Dear Subscribers,

This post will be about regeneration, but there is now a queue, one more on aftermath of Vietnam, several more on dental subjects, and one on immunity. Before we begin, I would once again like to thank the kind donors. We exceeded our goal by a bit so Dr. Indunil and I discussed some charitable actions. At the moment, she has one very determined but responsible patient with limited means. She is in desperate need of some dental work. On top of this, she cannot really afford the herbs she needs. Dr. Indunil, it turns out, had been subsidizing her out of her own pocket. I asked her to create a list of priorities and to tell the patient that support will be given to her. She burst into tears and hugged everyone around her. So, all three of us now say "gracias" to you.

Here we go with a sequel to the essays I wrote in 2000:

http://www.ingridnaiman.com/subscription_posts/ayurveda/dhatu_intro.html

You will understand the significance by the end of this post, maybe in just a few more paragraphs. "First dibs" is perhaps a more suitable title for parasites, but in this instance, my reference is to the sequence of regeneration. In the introductory essays, I discussed what we might call plasma and blood. The modern mind does not usually make a distinction between these. Well, trained scientists do, but if we bleed, we see a red a fluid but it is only red because of the erythrocytes. The plasma is actually straw-colored and it is the fluidic component. The blood cells are living cells in a slightly alkaline fluid. The normal components of what we usually refer to as blood are plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. After eating or drinking, we also see nutrients in the plasma. The plasma, of course, has its constituents.

Dr. Indunil is, as most of you know, a Sri Lankan Ayurvedic doctor. In Ayurveda, rasa dhatu includes more than plasma, but we could say that plasma is a part of rasa dhatu. This is where chemistry can be affected after as little as a few drops of a herbal extract. It takes only a few minutes for liquids to be assimilated. But let me backtrack a bit and explain the Ayurvedic system of assimilation. If I use English words, the concepts would be suggestive but inadequate. Some people tune out if they see too many strange words, but the Sanskrit words embrace wider ideas. In any event, there is a sequence for assimilation and therefore also for regeneration and it goes more or less like this: plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bones, bone marrow, and reproductive tissues. Obviously, this list is missing some items of interest but the fifth dhatu includes not just bones but also nails, teeth, and hair, as well as knuckles and joints. Moreover, to flavor the pot more, there is always a psychological corollary to the physical. Thus, what gives the body its structure, strength, and resilience has a counterpart in the psyche that supports tenacity and the power to withstand great hardships. As we realize, boney structures must be strong but not brittle. In the last few days, two people close to me suffered from fractures . . . and we, of course, also know that a French Olympian broke his leg when trying to stick the landing after a vault.

These hard structures are not solid. They are dense but also porous. They have blood supply and do receive nutrients, fifth in the chain, so the nutrients are very much more refined than when first ingested and offered to the plasma. It is very strange that most doctors, even orthopedic surgeons, have no idea how bones heal, but we all know they do heal. For their part, it is a truly rare dentist who understands that teeth can also regenerate. Cutting edge research is now obsessed with creating a third set of teeth, but it is perfectly possible to regenerate the ones we have.

Now, story time. My primary Ayurvedic teacher, the late Dr. Shrikrishna Kashyap, was probably the most gifted healer I ever met. Well, it's a toss up between Shyam and Morrnah, my kahuna mentor. When I introduced them to each other, it was a lovely sight to behold because they instantly recognized the deep spirituality and gifts of each other. It was like each could finally meet a true peer and enjoy the validation that can only stem from understanding that is earned through constant attention to divine guidance. For the record, many kahunas heal broken bones in a matter of a few hours, and skeletons found in caves in Hawaii suggest that the art of trepanning was highly advanced. Superficially, this particular Hawaiian skill defies the Ayurvedic concept which basically, according to Shyam, requires more time. If you want, I can offer my explanation of why I think this is the case, but it involves some fairly esoteric ideas.

