In our busy daily routine, so many times we suppress our natural urges; whether or not we have time to go to the toilet or suppressing our urge of sleep during our night shifts. We may be hungry but cannot eat food until our lunch break or not realizing we are thirsty as we are engrossed in our work.
Suppressing our natural urges may not look very important to us, but do we realize if this is practiced regularly, we are going against our body’s own intelligence of keeping us healthy and becoming susceptible to diseases?
What are the Urges?
Urges also called Vegas in Ayurveda are the subtle signals or expressions of the intelligence of our body trying to get rid of toxins or trying to replenish energy. All of this aims to maintain the equilibrium and maintain good health.
Ayurveda recommends not to suppress these 13 natural urges:
- Urge to pass gas
- Urge to defaecate
- Urge to void urine
- Urge to sneeze
- Urge to cough
- Urge to have food/hunger
- Urge to have water/thirst
- Urge to sleep
- Urge for breathing on exertion
- Urge to cry
- Urge to vomit
- Urge to yawn
- Urge to ejaculate
What happens if we suppress these urges?
According to Ayurveda, suppression of these non-suppressible urges:
- Primarily leads to Vata imbalance which can further lead to the imbalance of other doshas.
- Reduces the digestive fire leading to the formation of undigested toxins called as ama.
Some of the very common symptoms like headaches, constipation, heaviness, fatigue, weakness, reduced clarity of our senses, loss of enthusiasm, insomnia and allergies could be due to the regular suppression of one or more of these urges.
In general, the following systems are affected due to the suppression of the urges:
| Respiratory system | Suppressing the urges to defaecate, vomit, belch and cough |
| Cardiovascular system | Suppressing the urges of ejaculation, defaecation, cough, breathing on exertion and thirst |
| Digestive system | Suppressing the urges of hunger, flatus, defaecation, cough etc. |
| Reproductive system | Suppression of urges of ejaculation, urination, and flatus |
| Urinary system | Suppressing the urges of urination, ejaculation, and flatus |
Treatment of the diseases caused due to suppression of urges:
Ayurveda primarily focusses on the preventive aspect, hence recommends things to be done or avoided to stay healthy. If already suffering from imbalances, then it also recommends the treatment guidelines for it. In general, the treatment includes:
- Not to suppress the urges and attend to them as soon as possible
- Vata pacifying diet, lifestyle, and treatments
- Treatment to improve the digestive fire and digest the accumulated toxins
- Practising yoga, pranayama, meditation regularly to stimulate parasympathetic nervous system and help us to connect to our body’s intelligence.
- Have a proper daily routine to organise our day, make time to connect to our body and grasp its subtle signals.
Likewise, one should avoid even forceful stimulation of the non-manifested urges. This can also lead to various imbalances in the body.
Last but not the least let us honour, listen, respect, and thank our body’s intelligence for all that it is doing for us to keep us healthy. In turn it will make us feel happy, balanced, and connected.
Stay connected and stay healthy.
If you wish to seek further information about how suppression of natural urges can affect you or wish to know more about the treatments, we are just a call away at Aspects of Healing on 08 8110 4300.
Written by Doctor Shweta Rao