What Is Ama? Understanding Toxin Buildup in Ayurveda

Ama is thus the root cause of disease. The presence of ama in the system can be felt as fatigue, or a feeling of heaviness. It may induce constipation, indigestion, gas, and diarrhea, or it may generate bad breath, a bad taste in the mouth, stiffness in the body, or mental confusion. Ama can most easily be detected as a thick coating on the tongue.

According to Ayurveda, disease is actually a crisis of ama, in which the body seeks to eliminate the accumulated toxicity. Thus the key to prevention of disease—once ama has begun to build up—is to help the body eliminate the toxins. To remove ama from the system, Ayurveda employs many internal cleansing programs. One of these, most widely known in the West, is a five-procedure program known as panchakarma (“five actions”).

The panchakarma programs used at Ayurvedic treatment centers include prepurification methods to prepare the body to let go of the toxins, followed by the purification methods themselves. The first preparatory step is internal oleation. The patient is asked to drink a specific, small quantity of ghee (clarified butter) every day for several days. The ghee creates a thin film in the body’s channels that lubricates them, allowing the ama lodged in the deep connective tissues to move freely, without sticking to the channels, to the gastrointestinal tract for elimination.

Internal oleation is done for three to five days or even longer, depending on the individual circumstances. This is followed by external oleation in the form of oil massage (snehana) and sweating (swedana). Oil is applied to the entire body with a particular kind of massage that helps the toxins move toward the gastrointestinal tract. The massage also softens both the superficial and deep tissues, helping to relieve stress and to nourish the nervous system.

Then the individual is given a steam bath, which further loosens the toxins and increases their movement toward the gastrointestinal tract. After three to seven days of these procedures, the doshas will have become well “ripened.” At this point the physician will determine that the patient is ready to eliminate the aggravated doshas and accumulated ama. One of the five karmas or actions is selected as the most expedient route to eliminate the excess doshas. These procedures may include: • therapeutic vomiting (vamana) to remove toxins and excess kapha from the stomach; • purgation or laxative therapy (virechana) to help remove ama and excess pitta from the small intestines, colon, kidneys, stomach, liver, and spleen; • medicated enema therapy (basti) to help remove excess vata from the colon.