For the moment, I will try to keep this simple and linear. The reason I have put so much emphasis on juicing is that it is the quickest way to regenerate the plasma. Even one glass of juice makes a difference but three days of juicing can make a huge difference in recovery from surgery and a month or more can often reverse a chronic disease. However, there are obstacles to overcome. The plasma must be free of substances that interfere with assimilation. Let me give a couple of examples. If there are parasites in the blood, they usually do have first dibs on either the nutrients in the plasma or they eat red blood cells. This interrupts the chain rather drastically. Carrots are, by the way, a natural parasiticide, so there are some checks and balances; and, in our experience, it is perfectly acceptable to add herbs, fresh or in liquid form, to juices. After all, herbs are plants. It helps to know whether or not there are parasites because the sequence cannot be depended upon to reach the goal if there are.

Second, there are infections and chemical imbalances that affect the red blood cells so even if the plasma is full of nutrients, the red blood cells may not be able to do their work. The video footage Dr. Indunil sent this morning is a case in point. There is no way at all the patient is going to pull out of the hole without fixing the basics first.

Keep in mind, I met my first Ayurvedic doctor in the late 1960s. Shyam arrived in Santa Fe in 1980 and that is when my more serious studies began. So, I have had a couple of years to put the pieces together, but Shyam said that it takes 42 days before we start seeing significant improvement on the level of asthi dhatu (the bone dhatu). As fate would have it, in the early 1990s, I had a series of patients with problems with this dhatu. There were three with absolutely no hair anywhere on the body. Another had a long history of broken bones and surgery, more than forty operations. Exactly as Shyam said, the first fuzz appeared on day 42; but, to tell the truth, I referred the other patient to another practitioner because she was not telling me the truth. The person who accepted her case thought I was too permissive and that her stronger personality would make this a cake-walk. She had to take back those words after a few weeks in the trenches.

So, what does all this mean? Skin, nails, hair, and even teeth often get attention because of our vanity, but can we pop a pill and expect to fix both hair and nails if we skip the need to perfect the dhatus on which the fifth dhatu relies? It depends on the obstacles, but the need for detoxification, healthy nutrition, and proper herbs must now be obvious. We cannot start on the higher rung of the ladder. We have to start at the first rung and go one step at a time. This is why a good healing program can take time and why worthy as some do-it-yourself concepts are, they all need a reality check.

The body is very well organized and managed . . . unless we interfere with it. For example, if we are calcium deficient, the blood gets first dibs because it has to maintain its alkalinity. If we exercise, we pull minerals into our muscles but if the minerals are needed elsewhere, they get put back where they belong and then the muscles ache more because they are too acidic. The teeth are actually also willing donors, but they are somewhat slow to recover because the blood supply is so limited.

So, now let me list some of the problems found in the plasma. Besides parasites, there are a variety of toxins, sometimes chemical or mineral or metallic. These particular toxins lend themselves to quantification because, unlike parasites and fungi, they are not capable of reproduction. On the border between constant and increasingly dangerous, there might be radioactive components so while not exactly reproducing, these particulates are actively destructive. The truth is all these problems have to be resolved before regeneration is possible. One might be able to coexist for a period of time with various unwelcome components in the plasma, but regeneration will be arduous or token, not complete. The goal is obviously total homeostasis, a body in perfect balance that is supported by the emotional, mental, and spiritual components of our being. For me, the path of healing is simple because dunce that I am in certain areas, this is a field I have studied for many lifetimes. However, my experience is not easily transferred to others and to the extent that it does not rub off, compliance can be quite low. This is why I believe so strongly in the need for long-term residential places of healing. People have patterns to break, new experiences to integrate, and they need time for this. So, you can see where we are heading and why.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you to explore some of the changes on toxicteeth.com. The Oil Pulling Study is very, very close to launching. Dr. Indunil found one tiny glitch and the developer is having a look to see if he can replicate the error. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, thanks again and again for your generosity. It is touching lives!

Many blessings,

Ingrid

Copyright by Ingrid Naiman 2016

See Essay #1

Introduction to the Dhatus
Essay #1 || Essay #2 || Essay #3 || Root Chakra
Chyawanprash || Ayurvedic Herb Import
Hair Color || Energetics Behind Vision || Air-Water Balance

Dosha Balance Questionnaire || Articles on Ayurveda || The Ayurvedic Bazaar

Design by Damien Francoeur