Abstract

IDEOLOGY OF FASTING (UPWAS) IN AYURVEDA AND NATUROPATHY

Dr. Rachna Jain and Dr. Rosy Gupta*

ABSTRACT

‘Upwas’ or fasting is an important component of Ayurvedic Adravya Chikitsa or Langhan treatment and also part of Nisargopachar (Naturopathy). In Ayurveda Acharya Charak has described Upwas/fasting as one of the ten techniques of Langhan therapy. Naturopathy is also a treatment pathy involved in purifying the mind and the body with the help of five universal elements: Space (Akash), Air (Vayu), Fire (Agni), Water (Jal) and Earth (Prithvi). Here Upwas is the practice of ‘Akash’ element that detoxifies the body and mind through natural light diet or complete fasting. Most diseases are caused by imbalanced diet or wrong dietary habits. Hence dietary modification is one of the most important part of Upwas, done for therapeutic purposes. In general, health-seekers follow specific diet programs including juice diet, fruit diet, raw diet, or specific diet depending on their medical conditions. The aim of this article is to review the importance of Langhan therapy in disease prevention and management.

Keywords: Upwas, Langhana therapy, Akash Mahabhoot therapy, Naturopathy, Fasting.