Significance of Natural Urges in Health

The human body is a wonderful complex system which has a number of ways to balance or eliminate the materials which could be harmful to the body. In order to facilitate the elimination of these substances, the body is equipped with urges that appear naturally. There are two types of natural urges: Non suppressible urges Suppressible urges

Non suppressible urges

According to Ayurveda, there are thirteen types of natural urges in the body which should not be suppressed. These are the natural calls from body which a person must attend to, as and when they appear in order to maintain the balance in the body, and to eliminate an element that might cause imbalance. The thirteen non-suppressible natural urges are:

• Urge to pass urine
• Urge to eliminate feces
• Urge to eliminate semen
• Urge to pass out flatus
• Urge to vomit
• Urge to sneeze
• Urge for eructation
• Urge to yawn
• Urge to eat (hunger)
• Urge to drink water (thirst)
• Urge to shed tears or cry
• Urge to sleep and
• Urge for heavy or fast breathing caused by over exertion

In our modern lifestyle, we find ourselves actually suppressing some or most of the natural urges of the body - we forcefully suppress the urge to sneeze when sitting in a meeting, the urge to eat when busy with work, the urge to pass urine while watching a favorite show on television, or the urge to eliminate flatus (fart) or yawn while in public. These suppressed natural urges could be the cause of sickness. Below is a description of disorders caused by suppressing each natural urge.

Urine:

Suppression of the urge to pass urine causes pain in bladder and phallus, dysuria, headache, bending of the body and distension of the lower abdomen.

Feces:

If one holds the urge for defecation, it causes colic pain, headache, retention of feces, distension of abdomen, wind formation, and cramps in the calf muscles.

Semen:

One should not forcefully suppress the urge to discharge semen. Although Ayurveda promotes preservation of semen as it is a part of the shukra dhatu, its forceful suppression is not advised. Suppression of the urge to discharge semen causes pain in the phallus and testicles, malaise, cardiac pain and retention of urine.

Flatus:

If one suppresses the urge for passing flatus, it causes retention of feces, urine and flatus, distension of abdomen, pain in stomach, and other abdominal diseases caused by aggravation of vata.

Vomiting:

The diseases caused by the suppression of the urge for vomiting are pruritus, urticaria, anorexia, black pigmentation of face, edema, anemia, fever, skin diseases, nausea and erysipelas.

Sneeze:

Suppression of the urge to sneeze causes ailments like torticollis, headache, facial paralysis, and weakness of the sense organs.

Eructation or belching:

Suppression of eructation causes hiccup, dyspnea, lack of desire to eat, tremor, obstacles in the proper functioning of heart and lungs.

Yawn:

Suppression of yawning causes convulsion, contractions, numbness, tremor and shaking of the body. All these are the diseases caused by aggravation of vata. While yawning, the body expels the unwanted vata from the body and if it is forcefully retained, it causes a number of vata disorders.

Hunger:

By suppressing hunger, one subjects himself to emaciation, weakness, change in bodily complexion, malaise and giddiness.

Thirst:

Suppression of thirst causes dryness of throat and mouth, deafness, exhaustion, weakness and cardiac pain.

Tears:

By suppressing tears, one may develop eye diseases, heart diseases, headache, vertigo and giddiness. Holding back the tears also blocks the emotions and this could lead to mental worry, depression and irritation.

Sleep:

Suppression of the urge to sleep causes yawning, malaise, drowsiness, constipation, body ache, headache and heaviness in the eyes.

Breathlessness due to exertion:

Suppression of this urge may lead to heart diseases, respiratory tract disorders, and fainting.

According to Ayurveda, the first line of treatment in all diseases is "avoid the cause". Therefore, all diseases that can be caused by the suppression of the various natural urges can be prevented simply by not suppressing any of them.