential to heal and balance both physical and mental ailments. For severe burning sensations and neuropathic disturbances in diabetes, severe exertion after chemotherapy, and other neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal degenerative ailments, this therapy will be a great support.

A wide variety of single drugs like Ashwagandha, Bala, Eranda and compound formulas like Dasamoola, Panchagandha and various Ganas (groups of drugs explained in classical texts) have also been used judiciously in various conditions. Besides, we can customise new drug combinations according to need and situation, which also gives unparalleled results.

Ksheeradhara is not widely practiced in Ayurvedic hospitals due to a lack of experience or not knowing its full potential. It is described in the classical textbook itself, but it is full efficiency has yet to be explored.

In his presentation, Prof. Nambi will be describing this therapy in detail, including its indications, contraindications, methodology, and best practices. He will also elaborate on clinical cases in which this therapy has been executed and obtained the best results and most popular formulations in practice.

Moreover, milk is a Universal material available all over the world, and with single or multiple drug combinations, we can achieve miraculous outcomes at a relatively lower cost. Procedures for preparation and practice time duration have also been very much customised, which Prof. Nambi will elaborate on in the presentation.

Autoimmune thyroiditis is one of the thyroid dysfunctions in which the thyroid cells are destroyed by the patient's own cells. Since it is an autoimmune disease, it is relatively difficult to cure and is treated with various medications over a long period of time. The role of ama, deep adhesion of doshas (leena dosha in dhatus), complex combination of gunas in the system etc make it very difficult to treat it even with panchakarma procedures. But aggressive therapeutic approaches like Vamana Virechana etc., highly effective medicines like purified poisonous plants, Herbo mineral preparations etc. make this work easier and can be treated effectively with Ayurveda.

Prof. Dr. Nambi will share his experience from numerous cases and provide symposium participants with various therapeutic strategies to treat autoimmune thyroiditis. He will also describe how diet, lifestyle corrections, various yogic practices etc. pave the way for recovery. Case studies and assessment protocols will be detailed in the presentation, along with various individual herbs, traditional formulas from ancient books and personal experiences.

Srotas are the main pathways through which everything is received, digested and distributed, they strengthen the system. Any turbulence in the srotas can have both short term and long term effects or damage the body. Therefore, regular cleansing methods are very important to keep the scrotum clean, competent and intact. However, everyday life always leads to accumulation of unsuspected elements in the srotus and disrupts it in the long run. Hence, daily balancing of Mahabhuta is very important to keep the srotas clean and perform optimally.

Dinacharya and Ritucharya help us to keep our srotas in top form. But it is difficult to practice them daily. Therefore, understanding the deeper essence (mahabhuta) of our body and trying to purify (shudhi) it daily is the practical and easy method to improve the srotas. Dosha balance, bhoota-shudhi and higher values of it make the srotas free from the morbidity of doshas, which conversely keeps them in their ideal state.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is widely seen in society due to hyper androgenisation. It is associated with symptoms of androgen excess like hirsutism, anovulation or irregular menustrual cycle, chronic acne etc. Any general medical practitioner will come across such cases very frequently in India as most of them looks a family physician in the beginning. As it is a very common gynaecological problem during childbearing age most of the clinicians see such cases and treat them with medicines like Metformin etc. Besides the above problem, it may turn to metabolic syndrome and often with co morbidity as Thyroid dysfunctions or diabetes myelitis.

I usually meet at least a hand full of cases a month and deal cases with ayurveda. Hence, I am sharing few of my experiences and how I manage such cases successfully. I am also trying to develop a protocol for such cases so that we can document it. I had classified the cases into two- Leen PCOS and Obese PCOS for easy explanations. I will be explaining the best prescriptions from ayurveda, Panchakarma therapies, home remedies and drugs of choice too. It also include the diet plans, life styles corrections and many more.

Traditionally India hold culture in health and prevention of diseases through generations rooted to ayurveda. Similarly in Europe Mediterranean culture and local folk traditions contributed the healthy living in various culture. After two world was unfortunately europe lost many if its inherited traditions and people thrown remaining ideas due to industrialisation and social norms. Still many ideas of old remaining good, use in all levels and there is need of resurgence of such ideas. Since it is lost and to revive, ayurveda is a great health care system that can guide to whole world in reviving its own traditions through ayurveda and find balance in life.

It is very important to any country, culture to revive it's tradition and explore the possibilities of simple, sustainable, better, nature- friendly living for our own existence and to our future generations too. I will be sharing the tradition Indian wisdom versus European ideas of health and well-being in the new context.

Clinical applications of Langhana therapy in the management of hypothyroidism
Prof. Ashtavaidyan N. Nambi
Thyroid disorders are the most common disorders of the endocrine glands. It is estimated that about 42 million people suffer from thyroid disorders in India. Women are 6 times more prone than men. In general; disorders of thyroid gland are hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, goitre and iodine deficiency disorders, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, thyroid cancer. Hypothyroid-ism is one of the most common functional disorders of thyroid gland.the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism at the initial stage are vague and ambiguous which is often missed in its early stages and instead treated for infertility, hyperlipidaemia, depression etc. In primary stage the signs and symptoms are in general but later on affect the different systems of the body and worsen the condition of patient. Hence, hypothyroidism is an important public health issue.

Management of hypothyroidism with the modern drugs may bring the value of TSH and T4 to normal range but the increased dosage and continuous medication are cost expen-sive and make the patient into drug dependent till the end of mortal life. So, a better, safer and long lasting therapy is needed for the present society and now it is a demand of time to search the management for this type of ailment through the heritage of Ayurveda.

