help people live long, healthy, and well-balanced lives. The term
Ayurveda is taken from the Sanskrit words ayus, meaning life or
lifespan, and veda, meaning knowledge. It has been practiced in India
for at least 5,000 years and has recently become popular in Western
cultures. The basic principle of Ayurveda is to prevent and treat
illness by maintaining balance in the body, mind, and consciousness
through proper drinking, diet, and lifestyle, as well as herbal
remedies. Maharishi Ayurveda, however, emphasizes the role of supreme
consciousness in maintaining good health, and promotes transcendental
meditation (TM) as a way to experience the pure consciousness of the
universe. It also highlights the expression of positive emotions and
the need to attune your life to the natural rhythms of the body.
Based on the abstract it is not known which ayurveda herbal
preparations were given or if they were used. For example the
ayurveda herbal preparation of Shirishavaleha, which is prepared from
heartwood, and is thought to have significant immunomodulatory
activity, but the results could for example, be mistakenly attributed
to Transcendental Meditation. It is also not known if results could be
attributed to a placebo effect.
Clin Rheumatol. 2012 Jan 27. [Epub ahead of print]
Treatment of fibromyalgia at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in
Norway II-a 24-month follow-up pilot study.
Rasmussen LB, Mikkelsen K, Haugen M, Pripp AH, Fields JZ, F=F8rre OT.
Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre, Sjusj=F8vegen 1332, 2610, Mesnali,
Norway, lars.rasmussen@ayurveda.no.
Abstract
Treatments offered at the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway
are based on Maharishi Vedic Medicine (MVM). MVM is a
consciousness-based revival by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of
the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program of the ancient Ayurvedic
medicine tradition in India.
To extend from 6 to 24 months, a pilot study of the effects of the
treatment program at the Health Centre on fibromyalgia. Retesting 2
years after a clinical trial. In this intention to treat study, 31
women with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia received an individually
tailored program of (1) physiological purification therapy (Maharishi
Panchakarma) and (2) Ayurvedic recommendations regarding daily routine
and diet including a novel approach to food intolerance.
Five subjects chose to learn TM for stress reduction, pain management
and personal development. All were recommended Ayurvedic herbal
products for follow-up treatment. A modified Fibromyalgia Impact
Questionnaire (FIQ) that included seven dimensions. Scores at 24
months follow-up were compared with pre-treatment scores.
At 24-months follow-up, there were significant reductions (26% to 44%)
in six of the seven fibromyalgia dimensions: impairment of working
ability, pain, tiredness, morning tiredness, stiffness and anxiety.
The 7th, depression, decreased 32% (borderline significant).
At 24 months, the four subjects who continued practising TM, had
almost no symptoms and significantly lower FIQ change scores (-92% to
97%) than the non-meditators on all outcomes. This pilot study
suggests that the treatments and health promotion programs offered at
the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Norway lead to long-term
reductions in symptoms of fibromyalgia, which is considered a
treatment-resistant condition, and further studies are warranted.
PMID: 22278161 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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