I am one of those people who used to ignore acidity until it became impossible to ignore. My work involves irregular timings, lots of tea and sometimes eating lunch at 4 in the evening. For nearly two years, acidity, gas and heaviness after meals had become normal for me.

I would take something whenever the burning became too much and then go back to exactly the same routine. Obviously, the problem kept returning.

One of my colleagues told me about SGT Ayurveda Hospital. Since Gurugram was manageable for me, I decided to visit and see what they suggested. I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic. In fact, I went mainly because my colleague kept insisting.

My consultation turned out to be quite different from what I expected. The doctor wanted to know what I ate from morning to night, when I slept, how often I drank tea, whether my appetite was regular and even how my bowel habits were. When I actually described my routine aloud, I realised how badly I was treating my digestive system.

The doctor explained the Ayurvedic approach to digestion in very simple terms and advised medicines along with changes in meal timings and food habits. Depending upon my condition, certain therapeutic procedures were also suggested.

The difficult part for me was not taking the medicine. It was changing my habits. I was told to stop leaving huge gaps between meals and then eating a heavy dinner late at night. I reduced tea, particularly on an empty stomach. I also started paying attention to which foods made the burning worse. These sound like very basic things, but I had never followed them consistently.

During follow-up visits, the doctors actually asked whether I had been able to follow the advice rather than assuming that I had. I admitted that I had cheated several times! Instead of giving me a lecture, they helped me find changes that were realistic with my work schedule.

Over the next few weeks, I began noticing a difference. The burning sensation was not occurring as frequently and I didn’t feel as uncomfortable after every heavy meal. I also started understanding the connection between my lifestyle and my symptoms. I think that was the biggest benefit of my experience at SGT Ayurveda Hospital. Earlier, I treated acidity as something that suddenly attacked me. Now I understand that my own routine can contribute significantly to how I feel.

The hospital itself felt organised and the staff were approachable. I also liked that Ayurveda was not presented to me as some magical overnight cure. I was repeatedly told that my diet and routine mattered. Today, I am definitely more careful about what and when I eat. I still enjoy my tea, and I’m certainly not living like a saint, but I have become much more disciplined. My experience taught me that sometimes treatment is not only about what medicine you take. It is also about understanding what you are repeatedly doing to your own body. That was something Ayurveda at SGT helped me recognise.