As mentioned in Ayurveda texts, it is not possible to name all the manifesting diseases, as the Doshas based upon the Samuttana vishesha and Sthanantara gati leads to a wide array of dis-eases. In such a situation where the disease can't be named, the treatment must be done by understanding the Vikara prakriti, Adhishtana and Samuttana Vishesha. The presenting com-plaints of Hypothyroidism can be understood and assessed based on the involved Agni, Dos-ha, Dushya, Sthana and Srotus.

Langhna therapy is one of the most important part ayurveda to correct the agni, reduce ama and clean srotus. This can be done in various methods depends on the stage and nature of manifestation of disease. In hypothyroidism it is vital to correct the above three for better balance of endocrine glands in general and thyroid gland in particular.

Hence it is high time to discuss the details of Ayurveda from traditional wisdom and how to tackle the problem and to explore the new outlook from Ayurvedic point of view and share the experi-ences of Ashtavaidya tradition's practices.

Historical review of addressing health issues of animals (elephant and cow) with special reference to Ayurveda in Kerala
Ashtavaidyan Narayanan Nambi
Veterinary science has an early mention in some of the most ancient literature of In-dia. Atharvaveda, the pro- genitor of Ayurveda provides significant information about ail-ments of animals and their cure through herbal medicines. Ancient Indian history is full of events and incidences pertaining to the importance of livestock in then society. Many legends and myths of traditional Indian culture have been found associated with plants and animals building and reinforcing the idea of world as a family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) where plants animals and human beings were considered with an equal importance. This would be surprising to many who are not aware of Indian culture that most of the legends in Hindu mythology have been made associated with some plants and or some animal as their repre-sentatives. This was probably to endorse importance to these creatures among the followers of the deity. Earlier India probably has lived a life con- centric with religion at its center and the cow (and other animals) occupying an important place, not only merely on their nutritive lacto grounds, but also for cultural ethos.

Ayurveda has many mentions about the diseases of animals and their cures. In Caraka Samhita with reference to Jwara (pyrexia) this is said that pyrexia affect every living being may it be human or animal or even insects. In earlier periods, when Ayurveda was supposed to be in full-blown practice, there were specific branches of veterinary Ayurveda dealing with different species of animals and their disease. The science was possibly more evolved and specialized as is indicated by various divisions of veterinary Ayurveda. The Gautam Samhita, the Ashva Ayurveda and Hastya Ayurveda are the ancient treatises on animal science availa-ble till now. Palakapya, an ultimate authority on elephant medicine belonged to the Rigvedic period 2000-4000 BC. He wrote Hastya Ayurveda dealing with elephant medicine and dedi-cated this to Lord Ganesha a deity with a human body and elephant head. Elephant medicine and surgery was further divided into four parts by Palakapya, viz, Maha Rogasthana or major diseases, Ksudra Roga Sthana or minor diseases, Shalya Sthana or surgery and Chikitsa Sthana or materia medica diet and hygiene. He classified various ailments of elephants into: Adhyatmika (physical) and Agantuka (accidental or incidental); causes of ailments were clas-sified as Manasa (caused by mental reasons) and Doshaja caused by disturbance of body Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Hastya Ayurveda also mentions about anatomy of elephant, treatment of different kinds of diseases, training of elephant and also classification of elephants on the basis of a number of physical and trait characteristics. Shalihotra (2350 BC) was probably the first known veterinarian of the world and the father of Indian veterinary sciences.

This presentation will explain in detail about the history of veterinary care from Ayurveda, various experiences with photos and illustration about the management of animals. It also will give a glimpse of future herbal care for animals and potential space for business in all over the world.

Status of Ojas and Prana in Hypothyroidism
Ashtavaidyan Narayanan Nambi
Thyroid disorders are the most common disorders of the endocrine glands. It is estimated that about 42 million people suffer from thyroid disorders in India. Women are 6 times more prone than men. In general; disorders of thyroid gland are hypothy-roidism, hyperthyroidism, goitre and iodine deficiency disorders, Hashimoto's thyroidi-tis, thyroid cancer. Hypothyroidism is one of the most common functional disorders of thyroid gland.

The signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism at the initial stage are vague and ambiguous which is often missed in its early stages and instead treated for infertility, hyperlipidaemia, depression etc. In primary stage the signs and symptoms are in gen-eral but later on affect the different systems of the body and worsen the condition of patient. Hence, hypothyroidism is an important public health issue.

Management of hypothyroidism with the modern drugs may bring the value of TSH and T4 to normal range but the increased dosage and continuous medication are cost expensive and make the patient into drug dependent till the end of mortal life. So, a better, safer and long lasting therapy is needed for the present society and now it is a demand of time to search the management for this type of ailment through the heritage of Ayurveda.

As mentioned in our Ayurveda texts, it is not possible to name all the manifesting diseases, as the Doshas based upon the Samuttana vishesha and Sthanantara gati leads to a wide array of diseases. In such a situation where the disease can't be named, the treatment must be done by understanding the Vikara prakriti, Adhishtana and Samutta-na Vishesha. The presenting complaints of Hypothyroidism can be understood and as-sessed based on the involved Agni, Dosha, Dushya, Sthana and Srotus.

Since the disease afflict the agni and prana eventually it reflects on ojus too. As prana is the primordial part of Vata and irregularity of vata is very cardinal in hypothy-roidism, it is important to study in depth about it and how it reflexes in chakras. As ojus is the vital source for our existence, in the course of hypothyroidism it influences on it and produce many symptoms of high importance.

This presentation include a detailed description from Ayurveda about Ojus and Prana from traditional wisdom and how to tackle the problem. Besides, many new outlook from Ayurvedic point of view and share the experiences of Ashtavaidya tradition's practices too.