Stomach Pain: Ayurvedic Treatment, Causes & Natural Remedies

Stomachache is a very ambiguous symptom. Many causes are possible: acid stomach, acid indigestion, constipation, eating the wrong kind of food, even toxicity in the liver. All these, and other factors, can create abdominal aches and pains. To treat a stomachache intelligently and effectively, first we have to rule out the serious causes, such as appendicitis, enteritis, gastritis, and colic. You may need a physician’s help to determine the cause. But for a common tummy ache, Ayurveda offers numerous simple, natural, and effective home remedies.

See also “Indigestion” Stomachache is a very ambiguous symptom. Many causes are possible: acid stomach, acid indigestion, constipation, eating the wrong kind of food, even toxicity in the liver. All these, and other factors, can create abdominal aches and pains. To treat a stomachache intelligently and effectively, first we have to rule out the serious causes, such as appendicitis, enteritis, gastritis, and colic. You may need a physician’s help to determine the cause. But for a common tummy ache, Ayurveda offers numerous simple, natural, and effective home remedies.

HERBAL REMEDIES

• Mix together ⅓ teaspoon cumin powder, a pinch of hing (asafetida), and a pinch of rock salt. Chew well; wash down with warm water. • For stomachache associated with diarrhea, rub a little fresh ginger juice on your stomach, around the belly button. • Try the Ayurvedic herb shankavati. It ordinarily comes in tablets; just take 1 pill twice a day, morning and evening. It will take care of an aching stomach. • If you don’t find shankavati, take lasunadivati, 1 tablet twice a day after food. • Another helpful herb is ajwan (Indian celery seed), which you can usually buy from an Indian grocery shop. Mix ½ teaspoon with ¼ teaspoon baking soda, chew the mixture, and drink it down with a little warm water. • If this doesn’t relieve your stomachache, mix together some roasted fennel, roasted cumin, and roasted coriander seed, and chew on about ½ teaspoon of the mixture. (Roast these seeds individually—that is, one type at a time—in a heavy cast iron pan, stirring constantly so they don’t burn. Then mix them together.) • To relieve indigestion, take ¼ cup of fresh onion juice with ½ teaspoon honey and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

TWO HERBAL TEAS

• Make some cumin-coriander-fennel tea. Mix the three herbs in equal proportions, and use ½ teaspoon per cup of water. Drink 2 to 3 times a day to help soothe an aching stomach. • Another simple tea can be made of equal amounts of the common Western herbs angelica, chamomile, and comfrey. Mix them together, and steep about ½ teaspoon of the mix in hot water.

THE MASTER KEY TO PREVENT STOMACHACHE

Most of the time, a stomachache is due to indigestion and low agni (digestive fire). Here are four ways you can kindle agni:

• One of the best herbs to strengthen digestive fire is ginger. Before each meal, chop or grate a little fresh ginger, add a few drops of lime juice and a pinch of salt, and eat the mixture. Or just cut a thin slice of ginger, put on a pinch of salt, and chew that. • Ginger tea will also increase the gastric fire and reduce the stomachache. Boil a little fresh ginger (grated, chopped, or sliced), or use powdered ginger to make a tea, and drink it 2 or 3 times a day. • Draksha (Ayurvedic herbal wine) before meals will help to kindle the digestive fire. Use 2 to 4 tablespoons mixed with an equal amount of water. Or take a few sips of port or another sweet wine. • Another simple way to enliven your gastric fire is to use the common spice bay leaf. Steep ½ teaspoon of crushed or ground bay leaf in a cup of hot water for about 10 minutes to make a tea. Add a pinch of cardamom, and drink after eating.

ADDITIONAL REMEDIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

. If your stomach hurts, avoid eating any heavy meals, beans, meat, and heavier

EAT LIGHTLY

grains like wheat. It is better to be on a diet of kitchari, a combination of rice and dal that is easy to digest. (See this page for a basic kitchari recipe). Between meals, take some fruit juice.

FOR CHRONIC INDIGESTION . For chronic poor digestion and frequent stomachaches, prepare this herbal mixture:

trikatu 1 part chitrak 2 parts kutki 1 part

Take ¼ teaspoon before meals, with a little honey and fresh ginger juice. If you don’t have fresh ginger, just use honey. This mixture will help strengthen the digestive fire.

