The Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) affects 80% of women according to some sources. Here’s a little hilarious video to help the dudes out there deal with the challenge. Women are more obviously connected with Nature’s rythms, so I guess my advice is: be aware of the cycles, don’t get caught up in the moods and stay cool & supportive, cause as soon as aunt Flo comes the symptoms will go away like magic! What do you girls (and guys) say?
According to Ayurveda eminence Dr David Frawley, PMS can be caused by an imbalance in any of the three doshas, although as a psychological/nervous condition, it is mainly a vata disorder. Contributing factors include poor nutrition, stress, overwork, travelling, difficulties in relationships and suppressed emotions.
In Ayurvedic Healing: a comprehensive guide, Dr Frawley explains we can distinguish three types of PMS (note that your current state doesn’t necessarily correspond with your ayurvedic constitution).
The three types of PMS are characterized by:
Vata PMS:
Anxiety, depression, insomnia, constipation, headache, severe cramping pain. Nervousness, agitation, feeling spaced out, dizziness, vertigo, possibly with ringing in the ears. Moods may shift rapidly, the person will be very hard to please and may have feelings of abandonment. The individual will complain of feeling cold, with thirst and dry skin. She may even feel like she’s dying. The period may be irregular or delayed and the flow tends to be scanty, brown or black in colour.
Pitta PMS:
Anger, irritability, proneness to argument, temper, possible violent outbursts.
Diarrhea, thirst, sweating, fever, the individual tends to feel hot (particularly in the upper part of the body). Acne or skin rashes often appear. The flow tends to come early, it is typically abundant and may have clots.
Kapha PMS:
Tiredness, feeling heavy, crying, feeling sentimental or needing to be loved. Emotional changes not as severe as in the other types. Susceptibility to colds and flu, mucus discharges will increase. Lack of appetite and possible nausea. Swelling of the breasts or accumulation of fluids beneath the skin. The period tends to be late and whitish.
If you don’t have a definite pattern, aloe gel seems to be effective for all three types of PMS (aloe is pure magic and reduces pitta, kapha and vata, whereas it doesn’t aggravate either of them!), although for a comprehensive treatment we strongly recommend that you check out this ayurvedic bible (You can read some excerpts on Amazon).
Elephantbeans 