YOGALife I Summer 2010 - Sivananda Yoga

By Dr. (Mrs) Anjani S. Kulkarni
and Dr. Sanjay Kulkarni
Ayurveda has focused on various aspects of women’s
lives in a special way, because women are the centre
of family life. Mothers are responsible for radiating
happiness, bliss and health to their families. Mothers
are the source of love for the entire family, and
have to handle all the different relationships with
children, husband, parents, in-laws and so on.
Family life remains protected if the woman is safe
and protected.
A crying baby quickly calms down in the mother’s
lap. Here, more than anywhere else, the baby receives
unconditional love, feelings of safety, assurance,
contentment and happiness. This is the greatness
of motherhood, which only a woman can provide, and
is precisely why she is worshiped as God. While creating
the universe, the Almighty God, the Supreme Creator,
had to take the assistance of Mother Earth in his
creation. A seed might be very good, but if the
land is not fertile or if it doesn’t even exist, then
the seed is of no use. In the same way, the woman
who carries the foetus in her womb for nine months
must be given great importance.
It is true that if a mother does not have a healthy
physiology, then the next generation will also not be
healthy. It is very important to think sincerely about
women’s health, otherwise the coming generation will
be born with imbalances and disease.
The gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, play a vital role
in women’s health. Sattva increasing activities, such as
performing yoga asanas, pranayama, meditation and
Ayurveda and Womens’ Health
eating a sattvic diet of fresh, warm and pure vegetarian
food, will always help a woman to stay healthy. It will
increase sattva and diminish the rajasic and tamasic
qualities, especially in adolescence, pregnancy
and menopause.
Before considering the specific issues in female
health, it is useful to define health generally as an
ayurvedic concept. A simple definition of health would
be: “Establishing balance between the physiology and
one’s own inner intelligence”. It means coming back
to your own nature, your own being, yourself.
The different stages in a woman’s life which affect
this connection are:
•Menarche and the onset of menstruation at puberty
•Menstruation and the childbearing years
•Pregnancy and motherhood
•Menopause and the end of menstruation
Menarche and the onset of menstruation
at puberty
Adolescence, between the ages of 12 and 16 years, is a
time when many physical, hormonal and psychological
changes take place in the life of a girl. Preparation for
future motherhood starts right from this age. Neglecting
health in adolescence may give rise to later problems in
health and fertility, so proper care is absolutely essential.
Care should be taken of the following points, in the
following ways.
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