Yoga for Kidney Stones | Cure for Kidney Stone
What is Kidney Stone?
The medical name for kidney stones is Urolithiasis. It is very painful and occurs in the urinary tract. Our urine contains dissolved salts. Sometimes these salts crystallize and form hard stones. These stones are composed of uric acid, cystine, struvite, oxalate or calcium.
On rare occasions there is no pain even with the presence of kidney stones. But pain occurs when the stones are passing down the ureter (this is the pipe through which urine is drained from the kidney to the bladder). If the stone is larger than the diameter of the ureter, it gets stuck, causing pain and bleeding. Sometimes this leads to a more serious infection of the kidneys as the flow of urine is totally blocked and collects in pools in the kidney and upper part of the ureter. This might even lead to kidney damage if not treated in time.
What Causes Kidney Stones?
Many factors could lead to kidney stones:
- Kidney stones are usually related to low intake of water. As mentioned earlier, urine contains many salts. When there is low intake of fluids, the salts do not dissolve completely. Thus, they are unable to be flushed away easily and form hard stones. Less fluid also means that saturation with salts is higher, leading to stone formation.
- Lack of exercise also causes kidney stones, because sufficient exercise allows excessive salts and toxins in the body to be flushed away.
- Sometimes, urinary tract infection or intestinal problems causes extra calcium to be absorbed, leading to formation of kidney stones.
- Sometimes, kidney stones occur because the urine is lacking in some normal and crucial enzymes which inhibit formation of stones.
Symptoms of Kidney Stones
There is terrible pain in the lower back and buttocks, and also in the genital area. It could be accompanied by fever and chills, pain in the abdomen and nausea. You may also constantly feel the urge to pass urine. Sometimes, blood appears in the urine.
Get rid of kidney stones
While the cure for kidney stone usually requires surgery, alternative treatment has been found to be less painful. Yoga for kidney stones has been found to be especially effective.You can try the Shankha Prakshalana to get rid of kidney stones. ‘Shankha’ denotes conch, and ‘prakshalana’ denotes washing away. In this case, shankha refers to the alimentary canal right from its beginning in the mouth to its end at the anus. Thus, Shankha Prakshalana will help to cleanse the entire alimentary canal and flush out extra toxins and salts.
Other yoga poses for kidney stone relief are:
- Wind Relieving Pose (Pavanmuktasana)
- Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
- Raised Feet Pose (Uttanpadasana)
- Plough Pose (Halasana)
However, increase your intake of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin E, and foods which will help to dissolve the kidney stones, such as kidney beans, pomegranates, watermelon, celery and rice. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.