Significance of Natural Urges in Health

The human body is a wonderful complex system which has a number of ways to balance or
eliminate the materials which could be harmful to the body. In order to facilitate the elimination
of these substances, the body is equipped with urges that appear naturally. There are two types of
natural urges:

Non suppressible urges

Suppressible urges

Non suppressible urges

According to Ayurveda, there are thirteen types of natural urges
in the body which should not be suppressed. These are the natural
calls from body which a person must attend to, as and when they
appear in order to maintain the balance in the body, and to
eliminate an element that might cause imbalance. The thirteen
non-suppressible natural urges are:

Urge to pass urine

Urge to eliminate feces
Urge to eliminate semen
Urge to pass out flatus
Urge to vomit
Urge to sneeze
Urge for eructation
Urge to yawn
Urge to eat (hunger)
Urge to drink water (thirst)
Urge to shed tears or cry
Urge to sleep and
Urge for heavy or fast breathing caused by over exertion.

In our modern lifestyle, we find ourselves actually suppressing some or most of the natural urges
of the body - we forcefully suppress the urge to sneeze when sitting in a meeting, the urge to eat
when busy with work, the urge to pass urine while watching a favorite show on television, or the
urge to eliminate flatus (fart) or yawn while in public. These suppressed natural urges could be
the cause of sickness. Below is a description of disorders caused by suppressing each natural
urge.
Urine
Suppression of the urge to pass urine causes pain in bladder and phallus, dysuria, headache,
bending of the body and distension of the lower abdomen.
Feces
If one holds the urge for defecation, it causes colic pain, headache, retention of feces, distension
of abdomen, wind formation, and cramps in the calf muscles.

Semen
One should not forcefully suppress the urge to discharge semen. Although Ayurveda promotes
preservation of semen as it is a part of the shukra dhatu, its forceful suppression is not advised.
Suppression of the urge to discharge semen causes pain in the phallus and testicles, malaise,
cardiac pain and retention of urine.
Flatus
If one suppresses the urge for passing flatus, it causes retention of feces, urine and flatus,
distension of abdomen, pain in stomach, and other abdominal diseases caused by aggravation of
vata.
Vomiting
The diseases caused by the suppression of the urge for vomiting are pruritus, urticaria, anorexia,
black pigmentation of face, edema, anemia, fever, skin diseases, nausea and erysipelas.
Sneeze
Suppression of the urge to sneeze causes ailments like torticollis, headache, facial paralysis, and
weakness of the sense organs.
Eructation or belching
Suppression of eructation causes hiccup, dyspnea, lack of desire to eat, tremor, obstacles in the
proper functioning of heart and lungs.
Yawn
Suppression of yawning causes convulsion, contractions, numbness, tremor and shaking of the
body. All these are the diseases caused by aggravation of vata. While yawning, the body expels
the unwanted vata from the body and if it is forcefully retained, it causes a number of vata
disorders.
Hunger
By suppressing hunger, one subjects himself to emaciation, weakness, change in bodily
complexion, malaise and giddiness.
Thirst
Suppression of thirst causes dryness of throat and mouth, deafness, exhaustion, weakness and
cardiac pain.
Tears
By suppressing tears, one may develop eye diseases, heart diseases, headache, vertigo and
giddiness. Holding back the tears also blocks the emotions and this could lead to mental worry,
depression and irritation.
Sleep
Suppression of the urge to sleep causes yawning, malaise, drowsiness, constipation, body ache,
headache and heaviness in the eyes.

Breathlessness due to exertion

Suppression of this urge may lead to heart diseases, respiratory tract disorders, and fainting.
According to Ayurveda, the first line of treatment in all diseases is "avoid the cause". Therefore,
all diseases that can be caused by the suppression of the various natural urges can be prevented
simply by not suppressing any of them.