Self-Healing and the Power of Awareness in Ayurveda

Self-Healing and the Power of Awareness in Ayurveda

In This Article

Ayurvedic Awareness

In the late 1980s, I was teaching a pulse reading course to a group of students in Los Angeles. About halfway through the all-day seminar, a student fainted and fell to the floor. We supported him, and after a few moments, he said he was fine and wanted to continue with the course. I somewhat reluctantly continued teaching.

After the seminar that day, I sat down with him to see how he was doing. He said that he had only fainted once before in his entire life—in Mexico about 10 years prior. In both instances, he had gotten clammy, broken into a cold sweat, succumbed to a wave of nausea, and woken up on the floor.

He told me that ever since he had fainted in Mexico, he’d experienced chronic pain in his mid-back and under his liver. He had been to every doctor, healer, and shaman he could find to help with this nagging pain, and that was the reason he was taking my pulse class. In the class, he had noticed that when he took his pulse, the pain got worse. The same feeling of clamminess and nausea he experienced in Mexico came over him again. The longer he took his pulse, the more intense the pain became, until he blacked out.

I asked him if I could call him in a few days to see how he was doing. When I did, he told me that the pain he had experienced in his liver and mid-back for 10 years had completely resolved—he was free of any discomfort. I would see him from time to time when I traveled back to Los Angeles and he would always make a point to come and tell me how he was still pain-free, and grateful.

It’s interesting to note that the student was not trying to heal himself. He was just learning to read his pulse, which, according to Ayurveda, is a powerful tool for building self-awareness and ultimately promoting healing.

According to Ayurveda, observing your pulse can enhance awareness, and when the body is directed to become more aware of itself, it can heal itself.

In this article, I make the case that seemingly involuntary, spontaneous healing, as seen with my pulse reading student, may rely on the same mechanism as the more voluntary placebo effect. Both enhance self-awareness. The senses are the tools of awareness, and the sense of touch used in pulse reading or the type of hands-on approach in Reiki have been employed in healing practices for a millennia.

Check out our Ayurvedic Pulse Reading Course

The Relationship Among Ayurveda, Awareness, Biophotons, and the Placebo Effect

It’s possible that Ayurveda, which is essentially the science of enhancing awareness, taps into the mechanics behind both spontaneous remission and the self-healing placebo effect.

Pulse reading specifically is known as a self-awareness technique in Ayurveda and is used both diagnostically and therapeutically. In Tibet, Ayurvedic doctors take someone’s pulse for a long period of time to elicit a self-healing effect. The pulse reader brings awareness or attention to the imbalance they perceive in someone’s body. Once the body is aware of the imbalance, it starts to engage in spontaneous repair.

One way to think about this form of self-healing or spontaneous remission is through quantum theory and the concept of biophotons. From the Ayurvedic perspective, the cause of disease, called prajna paradh, stems from a loss of connection to consciousness. This is called the mistake of the intellect—when the mind and body start to function independently of each other, or the whole. The whole, according to Ayurveda and quantum theory, is a unifying field of consciousness that pervades everything.10 When the body is functioning in balance, there is a harmony between the body’s underlying quantum field and the quantum particles that make up your physical body. When the body is out of balance, the body begins to function without a connection to the field of consciousness.

New research has found that quantum particles called biophotons are the body’s information carrying particles. They communicate both inside and outside of the body within the quantum field (consciousness) at great distances, suggesting we are all connected at a fundamental level. Einstein called this “spooky action at a distance.” These biophotons can be either coherent—when the body is healthy and in balance—or incoherent as a result of free radical damage to DNA. Studies have shown that yoga, breathing, and meditation create a more coherent, health-promoting release of biophotons.12 It has also been shown that these biophotons are altered by intention, which may explain one of the mechanisms of distance healing through prayer and the placebo effect.11

Similar to the way meditation decreases DNA damage and increases the release of coherent biophotons, a pulse reading, prayer, or intention may have similar effects.

The placebo effect is when a fake drug or fake surgery performs as well as or even better than the actual drug or procedure. This is different than the self-healing effect that Ayurveda describes, although the underlying mechanism of both may be the same. In the placebo effect, the mind is tricked into thinking it’s going to get well. This sense of wellbeing could create a healing effect or coherent biophotons at subtle levels, although I have not seen any studies on this.

