“Kaun pada?”
“Tu pada!”
“Nahi re, tu pada!”
(“Who farted?”
“You did!”
“No yaar, you did!”)
It’s a timeless blame game — one that cuts across classrooms, boardrooms, and living rooms.
And while the giggles never get old, the shame attached to such a natural act is hard to ignore. We treat farts like social grenades and expect everyone to just hold them in.
But here’s the irony — while we’re busy suppressing our farts to avoid judgment, we’re setting ourselves up for discomfort, disease, and long-term imbalance.
And not just with gas. We silence sneezes, delay meals, hold our pee, suppress tears, and push through yawns — all in the name of being polite, productive, or “strong.”
Yet Ayurveda teaches us that these natural bodily urges — called Adharniya Vegas — are not meant to be controlled. They are signals, vital messages from the body. And ignoring them is like muting a fire alarm and wondering why the house burned down.
The Body’s Unsent Messages
In Ayurveda, these ignored signals are called Adharniya Vegas — natural urges that should never be suppressed. These include:
1. Urge to urinate
2. Urge to defecate
3. Gas (flatus)
4. Sneeze
5. Thirst
6. Hunger
7. Tears (crying)
8. Sleep
9. Cough
10. Vomiting
11. Breathing after exertion
12. Seminal/sexual urge
13. Yawning
Each of these urges is a communication from the body, and suppressing them disturbs Vata dosha — the energetic force behind all movement and nerve impulses in the body.
For example, vomiting is often controlled with medication — but we’ll come back to that later.
Once Vata is disturbed, it doesn’t stay quiet — it starts sending louder, more painful messages in the form of symptoms, and eventually, disease.
The Mom Who Eats at 1:30 PM
Take my friend’s mom. Every day, she wakes up early, does all the housework, cooks, packs lunch boxes, takes a bath, prays — and only then, around 1:30 PM, takes her first bite of food.
She often feels dizzy , fatigued, and her body aches. She doesn’t connect these signs to her delayed meals, but Ayurveda would say: her Kshudha Vega (hunger urge) is being suppressed daily. By the time she eats, her Jatharagni (digestive fire) is weak, leading to poor digestion and overall depletion.
This isn’t just her story — it’s a pattern we see in homes across generations, especially among women: skipping meals, ignoring thirst, delaying sleep, or holding back gas, tears, and emotions — all in the name of routine, responsibility, or “good manners.”
Suppression Comes at a Cost
Ayurvedic texts say:
“Vega sannigrahāt vyādhayo jāyante”
Diseases arise from the suppression of natural urges.
“Sarvam eva parityajya śarīram anupālayet”
“Abandon all else — first, take care of the body.” (Charaka Samhita, Nidana 6.8)
These urges aren’t optional; they’re necessary. When suppressed:
- Gas leads to bloating, pain, and disturbed digestion
- Hunger weakens Jatharagni, causing fatigue and nutrient loss
- Crying builds emotional pressure, causing headaches or eye issues
- Sleep leads to heaviness of head , eye strain , fogginess, and constant yawning
And that’s just a sample. Suppressing sneezes, urine, coughs, or even delaying breath after exertion can create ripple effects — headaches, respiratory trouble, acidity, anxiety, chronic fatigue, skin disorders, sexual dysfunction, and more.
But What If I Can’t Always Respond to Urges?
You don’t need to cry during meetings or fart in elevators. Life requires some restraint. Surgeons can’t pause mid-operation. Pilots can’t nap mid-flight.
The point isn’t to act on every urge instantly — it’s to recognize the signals, and respond as soon and safely as you can. The danger lies in habitual suppression.
Over time, suppression becomes unconscious. You don’t even feel thirsty until dehydration sets in. You don’t register hunger until you’re dizzy. That’s when disease creeps in — silently, and often irreversibly.
Ayurveda Offers Solutions, Too
The beauty of Ayurveda is that it doesn’t just warn — it heals. For every suppressed urge and its consequence, there are:
Ahara (dietary recommendations) to support digestion and recovery
Vihara (lifestyle routines) to re-tune your internal clock
Aushadha (medicines and herbs) to pacify Vata and eliminate doshas
Panchakarma therapies to deeply cleanse body of doshas if aggravated greatly
So if you’ve been suppressing for years, there’s still time to return to balance — with patience, guidance, and consistency.
A Body That Whispers Before It Screams
We often miss the early whispers — a dry throat, a tight belly, a yawn that won’t stop — until they turn into louder symptoms. But our body was never meant to be silent. It’s meant to flow, move, release, and rest. You’re not a robot — you’re an ecosystem. Robots don’t fart, sneeze, cry, or sleep. You do. Because you’re alive.
Listen Before It’s Too Late
You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight.
Start small: Step away to release gas, drink water, or breathe deeply
Sleep when sleepy — not just when convenient
Eat before you’re empty
Normalize talking about these urges — with children, family, and even yourself
Because holding back isn’t strength — it’s slow self-harm.
And next time your body tries to say something, don’t treat it like spam.
Read it. Respond to it. Respect it.