Secrets of the Pulse The Ancient Art of Ayurvedic Pulse Diagnosis

by Vasant Dattatray Lad

Thousands of years ago, Ayurveda described multiple levels of the radial pulse that could be used to interpret the status of the organs and systems o the body as well as mental and physical constitutions of the individual. For the first time in the West, this book presents this ancient art and provides a method by which anyone can learn to read his or her own pulse. Imbalances and potential disease states can be detected in their early stages, giving one the opportunity to correct them before they affect the quality of life. With practice and guidance, one can acquire the proficiency to use this knowledge to heal self and others.
This book will give guidelines to think about various ways of feeling, reading and gathering information through the pulse. It is quite difficult to put subjective experience into words. It is an attempt to express these simple ways of feeling the pulse.

Genres: Health

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

An Indo-American Ayurvedic Physician, Vasant Lad brought a wealth of classroom and practical experience in Ayurveda to the United States. A native of India, he served for three years as Medical Director of the Ayurveda Hospital in Pune, India. He was Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Pune University College of Ayurvedic Medicine for 15 years. He holds a Bachelor’s of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAM&S) degree from the University of Pune and a Master’s of Ayurvedic Science (MASc) degree from Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya. Vasant Lad’s academic and practical training include the study of Allopathy (Western medicine) and surgery as well as traditional Ayurveda.

Beginning in 1979, he has traveled throughout the United States sharing his knowledge of Ayurveda. In 1984 he came to Albuquerque as Director, principal instructor and founder of the Ayurvedic Institute. Vasant Lad is the author of numerous books and respected throughout the world for his knowledge of Ayurveda. Vasant Lad is the author of 11 books on Ayurveda as well as hundreds of articles and other writings. With almost 500,000 copies of his books in print in the US, his work has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Reviews

[J]

If you are very curious about Āyurvedic pulse diagnostics, go for it. This could be the book for you. If you're a practitioner, you probably already have this on your shelf. But if you have only mild curiosity, find it at the library rather than buy it. It's probably too much for you in this case.

I went pretty fast through the more technical parts since I'm reading for general familiarity only. This gave me a casual first-time impression of the huge scope behind pulse diagnostics. According to Lad, a skilled practitioner can use the pulse to detect pregnancy, sex of the fetus, months since conception, how long some ill people will further live, specific types of infections, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and lots more.

The abundant hand-drawn illustrations make positions and relationships clear.

It is fun to see western medical terms mixed together with Āyurvedic descriptions. Snakes chasing frogs?! Haha!

pg 43
In addition, excess pitta in the liver may lead to chronic fatigue syndrome and mononucleosis, causing a person to feel tired and exhausted. This condition can be treated with several pitta-pacifying Āyurvedic herbs. If the liver enzymes SGOT and SGPT in a blood test are elevated, pitta in the liver is high.

pg 82
A pitta spike at the rasa dhātu site under the ring finger indicates lymphadenitis, which is inflammation of the lymph nodes. The pulse is full, slippery and stout.

pg 83
Erysipelas is a contagious disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissues due to infection with Streptococcus pyogenes, with redness and swelling of affected areas and sometimes with vesicular lesions. The pulse under the ring finger at the rakta dhātu site of the fifth level is distressed, weak and slender with frequent jerks and moves slowly like a snake chasing a frog, i.e., vāta pushing pitta.

And I like how this type of medicine acknowledges that the physical body does not delimit the entirety of the person:
pg 52
The heart is a most vital organ. When the heart stops, consciousness leaves the body in an ordinary person.

[Sujata Sahni]

Ayurveda is the art of daily living in harmony with the laws of nature. Of the eight clinical limbs, Ayurveda considers the pulse to be the most important. Pulse is the subtle manifestation of universal consciousness pulsating through a person's constitution. The pulsation of blood through the body caries nutrients to the cellular level. There is a continuous flow of communication between cells known as intelligence. Pulse revels cellular intelligence through a person's constitution. Commonly used words for the pulse are nadi, snayu, tantu and hamsi. The five basic elements air, water, fire, earth and ether manifest in the human body as three basic principles known as Tridosha. The air and ether elements create Vatta, water and Fire create Pitta and earth and water element creates Kapha. Vata element is cold, light, thin feeble and empty. Pitta is hot and abrupt, while Kapha is deep, slow, watery, wavy and cool to touch. Vatta, Pitta and Kapha move in the whole body producing good or evil effects upon the entire system according to their normal or provoked states. Their normal state is Prakruti and their abnormal state is Vikruti. The seasons, the sun rise and sun set impact the biological clock and may create doshic tendency. The book goes into depth on studying the pulse. When a person has more male energy, the right pulse will be prominent. When female energy is activated, the left pulse is more prominent. When the polarity changes, the amplitude of the pulse changes. The change in pulse depends on the breathing pattern. This change in pulse also impacts the thinking pattern, the left brain is masculine and governs all activity of the right side, the right brain is feminine and governs all activity of the left side. Prana shifts from the right to the left hemisphere. When the right brain is active, there is more female energy, a person is more compassionate, intuitive and loving. The left brain is masculine, which is mathematical, calculating, critical and scientific. Ones breathing has direct impact on his pulse and brain activity and the formation of his mental patterns which may have a direct impact creating doshas in the organs.

[Beatrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth approach to ayurvedic pulse reading. I myself gave up however before I put it into practice. Buy this book if you are serious about learning ayurveda and pulse reading. It's not for those who are just curious about the subject I think.

[Alok Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing read. just as a car has meters to tell the health of its various parts and systems, the pulse tells the health of different parts of our body. everyone should know its basics at least.

[Lia Alaverdyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book for a beginner.