UNDERSTANDING WIND (Loong) DISORDERS
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What is the wind (loong) humour in Tibetan medicine? The general functions of the ‘wind’ humour (loong) concern sense perceptions, awareness and movements of body and limbs, respiration, swallowing food and drink, circulation of the blood, retaining and evacuating faeces and urine, opening and closing of the orifices, the workings of the nervous system and the circulation of the nutritive essence through blood.
To understand the importance attributed to loong, it is said that after conception, in the initial stages of development of a foetus in the mother’s womb, loong formed our body, sustained its development, and now keeps it alive. For this reason, the primal aspect of loong is referred to as Vital Wind (sog loong), meaning the very life force of the individual.
There are different types of loong, each with its own specific functions. These perform ordinary and extraordinary functions in both body and mind. Loong determines the ordinary physiological functions such as breathing, swallowing of food and drinks, excretion, movements, and exertion. It supports the assimilation of the nutritive essence by carrying it through the circulation of the blood, regenerates the organic components of the body, and confers physical strength.
Wind also plays a major role in mental and cognitive processes; it sustains memory and awareness, confers the sense faculties the capacity to perceive and gives the sense of physical and psychic equilibrium. Wind accompanies every state of mind, therefore it determines our feeling of happiness or sorrow, and our over all emotional stability or instability.
Loong is connected to the body’s energy circulation and to physical movement, a bridge between body and mind. In Tibetan Dharma discourse when talking about the mind engaging with subtle winds, the mind is compared to the rider and loong to the horse, where the two should interact harmoniously. If the loong is mastered beneficial effects will ensue in the body, energy and mind. A correctly flowing loong is pivotal not only for the progression of a meditator’s practice but also for any individual to be healthy, both physically and mentally.
You can understand the importance of correct functioning and flowing of loong to ensure good health and well being. Unfortunately, there are many ways in which this can be disturbed, fortunately there are three different ancient remedies, SEMDE, VIMALA and AGAR 35 that can help balance and strengthen your loong.
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Causes of Wind (loong) disturbances
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When loong becomes imbalanced it gives rise to various illness, both mental and physical. Often incorrect lifestyles and diets are at the root of these disturbances. If one follows a prolonged diet of excessively light and non-nutritious foods for a long time, like eating only yogurt and salad; or bitter foods with a coarse quality.
Health troubles, particularly those involving severe blood loss; acute diarrhoea or vomiting; exposure to cool breezes; and forceful retention or effort in physiological functions such as urination and defecation all affect loong workings.
Loong also feels the repercussions if we engage in overly strenuous physical or intellectual activities. Doing these when sleep deprived or on an empty stomach is particularly harmful. Excessive sexual activity, speaking too much, or crying also affects the loong. On a mental level, obsessive thinking can also create imbalances.
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How to Recognize Wind Disorders
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Wind disorders can manifest symptoms at different levels of our existence - body, behaviour and mind. At the body level, one’s tongue is dry, red and coarse, one has an astringent taste in the mouth, unhealthy or dark complexion, open pores of the skin and standing bodily hairs, and a dry and rough skin. Generally persons effected by Wind disorders become thin and physically weak. One may have problems with digestion such as abdominal distension and intestinal rumbling, constipation.
Uncomfortable physical sensations and pain are often present in this condition. The person may feel intense sensation of cold; cold shivering; dizziness; humming and buzzing sounds in the ears; stiffness at the limbs; constriction at the limbs; and even one’s clothes touching one’s bodily hair cause pain.
Pain manifests in the eyes and skin, hip bones, lumbar region, and in the joints; sharp pain during movements; and when the critical points of Wind humour are pressed. Shooting pains can manifest at the nape of the neck, chest and cheek bones. The particular characteristic of pain in this condition is that it is not fixed in one location but shifts from to different parts of the body.
The person may also cough in response to a sensation of obstruction in the throat; or cough up phlegm in the evening and around dawn. One may experience sighing; continuous yawning; unproductive retching; trembling; a wish to stretch; fondness for warmth; insomnia; loquacity or little inclination to engage in conversation with others.
At the mental level one experiences perceptive problems; unclear mind (loss of memory and attention); restlessness and anxiety; unmotivated irritability; mental and physical feeling of lightness and disorientation. These mental states can put our mental health at stake and are a constant feature of Wind disorders.
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How you can overcome loong disturbances
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Adopting a diet suitable for your constitution, as well as doing proper exercise, yoga, praṇāyāma, and meditation are also excellent important methods of reducing stress and controlling loong imbalances. There are also three very powerful and ancient remedies: AGAR35, SEMDE and VIMALA.
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