The Ayurvedic self-healing effect is created by intentionally stilling the mind or enhancing self-awareness.

Instead of only trying to solve health concerns with drugs, herbs, pills and powders, perhaps it’s time to investigate the power of your mind to help you heal.

Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

 The Placebo Effect

With the placebo effect, you believe that a sugar pill is the real thing. That belief ultimately replaces worrying about a health concern with a sense of relief. This belief enhances a state of self-awareness and, like meditation, increases a coherent release of healing biophotons. Spontaneous healings also seem to require an enhanced state of self-awareness that may lead to a more coherent release of biophotons and healing.

Let’s explore the power of the placebo.

While the healing placebo effect is undisputed, it has been more of a nuisance for researchers than a viable tool to help folks get well. It works so well that researchers had to devise an elaborate protocol called a double-blind study, where both the real and fake medicines are studied.

The question is: Why isn’t the placebo effect taken seriously as potential therapy? There’s no dispute over its therapeutic benefit. In fact, the effectiveness of the placebo is nothing short of phenomenal, ranging from 35% to a whopping 82% effective in some studies.1-3

It is surprising how powerful the placebo effect is, and how commonly its benefits are simply accepted. For example, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a drug, all the drug has to do is outperform the placebo in one of the clinical trials. Literally, a drug can be outperformed by a placebo sugar pill in 7 out of 8 clinical trials, and still be approved as a new drug.1

In a meta-analysis on the efficacy of FDA-approved anti-depressants, published by the American Psychological Association, 82% of research subjects reported feeling better on a placebo. In fact, when the FDA replicated the analysis, they admitted that the difference between the efficacy of drug and placebo was small.1

In one of the classic placebo studies, medical students were given one of two pills. One group thought they were receiving a sedative and the other group a stimulant. They both received sugar pills. In the group that received the “sedative,” more than two-thirds felt drowsy, and students who took two pills reported feeling sleepier than the students who took just one.

The group that took the “stimulant” pill felt more energetic, one-third of the group also surprisingly reported feeling side effects ranging from dizziness and headaches to numbness and a staggered gait. Only three out of the 56 students reported feeling nothing.2

Perhaps the most concrete evidence of the placebo effect is related to post-surgical pain. In a powerful study in the New England Journal of Medicine, 180 patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly divided into three groups. One group had debris removed from the knee, the second group had the knee lavaged (rinsed), and the third group got a fake surgery.4

The results were astounding! During the 24-month post-surgical follow-up procedures, there was no difference between the placebo group and the groups that actually received surgeries. All three groups got better. Two years later, when the placebo group was told they did not get the actual surgery, they were happily doing things like walking and playing basketball—things that they could not do before “surgery.”4

In another study on post-surgical pain, 75% of patients suffering from post-operative wound pain reported satisfactory relief after an injection of sterile saline instead of an active pain medication.3

See Also: What is the Best Time to Take Your Medicine Using Circadian Wisdom?

In another study on antidepressants, 51 subjects were divided into two groups. One group received a placebo and the other an antidepressant. Both groups experienced relief from depression, but surprisingly, the placebo group saw measurable changes in the prefrontal cortex of the brain that the antidepressant group did not. This surprising result was measured by a technique developed by UCLA called cordance, which measures regional brain activity.6

This study and others suggest that not only does the placebo effect work, but it can make structural changes in the brain that can potentially support permanent benefits.6-9 The emerging science in the field of quantum healing suggests that self-awareness techniques such as meditation and yoga may support the body’s natural healing process.

Could it also be possible that the placebo effect is a result of subtle self-awareness? How has self-awareness played a role in your own health journey?

This story is part of a 6-article series on conscious healing and the restorative power or awareness, intention, and energy medicine.

Read all of the stories:

Self-Healing and the Power of Awareness in Ayurveda
Quantum Biophotons: The Science of Healing Prayer
Vedic Healing and the Power of Intention
Ayurvedic Techniques to Unleash the Power of Quantum Healing
What is Quantum Consciousness?
Quantum Physics Meets Vedic Science

Thank you for visiting LifeSpa.com, where we publish cutting-edge health information combining Ayurvedic wisdom and modern science. If you are enjoying our free content, please visit our Ayurvedic Shop on your way out and share your favorite articles and videos with your friends and family.

