About Ayuravastra

The Vastra
The Sanskrit word ‘Ayur’ means life and Vastra means dress. Ayur vastra clothing is made from organic cotton fabric that has been permeated with special herbs and oils that promote health and cure special diseases depending upon the blends of embedded herbs and oils. It is used by Ayurveda health clinics in the treatment of a broad range of diseases such as diabetes, skin infections, eczema, psoriasis, hypertension and high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, rheumatism, and even some forms of cancer. Ayur vastra cloth is completely free of synthetic chemicals and toxic irritants and is totally organic, sustainable and biodegradable.

Every step in the preparation of Ayurvastra cloth and clothing is carefully and precisely controlled which begins with 100% organic cotton that has been hand loomed no machine processing, no chemical additives to prepare the cotton fibers for spinning and weaving, no chemical finishes. The organic cotton yarn or fabric is then dyed in a carefully controlled mixture of herbal dyes depending upon the disease or ailment being treated. The temperatures of the dyes, the duration and number of the dye soaks, the blend of herbs, and even the equipment used are carefully controlled.

What is next?:
Now the Ayurvastra concept is also used on door mats, carpets etc to get rid of bacteria’s and various other germs, since many herbs have these tendencies to destroy germs naturally (Neem for instance). It also benefits the user with the natural aroma of the herbs.

Efficacy:
The State of Kerala Coir Department reported on a six-month clinical trial initiated by the Ministry of Health at the Government Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram India on patients suffering from rheumatism, allergy, hypertension, diabetes, psoriasis and other skin ailments. For the study, all clothes, bed linens and mattresses for the resident subjects were dyed in Ayurvastra herbs and the walls, floors and ceilings in the patient/subjects’ rooms were lined with Ayurvastra coir mats so that the patient were surrounded by Ayurvastra medicated materials. According to Dr. Vishwanathan, the former Dean of the Drug Research Department at Ayurveda College, "We treated around 40 people. And the response was remarkably good, especially in cases of arthritis and skin ailments."

The improvements for patients suffering from rheumatism and arthritis are especially interesting because rheumatism and arthritis are not skin disorders and indicate that the treatments might have health benefits that extend beyond topical skin problems.

By coming in contact with Ayurvastra, the body loses toxins and its metabolism is enhanced. The most effective time to wear Ayurvastra clothing is when the body is most at rest such as during sleep or meditating because this is when the body is naturally healing and re-establishing its balance. This is why Ayurvastra cloth is often used as sleepwear, bed sheets, towels, meditation clothes and coir mats.

Ayurveda identifies seven unique layers of the skin where each layer has a distinct function. Starting from the outermost layer, the seven layers defined by Ayurveda are Avabhasini, Lohita, Shweta, Tamra, Vedini, Rohini and Mamsadhara. Anything which can improve the skin’s natural ability to block and resist harmful chemicals and toxins from entering the body will be beneficial to health.The fourth layer, Tamra, supports the immune system and performs the function of acting as a barrier. Skin infections reflect an imbalance in this layer. Conventional Western medicine and traditional Eastern medicine recognize the skin as being the body’s largest organ. The skin can act as a barrier but also as a conduit for outside substances to enter the body.The Ayur vastra cloth and clothing can improve the skin’s ability to act as a barrier to external and environmental toxins, the wearer’s health might be improved.

