How taking rest worked as the ultimate home remedy for my colds and coughs
My grandfather always told me to rest for a full day whenever I had a cough or cold, but we hardly listen to such advice. We live in an age of modern medicine and a highly capitalistic society that pushes us to work harder, even when we are sick with minor health issues like coughs and colds. Modern medicine promises a quick cure within hours, so we don’t have to take a break. We just need to take the medicine and keep working.
According to Ayurvedic and Naturopathy scriptures from India, coughs and colds occur when you have undigested food in your body, also known as ama.
Here is some supporting text about ama.
- Improper digestion of food can result in the production of ‘ama’. When this substance reaches the respiratory system, it can trigger colds or coughs.
- Ayurveda recommends timely resting of the digestive system, as its ease is quintessential for detoxification of the gut. A tensed stomach is vulnerable to Ama stagnation. Resting make sure that you don’t need much food. Less food means less stress on stomach for digestion.
Those who frequently suffer from coughs and colds but prefer to avoid modern medicine should read this.
I think that in today’s modern world, there are only a few professions in which you don’t have the liberty to take a holiday when you are sick. Although many people complain that they can’t take leave because of certain company policies, when you dig deeper, you will find that they themselves don’t want to take leave as they are caught up in the rat race and fear that taking a day off will set them back.
This article not only claims that rest is effective for coughs and colds but also explains the reasoning behind it.
Until four years ago, I used to suffer from coughs and colds almost 6-7 times a year. I tried various methods to cure it, including allopathy, homeopathy, and some home remedies suggested by my parents, but nothing provided me with a long-lasting solution.
One day, I came across a beautiful Ayurvedic book called “Ayurvedic home remedies”. The knowledge I gained from that book helped me cure the problem from its very root. Resting was one of the top things that I learned from it. For other tips, you can refer to the book, and for a shorter version of advice, you can refer to my article on the same.
Provide your Prana enough time to heal
In Ayurveda, there is a concept of Prana, which is the ultimate energy in our body responsible for the vitality that sustains all living beings.
Resting allows your body and Prana to focus on the healing process without expending energy on other activities. This allows your body’s immune system to work more effectively in fighting off illness. When you’re active, your body expends energy on various activities, but when you rest, it can allocate more resources to fighting the infection.
Your body uses a lot of energy to heal itself when you’re sick. By resting, you conserve energy that can be used for the healing process, helping you recover faster.
Resting ensures that you don’t need a lot of food
Resting ensures that you don’t need a lot of energy to perform daily chores. As a result, you don’t need a lot of food either. When you eat less, your body can focus on healing instead of digesting food.
Prana has two primary roles: cleaning your body and digesting the food you eat. It cannot do both simultaneously. Therefore, when you eat a lot, your body gets little chance to heal on its own by cleaning, as it spends most of the time digesting the food.
Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you are living alone in your home, and your home is very messy because of last night’s guests. You planned to clean it, but suddenly more guests arrived. What will you do? Obviously, you will start serving the guests again rather than cleaning up. In turn, this will make your home even messier. So, in this analogy, your home represents your stomach, you are prana, and the guests are the food.
Resting reduces stress and, in turn, boosts immunity
On any regular working day, there is a high chance of experiencing stress for one reason or another. Regardless of its size, your body’s Prana (or immune system) has to work a little extra to keep it in check. However, when you are sick, your body’s Prana or immune system, is completely dedicated to healing you.
Resting reduces stress on your body and mind, allowing your immune system to focus on fighting the illness instead of taking care of your stress.
Resting helps your body and mind focus fully on healing you when you are sick with mild diseases like coughs and colds. In fact, it not only heals you from the current disease but also helps prevent future occurrences. Proper healing strengthens your immune system, making it more effective against these diseases. In contrast, modern medicine may only provide temporary relief, and the disease is likely to return soon after.
Resting also has other benefits, such as preventing the spread of the disease to family members. This is especially important in nuclear families, where there are fewer members available to help when someone falls ill.
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