. When you have an upset stomach, Ayurveda recommends that you just

TAKE A BREAK FROM EXERCISE

rest, read, and relax as much as you can until the condition clears. Exercise, including yoga asanas, is not recommended. Stress

Stress is a psychosomatic disorder that has many causes in our day-to-day life. We may get stressed when traffic is jammed, when we have to stand in a long line, or when we deal with a difficult work situation. An all-too-common cause of stress is the feeling that we have too much to do and too little time to do it. Unemployment is another potential source, as are pollution and crime. Even watching crime stories day after day on television builds up stress. An unhappy relationship, a dominating spouse, faulty plumbing, school exams, burn- out at work—the list of causes is virtually endless. Stress, in turn, may trigger allergies, asthma, herpes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. It may even lead to a heart condition. It can induce an imbalance of vata, pitta, or kapha, depending on the individual’s prakruti (constitution). Generally, vata individuals are likely to develop vata-aggravated stress reactions, such as anxiety or fearfulness, even phobias or anxiety neurosis. Pitta individuals increase in pitta during stressful situations and typically react to stress in the form of anger. They may also suffer from hypertension, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, and other pitta disorders. Kapha individuals under stress can develop underactive thyroid function, slow metabolism, and even increased blood sugar, leading to a prediabetic condition. They tend to eat and eat and eat and become chubby.

. To prevent the buildup of stress, the first line of defense is to stay calm

TAKE A RELAXATION BREAK

and cool during potentially stressful circumstances. Take long, deep breaths, and breathe out your stress. Relax. Have a massage, or give yourself an oil massage by rubbing a few ounces of warm oil on your body, from head to toe. Vata individuals should use sessame oil, pitta individuals sunflower oil, and kapha individuals corn oil. After your massage, take a hot shower or a hot tub bath. Mental techniques such as positive imagery, prayer, singing and chanting, and meditation, as well as regular yoga exercises, are all effective to minimize and remedy stress.

. Separate the things in your life that you find stressful into two categories:

ANALYZE YOUR STRESS

things you can do something about, and things you can’t. If you can do something about it, then do it! If there’s nothing you can do, then surrender to it. Accept it. When there’s nothing I can do about a situation, I have to surrender to it, and in accepting it, there is peace.

. Stress is often the result of fear that is based largely on

MONITOR YOUR NEGATIVE THINKING

imagination. Look at your negative thinking, and replace it with positive thinking. Just changing your thinking or your attitude can alleviate much stress.

. Find the right match between your job and your personality. Job

EXAMINE YOUR ROLE AND YOUR GOAL

stress is a terrible burden on many people when work and personality are not appropriately matched. If you love what you are doing, there is no stress. If you don’t love what you are doing and you still have to do it, that is very stressful. So you have to discover your true role and your goal. . A ginger-baking soda bath is quite soothing. Add ⅓ cup ginger and ⅓ cup

A SOOTHING BATH

baking soda to a hot bath for greater relaxation and healing.

OILS FOR RELAXATION . Rub a little brahmi oil on the soles of your feet and on your scalp at bedtime.

• Put one drop of pure castor oil (with no preservatives) into each of your eyes, and rub a little on the soles of your feet for a calming, soothing effect.

. Do nasya with brahmi ghee or plain ghee. Put 5 drops of the ghee into

USE MEDICATED NOSE DROPS

each nostril. (Refer to the nasya instructions in appendix 3.)

. A tea made from equal proportions of the herbs chamomile, comfrey, and

STRESS-REDUCING TEA

angelica will be relaxing. So will brahmi tea, which you can make by adding a cup of boiling water to ½ teaspoon brahmi. Or try a tea made from equal amounts of these herbs:

brahmi bhringaraj jatamamsi shanka pushpi

Steep ½ teaspoon in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes. You can drink this tea 2 or 3 times a day for stress management.

. Certain specific asanas are effectively used for management of stress,

YOGA STRETCHING

especially the Shoulder Stand, Plow pose, Spinal Twist, and Locust pose. The Lion pose is also effective for relieving stress. (Asana illustrations appear in appendix 4.)

. Sit in the Lotus pose or the Easy pose (legs comfortably crossed) facing east, and

MEDITATION

meditate. Just observe the inflow and outflow of your breath, or do the So-Hum meditation (described in chapter 7).

