Expert: Dr.G.S.Dehal - 1/9/2012

Question
Dear Dr Dehal,

You have given me valuable advice regarding the vata kapha disorder of chronic low agni. in my 57 year old male body My prakruti that I was born with is more vata pitta. I was told by my family allopathic doctor here in London , Ontario, that I have osteo arthritis in my left knee. I was doing a lot of waling everyday to decrease my weight, but I guess I over did it, because now I require orthotics for my shoes due to plantars fasciitis as well as pain in my left knee which seems to never go away due to the arthritis.

Ayurvedic herbs are VERY difficult to get here in Canada, so I depend more upon spices, foods, dinacarya and ritucharya for improving my health. Is it possible to get rid of the pain by masssaging the knee with Maha Narayana oil which I have ? I also have Dharasana Malis Tel if you think that is more useful.

You have advised me to concentrate on decreasing Vata in my body as more important that decreasing kapa  ( which I also have too much of. To decrease vata, foods with the tastes of sweet , sour and salty are recommended, but to decrease kapha, bitter , pungent and astringent foods are recommended to be taken. So if I am Vata-Kapha imbalanced, should I continue to eat kapha imbalancing foods while decreasing vata imbalancing foods ? This seems to be contradictory since vata and kapha are both in excess but have opposite qualities to one another.

Anti-Vata treatment requires mental and physical impulses to be regulated to modify mental attitudes, emotional states and behaviors in supportive ways. What does it mean to regulate my mental and physical impulses ? I find I am prone to worry, fear, depression, anger and resentment, and wish to over come those negative tendencies.

How much time minimum should I spend on doing yoga asanas each morning and are there any specific asanas that are especially good for balancing vata ?   

SImilarly, what type of pranayama should I be doing each morning ? Anuloma pratiloma ? Kapala bhati ? Bhastrika ?  ...and for how much time please ?

In what order should I do my Dinacharya ?  Is it better to do pranayama and some asanas before I do japa of the Hare Krsna mantra ?  After I brush my teeth, I usually make a hot herbal chai so that it is easier to pass stool. I do not take my bath until after I pass.

SInce I have pain in my knee , I cannot stand for more than an hour or walk very much, so I think that swimming and yoga asana may be the best exercise for me. WHen should I fit exercise into my dinacharya ?

Thank you very much for guiding me back to better health ~

With gratitude,
Gaura das

Answer
Jai sri krishna,
Narayan thailam is good for massage on ur knee.
Please do not think much about ur kapha.at this age it wil subside naturally.just concentrate to lower vata.daily full body massage with any available oil is very good for u.
Do yoga n prayanayam daily after passing stool atleast for one hour.Pranayam is very good to reduce vata n also to lower anxiety.
Mentat tab must be easily available in canada,it is very good for ur mental status.
Do more pranayam than yoga postures.the duration n ration of these depends on ur physical capacity.
Jai Sri Krishna