What is Colitis?
 
Colitis is a general term for a inflammation in the lining of the bowel.
 
Symptoms Colitis are abdominal cramping, frequent loose stools or persistent diarrhea, loss of control of bowel function, fever, sleepiness, and weight loss. Depending on the cause, colitis may be treated in several ways.

 
What is ulcerative colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the rectum and colon. Ulcers form where inflammation has killed the cells that usually line the colon, then bleed and produce pus. Inflammation in the colon also causes the colon to empty frequently, causing diarrhea.When the inflammation occurs in the rectum and lower part of the colon it is called ulcerative proctitis. If the entire colon is affected it is called pancolitis. If only the left side of the colon is affected it is called limited or distal colitis.Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the general name for diseases that cause inflammation in the small intestine and colon.
 
What are the symptoms of ulcerative colitis?
 
The most common symptoms of ulcerative colitis are abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Patients also may experience
anemia
fatigue
weight loss
loss of appetite
rectal bleeding
loss of body fluids and nutrients
skin lesions
joint pain
growth failure (In children)
 
Yoga and Ayurveda Treatment of Grahani (Chronic Colitis)

Colitis is a general term indicating an inflammatory condition of the large bowel, and almost invariably, of the rectum. Two broad categories of this condition are usually seen - specific and idiopathic. The specific type of colitis commonly arises from protozoal and/or tubercular infiltrations, although the latter form is quite rare. Amoebic colitis forms the major group of the specific type. The idiopathic variety cannot be traced to a specific cause and is often termed 'ulcerative colitis'.

Medical knowledge has advanced a great deal today in all spheres of inquiry, but ulcerative colitis is one condition in which science has made little progress. The present management of this condition remains unsatisfactory. The physician is far more able to control the disease than to cure it. Antibiotics and the intestinal disinfectants for the control of diarrhoea have been the chief medicine so far. The introduction of cortico-steroids was thought to revolutionize the management of this disease, but the side effects of these drags are as serious as the disease itself, while their control of the primary condition remains poor. The latest celebrated drug, salazopyrine, is claimed to have minimal side effects, but it has the drawback of creating dependency, and the condition worsens if there is no proper supply of the medicine. The surgical approach is total colectomy (removal of the colon) or proctocolectomy with ileostomy, in which the anus is removed along with the colon, necessitating the construction of an alternative opening in the abdominal wall. Both procedures cause permanent and severe restrictions in the patient's lifestyle.
 
Known Causes for Colitis

There can be a number of possible causes for this including poor diet, food poisoning, viral infection in the intestines, stress, back problems, medications (especially antibiotics), crohn's disease, stomach upset and allergies.

The psychological aspect of colitis is also significant. Recent studies have shown that stress and strain are the major contributory factors in causing and aggravating the disease. Our survey also confirmed that environmental stress, personal stress and stress resulting from natural calamities were important factors. So the psychosomatic nature of the disease must be kept in mind while undertaking its treatment.

Grahani has been widely described In the classic ayurvedic literature. It shows exactly the same clinical picture as chronic colitis. Frequency of loose motions with profuse mucus discharge, pain and foul odour are the most prominent diagnostic symptoms of grahani. In ulcerative colitis, bleeding is an additional feature which may occasionally be present in cases of grahani also.
Grahani is a syndrome in which agni, the digestive power, is supposed to be at fault. When agni becomes depressed, ama dosha (undigested waste material) accumulates and is passed in the stools. So the aim of treatment should be to enhance the potency of agni, thereby reducing the formation of ama dosha.

Though ayurvedic medicines are capable of regularizing the agni to normalcy, yogic exercises, by virtue of their specificity, work as catalytic agents for stabilizing the agni at a higher level even if the medicines are withdrawn. This in itself is an Important achievement, as medicines cannot be used permanently. The disease can only be considered as cured when the agni is balanced without the use of any external medicine.

Material and Methods

This study consisted of ten patients with chronic colitis (five of them with ulcerative lesions) who had undergone modern medical treatment for a number of years in various hospitals in India and abroad. In five patients ulcerative colitis was diagnosed after radiological investigations (barium enema X-ray) histopatholog-Ical investigations (microscopic examination of diseased tissues) and sigmoidoscopy (visual examination of the rectum and lower colon through a sigmoidoscope). One young patient, age 12, had been treated in London, where doctors felt an urgent total colectomy was indicated. Tills patient had been dependent on retention enema of hydrocortisone solution for several years. Another four cases of proven ulcerative colitis were dependent on salazopyrine and bestozyme. Patient no. 7 (VKG), dependent on salazopyrine, had an advanced case of ulcerative colitis with the involvement of the anorectal canal. Five patients had mixed symptoms of chronic colitis without detectable ulcerative lesions in the colon. All these patients were given yoga and panchamrita parpati therapy.

Yoga practices to Cure & Prevent Colitis

Treatment consisted of a combined program of yoga and ayurvedic therapy. Those yogic practices which stimulate and normalize the agni were selected, in accordance with various classical texts of yoga and ayurveda, including 'Charaka Samhita', 'Gheranda Samhita' and 'Hatha Yoga Pradipika'. As indicated in Table 1, every patient had a stress factor aggravating the disease. Some pranayama exercises were selected to tranquillize the mind and relieve stress. The asanas given to the patient were bhujangasana, mayurasana, shalabhasana, paschimottanasana and matsyendrasana. Each of these asanas was done two or three times, and maintained for a duration of 20-30 seconds. Shavasana was practised once daily for 15-20 minutes, and pranayama for 10 minutes once daily. All yoga practices were performed under observation for 60 days while patients were in hospital. Scheme and sequence of asanas is shown in Table .

Name of Asana  Duration of Asana     No. of
rounds
1. Bhujangasana     20-30      sec.2-3
2. Mayurasana    " "" "
3. Shalabhasana    " "" "
4. Paschimottanasana    " "" "
5. Matsyendrasana    " "" "
6. Sarvangasana   5-7 minutes1
7. Shavasana    15 - 20 minutes" "
8. Pranayama  10 minutes" "
 
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