Ulcerative Colitis Treatments: Ancient Remedies

My mother once told me that when she was growing up, if she got sick, her dad would go out to the back yard, pick leaves off of plants, crush them and make her swallow them. Sometimes they would sit and learn how to be quiet and free themselves from every day burdens. They didn't look for doctors or treatments that western medicine offers. They used the wisdom that was passed down to them from their ancestors.

Ulcerative Colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that has no cure. Its symptoms can range anywhere from mild or moderate to debilitating. Some of these symptoms include severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, abdominal distension, loss of appetite and weight, nausea and vomiting, and fevers.

After a physician diagnoses someone with Ulcerative Colitis, the patient is usually put on a regiment that will control their symptoms. For some these medications do not work, and others want to enhance their treatment by combining natural or ancient remedies to their modern treatment.

The most popular ancient remedies being used today are yoga, meditation and breathing techniques. Although these things cannot cure diseases they have been shown to alleviate the symptoms of many disorders including inflammatory bowel disease. In my personal experience, I've found that learning to breathe right opens our minds to being capable of having positive and affirmative thoughts that are essential in the beginning the process of healing. The most ancient breathing technique being used today is called Pranayam.

Pranayam breathing teaches one how to free their mind from painful experiences of the physical and mental body in order to open the bridge to allow healing. Pranayam claims that diseases begin in our minds, and our negative thought patterns eventually manifest in physical disease. Freeing our minds permits us to concentrate on our desired object and makes it easier to progress in this direction. Learning to breathe correctly or exercising respiration makes our lungs stronger and purifies the blood. When we learn how to exhale properly, it helps improve blood circulation throughout the body.

Meditation is also a popular technique that fits in with Pranayam. Meditating is not as easy as it sounds. The goal of mediation is to free the mind of any thought whether it is positive or negative. It is to teach us to quiet our minds and let our body's function as they were meant to. Yoga is a technique that requires the use of the physical body more than it does the mental body. It is said that in practicing yoga we are "massaging" every organ and gland in our bodies. Yoga optimizes blood flow in the body and helps to flush out toxins.

These techniques are not a cure for Ulcerative Colitis or for any other disease. They are simply practices that have been used to alleviate symptoms of various diseases. Some have claimed that they have been healed or cured, but there is no scientific evidence to prove that Pranayam, yoga or meditation caused this result.

Sources:

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America
Divya Yoga Association