KAYA CHIKITSA (GENERAL MEDICINE)
Kayachikitsa is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda that deals with the multisystemic illnesses of adults. It deals with a therapeutic approach to the disease through Shodhana (purification), Shamana (pacification), and Satwawajaya (counseling). These applications are done through medications, behavioral, psychological, and lifestyle management. Pharmacological intervention is through various forms of medicines like vati (tablets), kashaya (decoctions), churna (powders), bhasma, asava, arista, ghruta, guggulus, etc. The strength of the system is providing efficient, cost-effective, personalized medicine with high safety margins.
Kaya Chikitsa mainly deals with the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of general diseases, such as skin disorders, diabetes, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other disorders. Charaka Samhita is the most important scripture on kayachikitsa. It discusses the basic principles of treatment, various types of therapies, and purification or detoxification methods. According to this natural treatment, the body of a person is a product of the constant psychosomatic interactions, and diseases caused are due to the imbalance caused in the trishods of the body. This imbalance caused in the three doshas of vata-pitta-kapha is sometimes caused by the mind and occasionally by the body’s dhatu (tissues) and mala (toxin deposits). It is then that the kayachikitsa branch of Ayurveda comes to assistance.
Kayachikitsa is the branch of herbal and holistic medicine that delves deep into ascertaining the root cause of illness. The entire Ayurvedic therapeutics is based on the concept of Agni. The concept of Kaya (Agni) is unique and is responsible for biotransformation. As it is known, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. In the human body, Kaya provides the necessary energy for all bodily activities. The energy provided is derived from the food we eat and the air we breathe. The biological system of the body transforms this energy into one that is utilized by the cells..