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We are delighted to share an insightful article by Dr. Aravind Subramanian, an Ayurvedic physician from Chennai. With years of experience and a deep respect for India’s healing traditions, Dr. Aravind writes to help us understand Ayurveda in a way that feels practical and approachable.
In this piece, he focuses on how Ayurveda views rare and chronic conditions not as fixed labels. But…
As unique imbalances that can be managed with care, resilience, and dignity. His storytelling style makes complex ideas easy to follow, while offering fresh knowledge that many of us may not have encountered before.
Through his words, you’ll discover how Ayurveda can bring balance, strength, and hope, even in the most challenging health journeys.
Over to Dr. Aravind Subramanian: An Introduction
I am Dr. Aravind Subramanian, an Ayurvedic physician from Chennai. My journey into Ayurveda began not in a lecture hall, but in my grandmother’s kitchen. She was a quiet healer who believed that every spice jar was a pharmacy and every meal a prescription.
As a boy, I watched her crush tulsi leaves for coughs, boil fenugreek seeds for digestion, and massage sesame oil into aching joints. At the time, I thought these were just “grandmother’s remedies.” Years later, after studying Ayurveda formally, I realized she was practicing a science that had been refined for over 5,000 years.
But what struck me most was how Ayurveda speaks differently to those living with rare and chronic conditions. These patients who often feel unseen in modern healthcare.
While modern medicine focuses on disease names and protocols, Ayurveda focuses on the person’s constitution, rhythms, resilience.
Today, I want to share with you how Ayurveda approaches rare and chronic conditions. It is not as per incurable burdens, but as unique pathways to balance, and hope.
Why Ayurveda Looks at Rare and Chronic Conditions Differently
In modern medicine, rare and chronic conditions are often defined by what cannot be “fixed.” The focus is on managing symptoms, slowing progression, or waiting for new drugs.
Ayurveda, however, begins with a different question:
“What is the unique imbalance in this person’s body, mind, and environment?”
This is important because Ayurveda does not treat the disease name; it treats the individual.
- A patient with a rare neurological disorder and another with a chronic autoimmune condition may both be labeled “incurable” in modern terms.
- But in Ayurveda, one may be seen as a Vata imbalance (linked to movement, nerves, dryness), while the other may be a Pitta imbalance (linked to heat, inflammation, metabolism).
This shift, from disease to imbalance, creates space for personalized healing, even when a cure is not possible.
The Forgotten Lens of Ojas
Here’s something many readers may not know: Ayurveda has a concept called Ojas, often translated as “vital essence.”
- Ojas is not just immunity, it is the subtle energy that gives clarity, and endurance.
- In rare and chronic patients, Ojas is often depleted, not only by the condition itself but also by years of stress, medications, and uncertainty.
Ayurveda’s first step is often to rebuild Ojas through:
- Gentle tonics (Rasayanas) like Ashwagandha, Shatavari, or Guduchi.
- Practices like meditation, pranayama, and oil massage (Abhyanga).
- Foods that are warm, nourishing, and easy to digest.
This is why many chronic patients report feeling “stronger” or “lighter” even before their symptoms change. Ayurveda strengthens the soil before tending to the plant.
The Role of Time: Why Ayurveda Thinks in Seasons
One of Ayurveda’s most unique approaches is seasonal alignment (Ritucharya).
For chronic patients, symptoms often flare at certain times, winter for arthritis, summer for skin conditions, monsoon for respiratory issues.
Ayurveda anticipated this centuries ago. It teaches that:
- Vata disorders worsen in cold, dry seasons.
- Pitta disorders flare in hot months.
- Kapha disorders peak in damp, rainy times.
For rare and chronic patients, this means anticipatory care. It means adjusting diet, herbs, and routines before the flare begins.
The Power of Anupana: The Hidden Carrier
Here’s a detail even many Ayurvedic enthusiasts don’t know:
The same herb can act differently depending on its carrier substance, called Anupana.
For example:
- Turmeric with honey targets the lungs.
- Turmeric with ghee targets the gut.
- Turmeric with warm milk targets the joints.
For chronic patients, this precision matters. Instead of overwhelming the body with high doses, Ayurveda uses targeted delivery through Anupana. It’s like programming the herb with a GPS.
Rare Diseases and the Ayurvedic Lens of Nidana
In Ayurveda, every condition is traced back to its Nidana, the root cause.
For rare and chronic patients, this is liberating. Instead of being told, “We don’t know why this happened,” Ayurveda asks:
- Was there long-term digestive weakness (Agni imbalance)?
- Was there unresolved emotional trauma affecting the nervous system?
- Was there environmental exposure: pollution, chemicals, or lifestyle, that disturbed the doshas?
This doesn’t mean Ayurveda can always reverse the condition. But it reframes the story: the patient is not a passive victim of a mysterious disease, but an active participant in rebalancing their system.
The Gentle Art of Shamana and Shodhana
Ayurveda has two broad strategies:
1. Shamana (Pacification): Calming the imbalance with diet, herbs, and lifestyle.
Example: Using cooling herbs for chronic inflammation.
2. Shodhana (Purification): Removing deep-seated toxins through therapies like Panchakarma.
Example: Gentle detox for patients with long-term medication buildup.
For rare and chronic patients, the approach is often Shamana first. This builds strength, calming symptoms, before considering Shodhana. This prevents overwhelming fragile systems.
The Overlooked Role of the Mind
Modern medicine separates mental and physical health. Ayurveda never did.
For chronic patients, the mind-body link is crucial:
- Anxiety worsens autoimmune flares.
- Depression slows recovery.
- Hope itself can change outcomes.
Ayurveda prescribes not only herbs but also Sattvic practices. This includes chanting, meditation, time in nature, to nourish the mind.
This is not “alternative.” It is integrated care, centuries before the term existed.
Ayurveda and Global Rare Disease Communities
Here’s something new: Ayurveda is slowly entering conversations in global rare disease forums.
- Researchers are studying Ayurvedic herbs like Guduchi for immune modulation.
- Patient groups are exploring Ayurvedic diets for energy and digestion.
- Integrative clinics are combining Ayurveda with modern therapies for palliative care.
The key is not to replace modern medicine, but to complement it, to give patients more tools, more dignity, and more hope.
A Patient’s Story
Let me share a story (with names changed).
A young man from Chennai came to me with a rare connective tissue disorder. He had seen specialists across India, tried multiple medications, and was told to “manage as best as possible.”
In Ayurveda, we began with:
- Strengthening his digestion (Agni).
- Building Ojas with nourishing tonics.
- Teaching him seasonal adjustments.
- Using Anupana to target herbs to his joints.
After six months, his condition was not “cured.” But he reported fewer flares, better sleep, and most importantly, he felt in control again.
That is Ayurveda’s gift: not always a cure, but always a path.
What Rare and Chronic Patients Can Take Away
If you live with a rare or chronic condition, Ayurveda offers:
- Personalization: You are not your diagnosis; you are your unique constitution.
- Prevention of flares: By aligning with seasons and rhythms.
- Strengthening resilience: Through Ojas, diet, and lifestyle.
- Integration: Working alongside modern medicine, not against it.
- Hope: A shift from “incurable” to “manageable with dignity.”
Closing Words from Dr. Aravind
Ayurveda does not promise miracles. But it promises something equally powerful: a way to live with awareness, and dignity, even in the face of rare and chronic conditions.
As my grandmother used to say, “The body may falter, but the spirit of healing never does. When you walk in rhythm with nature, even the heaviest burdens feel lighter.”
That is the essence of Ayurveda, not the absence of disease, but the presence of balance.