One in four urban women in 15 to 39 years of age group are estimated to have Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder/Syndrome (PCOD or PCOS). Symptoms include irregular or no menstrual cycle, obesity, infertility, acne, hair loss, unwanted hair, ovarian cysts and imbalanced testosterone / estrogen levels.
Women with PCOD are also likely to develop diabetes and cardiac disorders. Often cysts in the ovaries develop into large size which then needs surgery. But even then, the cysts tend to recur. PCOD also creates a significant risk of ovarian and breast cancers.
A woman suffering PCOD will have to spend anywhere from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakhs over 10 to 20 years on medications, artificial fertility, laser hair removal, skin treatment, diagnostic tests, weight-management programmes and so on. And there are large non-monetary penalties on relationships, workplace performance, coping with clinical depression and more. Unfortunately, due to the gynaecological nature of some PCOD symptoms, and the social stigma around infertility, PCOD is much suffered but rarely spoken about. PCOD is not taken seriously in the initial stages.
It is said that PCOD is triggered by stress, poor nutrition habits, low physical exercise and family history. But the disorder is not well-managed with traditional drug or surgery therapy.
Myth
A common myth is that weight loss can reverse PCOD. A clinical research paper published by gynecologists at Lady Hardinge Hospital & College, showed that 40 per cent of women with PCOD had normal weight. Exercise, healthy diet and weight loss, do help reduce symptoms but they have not been proven to reverse the PCOD.
Clinical Yoga Therapy
Yoga is well-known for its command over hormones and the endocrinological system. The clinical yoga therapy (CYT) takes it further, working on the hormone system to re-induce a natural menstrual cycle free from support of any drugs. CYT is the combination of modern diagnostics with multiple yoga techniques to target a specific condition. This is further customised to each patient’s clinical history. Even the diet needs to be modified to maximise the impact of the therapy sessions. CYT is meant to deliver results that are measured in elimination of symptoms as well as removal of root causes.
Asanas help prevent PCOD but they aren’t enough to cure the disorder. Once the timely menstrual cycle is restarted, the rest of CYT is focused on removing the cysts naturally. So far, there are well-documented cases of success in curing PCOD measured by ultrasound reports and various hormone blood tests. CYT is showing tangible results within two to three months. Natural, smooth menstrual cycle gets reinduced. Cysts get dissolved naturally and testosterone or estrogen levels get rebalanced. Insulin resistance goes down and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) also normalises.
Symptoms like excess weight, male hair growth, acne, infertility slowly disappear. CYT works to remove the root cause, instead of targeting the symptoms. Till now there has been no recurrence of the PCOD but the patients were also advised of a basic preventive regime, so that is considered important too. A few cases of natural pregnancies immediately after the CYT programme have bolstered the proof of success.
The quick delivery and safety profile of CYT is adding to the popularity. There are no side-effects, no drug interactions to worry about and no surgical interventions that can go wrong.
The writer is Dr Runvijay, Chief Yoga Mento at KarmaSpark Health Centre, Gurgaon