Technology:
The process of herbal dyeing was developed through extensive research during the age old dyeing methods practiced since the days of the Indus Civilization (2500 BC). Some of the rare herbs are procured from Agasthya forests of Western Ghats by the tribal community. Every step in the preparation of Ayurvastra cloth and clothing is carefully and precisely controlled which begins with 100% organic cotton that has been hand loomed no machine processing, no chemical additives to prepare the cotton fibers for spinning and weaving, no chemical finishes. The organic cotton yarn or fabric is then dyed in a carefully controlled mixture of herbal dyes depending upon the disease or ailment being treated. Dyes for Ayurvastra cloth typically contain between 40 and 60 specifically blended and carefully prepared medicinal herbs, plants, flowers, roots and barks. The temperatures of the dyes, the duration and number of the dye soaks, the blend of herbs, and even the equipment used are carefully controlled. Around 200 herbs are used for making various types of ayurvastra. Each Kashayas for Ayurvastra cloth typically contain between 40 and 60 specifically blended and carefully prepared medicinal herbs, plants, flowers, roots and barks. The examples for these medicines are Salaparni (Gmelina Arborea), Dadima (Punica Granatum), Amalaki (Emblica Officinalis), Khair (Accacia Catechu), Haldi (Curcuma Longa), Kesar (Saffron/ Crocus Sativus), Sappan (Caesalpinia Sappan), Mahabharivacha (Alpinia Galanga), Aranika (Premina Latifolia Roxb), Adhapuspi (Trichodesma Indicum), Yavani (Trachyspermum Ammi), Agar (Aquilaria Agallocha Roxb), Tirucalli (Euphorbia Tirucalli), Irumullu (Xylia Xylocarpa), Rui (Calatropis Gigautea), Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera), Bodhi (Ficus Religiousu), Gandha-unakuli (Aristolochia Indica), Sugandhimoola (Vetiveria Zizanioides), Amaltas (Cassia Fistula ), Kakamachi (Solanum Nigrum ), Ajagandhi (Ocimum Basilicum), Chirabilva (Pongamia Pinnata), Shalparni (Desmodium Gangeticum), Chandana (Santalum Album ), Raktha Chandana (Sanicula Marilandica), Pathimukham ( Caesalpinia Sapans), Dadhiphala (Feronia Elephantum ), Tulsi (Ocimum Sanctum), Karanja (Derris Indica), Aksaphala (Drypetes Roxburghi), Chakramarda (Cassia Tora), Gammalu Aratu (Pterocarpus Marsupium ), Akschota (Jasminum Grandiflorum), Harra (Embelic Myrabolam), Gulgulu (Commiphora Mukul), Neem (Azadirachta Indica ), Jatamansi (Nerium Indicum), Chirtamutti (Pavonia Zeylanica), Aratta (Alpinia Calcarata ), Patavalli (Cyclea Peltata), Akil (Aquilaria Agallocha), Chikha-mula (Solanum Surattense), Shuddha Gairika (Strychnos Nux-vomica), Brhatphala (Benincasa Hispida ), Kewda (Pandanus Odoratissimus), Nirmali (Strychnos Potatorum ), Henna Leaf (Lawsonia Inermis), Manjistha (Rubia Cordifolia), Nagvalli (Piper Betle) etc.

Process:
The Ayurvastra reinforces the importance of sustaining the planet for future generations and for the well being of the current generation using age old practices, which do not add up to global warming but helps in minimising it.
There are two processes for making Ayurvastra. Firstly, the yarn is medicated before weaving and secondly, the fabric is dyed after weaving. The raw yarn is cleaned by a natural bleaching agent and dipped in Ayurvedic concoctions lasting from 4 hours to several days under controlled temperature. The encapsulation is assisted by a natural gum. It is allowed to dry and then is washed carefully to remove any loose particles.

Stage I: Bleaching
The processing of Ayurvastra begins with the washing of hand loomed cloth in natural mineral-rich water and sea salts to remove its sizing, gums and oils used in the course of spinning.
Stage II: Mordanting
To make the colours bright and fast a number of natural mordents such as bark of Lodhra (Symplocos racemosa), Kenduka (Diospyrose ebenum), fruit extracts of Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) etc are used. Alum clays, Iron clays are also used as mordent. But mordents like copper, chrome, zinc, tin etc are avoided due to the environmental reasons.
Stage III: Medication (Dyeing)
The organic cotton yarn or fabric is then medicated in a carefully controlled mixture of herbal medicine preparations called Kashayas depending upon the disease or ailment being treated. The word medication is used instead of dyeing because here the medicines itself gives natural colour to fabrics.
The temperature of the Kashayas, the duration and number of the medicinal soaks, the blend of herbs and the equipment are carefully used in a controlled manner. The medicated cloth is allowed to cool and repeatedly washed to remove any loose particles and is always dried in shades.
Stage. IV. Finishing
In herbal dyeing, finishing is done by sprinkling pure water on the cloth and then stretching under pressure, using hand rolls, allovera, castor oil etc.