. Ujjayi pranayama is deeply calming and helpful for relieving stress. You can

BREATHE AWAY STRESS

do it sitting up, or try lying on your back in Savasana (the “corpse” or rest pose) and doing this breathing exercise. (See instructions in chapter 6.)

. If you have a lot of grief and sadness, it will help to cry out your stressful

LET YOURSELF CRY

feelings. Crying is an excellent release for emotions.

. Laughter is another good way to relieve stress. Try it, even if it is

LAUGHTER IS GOOD MEDICINE

forced at first. Just start laughing! Soon real laughter will come and with it the release of tension and stress.

START YOUR WEEK WITH MEDITATION . Many people experience extra stress on Monday. They have to travel a long distance to work and start another week at a job they don’t enjoy. It’s a fact that heart attacks are more common on Mondays. To help you reduce stress at this crucial time, keep in mind that Monday is the day of the moon, and the moon represents the mind. So begin Monday morning—and your week—with 15 to 20 minutes of meditation before going to work. Regular daily meditation, morning and evening, is one of the best things you can do to keep your stress level low.

• bhringaraj
• black pepper
• brahmi
• cardamom
• castor
• chitraka
• coriander
• cumin
• fennel
• ghee
• ginger
• jatamamsi
• kutki
• pepper
• shankhapushpi
• trikatu

Shula literally means "spear" or "thorn" — a vivid description of the sharp, piercing pain that characterizes abdominal colic. In Ayurveda, Shula is primarily a Vata disorder. Pain itself is always a Vata phenomenon — no other dosha produces pain. But the type of Shula varies based on which dosha provokes Vata into creating it.

Vataja Shula (Wind-Type Pain)

The most common type. Caused by cold foods, fasting, irregular meals, excess dry food, anxiety, and gas buildup. The pain is sharp, shifting, colicky — it moves around the abdomen and is relieved by warmth, pressure, and passing gas. This is the everyday stomachache from poor eating or stress.

Pittaja Shula (Heat-Type Pain)

Caused by excess spicy food, alcohol, anger, and acidic foods. The pain has a burning quality, centered in the upper abdomen (epigastric region). It worsens with empty stomach and is accompanied by heartburn or nausea. Overlaps significantly with Amlapitta (heartburn).

Kaphaja Shula (Congestion-Type Pain)

Heavy, dull ache from overeating, excessive sweet/oily foods, or eating when not hungry. The pain is constant rather than colicky, with heaviness and nausea. Often accompanied by loss of appetite and coated tongue.

Common Modern Triggers

NSAIDs (ibuprofen/aspirin on empty stomach), excess coffee, food poisoning, anxiety, and menstrual cramps all cause Shula through different dosha pathways. Identifying which dosha is involved determines the correct remedy.

For comprehensive digestive management, see digestion.

Preventing Shula means maintaining strong, stable Agni and keeping Vata calm in the abdomen. Most recurrent stomachaches trace back to a handful of correctable habits.

Protective Foods

Habits That Prevent Stomachache

Eat at regular times — your gut expects food on schedule. Chew thoroughly — digestion begins in the mouth. Don't drink ice water with meals. Never take NSAIDs on an empty stomach. Avoid eating when emotionally upset — stress hormones shut down digestive function. Wait until the previous meal is digested before eating again (3-4 hours minimum).

Lifestyle Practices

A short walk after meals prevents Vata stagnation. Vajrasana (kneeling pose) after eating improves blood flow to the stomach. Abhyanga (warm oil massage) on the abdomen with sesame oil calms Vata. Regular sleep patterns stabilize all dosha rhythms. Avoid eating your heaviest meal after 7 PM.

While most stomachaches are harmless, certain patterns demand immediate medical attention. Do not attempt home treatment if you experience:

• Severe, sudden abdominal pain that makes you double over or unable to move
• Rigid, board-like abdomen that's painful to touch (possible peritonitis)
• Pain localized to the lower right abdomen with fever (possible appendicitis)
• Vomiting blood or passing black/tarry stools
• Pain after abdominal trauma (fall, accident, blow to the abdomen)
• Pain with high fever (above 101°F/38.5°C)
• Pain with inability to urinate or blood in urine
• Persistent pain lasting more than 6 hours that's getting worse, not better

In women, severe lower abdominal pain with missed period requires urgent evaluation to rule out ectopic pregnancy. In children, persistent stomachache with lethargy and refusal to eat needs pediatric assessment. See digestion for the full Ayurvedic digestive framework.