MS: the Western vs the Eastern view
Are these opposite views of MS mutually exclusive?
Over two million people in the world have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is the most common neuro-immunological disorder, and the number of people diagnosed increased by 10.4% between 1990 and 20161. When I was diagnosed with MS in 2000, I didn’t know anything about it. So I tried to understand what was happening in my body. I discovered two completely different views of MS: the Western and the Eastern views.
Western view
The western view of MS seems quite ‘logical’, especially since I never went into the nitty-gritty bits but always stayed at the surface ;-) In the Central Nervous System (CNS), the nerves are protected by a fatty sheath, the myelin sheath. This protective sheath helps messages travel quickly and smoothly between the brain and the rest of the body. The system is similar to electrical wires and their insulation. If the insulation around the electrical wire is damaged, the current is affected. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Why does the insulation get damaged? That’s a little bit more complicated. What matters is that in MS, the auto-immune system mistakes myelin for a foreign body and attacks it. This damages the myelin and strips it off the nerve fibres, either partially or completely, leaving scars known as lesions or plaques. The messages are slowed down, distorted or sometimes even blocked. As well as myelin loss, there can also sometimes be damage to the actual nerve fibres.
I will not even try to understand what scientists discovered about MS at a cellular level. At least not in this life. My basic understanding is that MS is due to a faulty auto-immune system and disrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and the body. It is unpredictable and the symptoms can vary a lot from one person to the next or from one day to the next!
Eastern view
Trying to make sense of the Eastern view of MS isn’t that easy neither. Let’s have a closer look at Ayurveda, the Science of Life, a ‘sister practice’ of Yoga that originated in India thousands of years ago. As its name suggests, it is a large and complex field of study, and I only want to focus on two key concepts: ‘doshas’ and ‘koshas’.
Ayurveda teaches us that the body is constituted of three primary basic energies or forces (called ‘doshas’). They can vaguely be translated as Air, Fire and Earth/Water but encompass as well the qualities of Air, Fire, Earth/Water. Everything around us and within us is made up of a combination of these elements. If that sounds bizarre, think of them as atoms. If these basic forces are balanced, there is health. If there is a strong imbalance between them, there is disease.
According to Ayurveda, MS is linked to an excess of vata in the body, which weakens the nervous system. This excess can also lead to joint pains, dry skin, memory loss, insomnia, grief and fear. Chronic Fatigue, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome are other types of vata-diseases.
Koshas, on the other hand, are energetic layers or sheaths or dimensions that surround our soul. I always think of Russian dolls! The physical body composes the outermost layer. Then, there is the life force or energy sheath, the mental sheath, the wisdom sheath and finally the innermost layer that is our bliss body or soul. MS can manifest in these 5 koshas2.
In fact, everything within us and around us can lead to imbalances. According to Ayurveda, there are also ‘personality types’ more prone to suffer from ‘vata excess’. They are persons who tend to be driven, maintaining their body in a perpetual state of stress, probably working overtime to push their body beyond natural limits.
So what?
You might ask ‘why does it matter?’ As a person living with MS, I’m eager to understand why my body behaves in a certain way. I’m not a very good ‘patient’ and want to be proactive in managing my health. As a yoga teacher, I want to understand how specific yoga poses or breathing techniques can help others. I’m told knowledge is power!
But it seems to me that people in the West and in the East are simply looking at MS through different lenses. In the West, we use close-up lenses and focus on what’s happening at the cellular level while in the East, people seem to prefer wide angle lenses to have a ‘holistic’ view. In the West, research looks at repairing the myelin sheath or at modifying the immune system response while traditional Eastern medicine focuses on bringing balance and harmony within the body and mind.
I don’t think these views are mutually exclusive. After taking Betaseron for 3 years, I haven’t taken any MS medicine since 2003 except corticosteroids on three occasions. But I have done anything in my power to bring balance in my life using diet, supplements, meditation, exercise, yoga and breathwork.
Whether you live with MS or not, using both close-up and wide angle lenses to look at your wellbeing sounds like a good idea to me!
See you soon on the mat!
https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/laneur/PIIS1474-4422(18)30498-8.pdf
Physical kosha: It can affect the muscular system (spasticity, slurred speech, loss of coordination, weakness, fatigue); the digestive system (incontinence, constipation, hesitancy); the circulatory system or the nervous system (inhibited transmission of nerve impulse, numbness, distortion or loss of senses, vision impairment or loss).
Life force kosha: Breathing is typically shallow. Low self-esteem, lack of energy or have control issues, feeling either too dependent or too independent.
Mental kosha: MS manifests as anxiety, frustration, depression, holding in emotions, loss of emotional balance, inability to slow down.
Wisdom kosha: Disconnected from physical body, sensations. Disconnected from subtle body.
Bliss body: Spiritually disconnected. Perpetual discontent. Unaccepting of Self.