Gratefully,
Dr. John

References

  1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/
  2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11141/
  3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9449934
  4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12110735
  5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772700
  6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16877657
  7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25279271
  8. http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/pre/1/2/2a/
  9. http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/45/10390.short
  10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6861790/
  11. https://lifespa.com/prayer-healing-biophotons/
  12. https://lifespa.com/healing-prana-intention-biophotons/

12 thoughts on “Self-Healing and the Power of Awareness in Ayurveda”

  1. Hi Dr. Douillard,

    I was planning on buying your manjistha capsules but I wanted to know if they can cure secondary lymphedema.
    I know this question is posted under the wrong topic but I would greatly appreciate a reply.

    Thank You,
    Vidula

    Reply
  2. Hello doc John, thank you so much for your great work and inspiration…
    I wish to add these little reflections about self healing, awareness …
    Once i had pain in the whole body since years, having seen many doctors etc .. nothing
    One day i took an appointement with a famous “osthéopath” in Paris.
    I planned to go there with my xrays so as to show his this and that in my bones which were painful.
    The day of the appointement i take a metro to get there, and during the travel, i realise i forgot the xray.
    And moreover, i realise that i dont feel ANY pain at all in my body.
    Starting to wonder… i wonder also what i will tell to the osteopath, having nothing to show him neither xray nor pain in the bones or joints …
    ….. He told me that things like that often happen !
    like when we take appointement to go the dentist having tooth pain …. the pain dissapears suddently …
    One doctor told me that the simple “intention” of wanting to heal our body (taking the appointement, going to the doctor) may sometimes HEAL or start the healing process …
    So .. probably related with AWARENESS !
    I have many more stories about this, but it would be too long !
    Yet i do believe and experience that both awareness and communication with the body, with the organs, matter of the body which is INTELLIGENT, may HEAL … and Heals …
    Om shanti
    Isabelle

    Reply
  3. Hi Dr. John! Great article! Thanks for bringing this to light – I was unfamiliar with pulse reading as a healing technique! I clicked on the resources that you provided however none of them worked – it said page not found. If you have any other links, I would be so grateful if you could please share them. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. I love this topic and all your topics seem to be just what I needed to reaffirm my armchair theories…Especially about self awareness thanks for your research and help in making the world a more educated place :]

    Reply
  5. Such a daring article! Thank you, Dr.John, for giving the public insight into the spiritual realm of the human nature! Self-awareness – isn’t it all that this website is about 🙂 It is also the thing that I personally wish so much to achieve!
    By the way I usually go to the doctor to hear their professional opinion of the situation and then do nothing of the prescribed. To me it seems having a diagnose is pretty enough for a healing process to begin. Thank you, thank you ever so much for validating the truth!

    Reply
  6. Fabulous information. I had never heard/ read anything like this.
    To me, it kind of explains how most times when one is ill and goes to a Doctors office for an appointment, just being there almost makes you feel better… even before you’ve had the opportunity to see the Doctor.
    Getting a diagnosis as one other person mentioned, is sometimes all you need to feel better. At least after a diagnosis one knows what he/ she is up against. It’s empowering in a sense.
    Thank you for sharing your Wisdom, it is Greatly Appreciated.

    Reply
  7. I have always thought that there was something behind the placebo effect so I enjoyed this analysis because I was always curious about Einstein’s ‘spooky action at a distance’ between two particles too. I know Dr. Douillard is just hypothesizing here but don’t many great discoveries start with a hypothesis? I have always thought that Yoga was miraculous in my life. Whether this is true or not, it does not matter, I will always keep doing Yoga and meditating, but it is fun to think of the possibilities!

    Reply
  8. Hi! Based on the comments it looks like this might be a re-post. Is the rest of the 6 part series posted already or will they also be re-posted? I’m eager to see what else you have to say on this topic. I’ve had a similar thought about the placebo effect, which I so wish could work on me, but I spent many years as a die hard cynic believing NOTHING works (both Western medicine and Eastern/alternative medicine approaches I’ve tried like acupuncture and herbal medicine) so…nothing works =(.

    Reply

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