Panchakarma

As Auyrveda becomes more mainstream the word panchakarma is being bandied around i think a little carelessly. You will see websites advertising 5 and even 2 day panchakarmas which seems to me a little silly. When i first became interested in Ayurveda all i knew about was the standard hot oil massage which is called “Abhyangam: thats all ii knew about and when i read about Panchakarma it was described as a 42 day time frame that involved 21 days of cleansing and 21 days of rejuvenation. Sreedhari  has its own flavor of Ayurveda. Depending on the time a person is here and the conditions they are dealing with they are given specific treatments with special medicines and special medicated oils and teas. Everything is custom to the person. I have had totally different treatments than anyone else that is here. Here they are constantly giving you the medicines you need and are constantly using oils and medicated teas to remove toxins from the body. In the final week is the cleansing of these toxins. The picture on the right that looks like boiling oil is boiling oil. The medicines and oils can contain hundreds of herbs and ,many oils and are boiled sometimes all night long.

IMAGINE herbal smells and the sounds of the women talking in malalayam – a sing song up and down curly kind of language that uses more octaves than we even know about. After the treatment as you lie down you listen to the river, the cows and the women banging the clothes on the rocks and the birds crickets and the political loud speakers  for the upcoming election or a festival at the nearby temple and the dynamite at the distant quary.

In my final week I am having the Abhyangam hot oil massage and cleanses which a am resistant to describe  but my other 5 weeks have had different treatments, different medicated teas and oils and baths and medicines. I will describe them below.

They are always making more medicated oils and milks for treatments. Everyone is treated according to their Dosha, or constitution and of course tyhe condition which could range from back pain and arthritis to cataracs or cancer or endocrine problems.

In Ayurveda there are 3 doshas, Pita, Vata and Kapha. You can have a single or dual or can be tri-doshic. I am Vata-Pita so the oils and medications and treatments are designed for this type.

I will describe the six different massage treatments that I have had over my 6 week panchakarma. I cant tell you about the many different oils or medicines and herbs and such that were used but i will describe the treatments themselves. Each treatment is followed by a bath where you are scrubbed with a paste made of ground chickpea powder. After your treatment you are in a sort of heaven and are sent off to rest. Most treatment need 3 people, 2 are doing the treatment and one is reheating pouches or milk or oil.

my treatments

1. Dhanya Kizhi

This is where you have oil rubbed all over your body then they have these little pouches of herbs that they first press onto a hot pad of some sort then pound your body. Up and down on all 4 sides you are well pounded. They pound rythmicalls and there are 2 pounders. The picture on the right side shows pouches being made. Some people get powder and some people get leaves of some sort.

2. Ksheeradhara

This is where you are first rubbed all over with hot medicated oil then you have medicated hot milk poured up anddown all over the 4 sides of your body. It feels like the mother you never had. It is a return to the womb. This is good stuff

3. Pizichil

This is where two ladies pour hot medicated oil up and down your body while the third keeps heating the oil. Ofter they pour a pitcher up and down they then sweep the oil down with their hands so it is a massage as well.

4.  Navarakishi

Another treatment  is where you first have hot medicated oil rubbed all over your body they they soak their little pouches of herbs and rice powder in hot milk and rub that over your body in circular motions. This is all designed to remove toxins from the body and boost the endocrine and muscular systems

5. Avagaham

This is where you have a hot oil massage then sit  in a hot bath with special herbs for about 15 minutes. This is so relaxing i cant describe. The herb mixture  has been boiled all night long and is custom for each person. At about 12 minutes the sweat starts pouring out. Then lie down and rest.

6.Abyanga and Vastis

Each day of the final week you receive the hot oil massage and at some point in the day have either a little or big vasti.

Daily Schedule

• The schedule in a day is as follows:
  6am medicine – this one is very grainy and tastes a bit nasty
  7am tea
  9am breakfast
  12:45 pm medicine – this one is yummy like a sweet red wine only thicker
  1pm lunch
  3:30 tea
  5:30 medicine – this one can be nasty and needs lots of water to get it all down
  6pm dinner
  8pm medicine – this one is like molasses with many herbs and medicines
• The time of your treatment varies but happens every day
  Every day after your treatment you have an eye-wash.
  Once a week there is a clay facial mask which is really rolling back the years.