Dharan - Pulse behind the belly button

Amazon.com
Read eBooks using the 
FREE Kindle Reading App on Most Devices 

Old school Ayurveda practitioners believe that the pulse behind the belly button has a lot to do with our health, digestion, backache, constipation and a lot more. This pulse is called “Dharan”. This pulse can be found easily if you are lean or of average build. To find it lay flat on your back and press in the center of the belly button with the fingers and thumb held together at the tips. If the pulse is not dead center you may suffer from constipation, indigestion or diarrhea. Whatever the problem backache and weakness are always associated with the shifting of the Dharan. It does not happen to men as much as it happens to women and those of weak build. But very often we find healthy men being affected by it especially after an acute disease. It can affect those who go without a meal for long periods of time and if shifted it can affect your ability to eat properly.

If your Dharan has shifted it may not be easy to bring it back in many cases. I have suffered from this for many years. The symptoms I have whenever my Dharan shifts are: Loss of appetite, pain in the back on the right side where the ribs join the back of the abdominal cavity. It is an incapacitating pain. Linked to this is a sort of tension in the abdomen as if from nervousness. The loss of appetite is complete, I do not feel hungry at all and steadily lose weight, energy levels go down and I am completely bedridden for days on end. Associated with it is a semi formed stool and constipation with a soft stool. Evacuations become insufficient and incomplete. I feel good lying down but trying to stay upright for even an hour becomes impossible. In my case it is a chronic condition and I have to work on it every day to center it. Generally it can be centered with some effort and it stays there, but you need to monitor it if you suffer from backache and issues like constipation and indigestion, especially if the cause is unknown.

Yoga and Ayurveda understand the problems associated with Dharan shifting and suggest techniques to deal with it. Dharan shifting could be a temporary condition or a chronic one, like in my case. Dharan may shift to the right, left, up or down. In my case it always shifts to the left or down or somewhere in between. If it shifts left you can center it by lying down and kicking forward with the left leg. Keep checking and kick as many times as needed until it is centered. If it shifts to the right do this with the right leg. You could also lie down and lift your legs 6 to 12 inches up and hold them there as long as possible and repeat, to center the Dharan if it shifts left, right, up or down. An alternate exercise is to lie flat on your belly and hold your legs with your hands behind you and pull, arching your body backward as much as you can. Another technique is to take a towel and wrap it into a circle leaving a hollow in the middle. Lie down on top of this aligning the hollow with your belly button. If you suffer from a backache and there is no medical cause, you should look at the possibility of Dharan shifting. Backache can also happen if you have too much belly fat and weakness of the back muscles. I would suggest that everyone monitor the Dharan. It is also important to check the Dharan when you are feeling perfectly will to establish the baseline for yourself. Monitor it regularly and do the exercises if you have a backache and indigestion and find a change in the position of the Dharan from the baseline. The exercises for centering the Dharan are safe and will also strengthen your back and abdominal muscles.