Panchakarma is a thorough cleanse and detoxification process in the ayurvedic tradition. It has 5 (pancha) treatments supported with secondary treatments:
Snehanam
Vamana
Swedanam
Nasya
Abhyanga
Virechanam
Pirichil
Navarakizhi
Nirooha and Annwasan Vasthi
After a consultation, the ayurvedic doctor prescribes the treatment schedule. If the full treatment is prescribed, it takes 6 weeks and a further recommended 2 weeks to recover before resuming travel and work. All medicines and medicated oils are according to your constitution and condition. Here in Amritapuri, the oils and medicines are home grown.
Snehanam
Over 7-8 days, you take a large dose of medicated ghee every morning. This treatment regenerates every cell in the body. The ghee absorbs toxins and enables detoxification. Snehanam improves sleep, intestinal function, elimination and gets rid of stress.
Vamana
After a week of taking the ghee, you are assisted in vomitting which gets rid of all the toxins absorbed by the ghee. Vamana is good for congestion, fever and migraines. Vamana acts on plasma ( body viscous fluid eg blood plasma, cytoplasm), stomach, sinuses, lungs and the lymphatic system.
Abhyanga
Hand massage using a little medicated oil for 7 days. This makes the skin soft, brings clarity and alertness to the mind and helps people suffering from insomnia. Especially beneficial for people who do heavy physical work.
Swedanam
Medicated steam bath. You sit in a steam tent. Swedanam opens up the pores, eliminating toxins and enables absorption of medecines.
Swedanam is used prior to nasya.
Nasya
This is done over 7 days. Treatment is in the afternoon. After sitting in the steam tent until the face begins to sweat, medicated ghee is administered into the nostrils while you lie with your head tilting back. The oil effects the entire nervous system, sinuses, throat, thyroid gland, neck and shoulders. Nasya gets rid of mucous and improves mental clarity and breathing.
Virechanam
This is an oral purgative treatment. Early in the morning, you drink a laxative preparation. You are instructed not to sleep (inhibits detoxification), drink a small glass of warm water every half an hour and rest in your room, close to the bathroom! Cleanses the whole intestinal system. Excellent if you have excess pitta (bile) in the small intestine, liver, gall bladder, spleen and blood. Really effective for eczema and haemorrhoids. Virechanam has to be done at least 10 days before the Vasthis inorder to prepare the intestines. It is only for one day, you feel awful as you eject toxins both ends (mouth and anus), but well worth it as you feel great afterwards. Amma recommends doing this treatment once a month! It really makes you resolve to eat better and not put rubbish in your system, though unsurprisingly, I have very quickly forgotten my resolution.
Pirichil
This is my favourite. You lie on the wooden massage table and you are bathed with medicated hot sesame oil by 2 staff, one on each side, and gently massaged for 7 glorious days. This is great for joint problems, neurological problems. Pirichil relaxes the muscles, and nourishes your skin.
Navarakizhi
A very gentle massage with bundles of cooked milk rice and medicinal herbs, leaving your skin super soft like a baby. Treatment is for 7 days and is good for meurological problems, paralysis, muscular problems, wasted weak muscles and it cools and helps regulate body temperature.
Nirooha and Annwasan Vasthi
This eliminates all toxins from the large intestine. It eliminates and helps to regulate vata (air) in the colon. Excess vata can lead to chronic conditions such as constipation, gout, arthritis and sciatica. Vasthi also helps to ease menopause. The treatment consists of small and big vasthi and is administered over 10 days. It is especially important to observe the guidelines on diet during this time so the treatment is not painful. Herbal rectal suppositories are administered.
My first panchakarma was in august 2011. I was not given the ghee/vomitting treatment. You are only administered whatever is required. Friends who have done this say it is awful. Maybe I got lucky!
My first vasthi treatment caused some pain; I think it is because I ate potato which causes gas, a mistake I will be very careful not to repeat this time. They adjusted the dose of the suppository for me and thereafter I was fine.
You do become very tired and sensitive during panchakarma; some people get emotional, crying, or irritable. Most of us feel the need to be quiet, to go within. The treatment facilitates personal reflection and growth as well as detoxifying on a physical level. You are advised not to read; I tried a bit but found I couldn't continue as I was too tired. You rest but cannot go to sleep during the day as this induces tamas (lethargy) and stops the detoxification process. You can do gentle light work, but not anything physically demanding or taxing. Your body becomes very soft and vulnerable like a baby. It is important to keep your head and especially the ears covered, particularly from wind. Do not sit under a fan, or go to the sea (too windy). Even now in March in Kerala, early in the morning, there is a cold wind.
Panchakarma is a great time for gentle spiritual practice; gentle yoga, meditation, japa mantra repetition, bhajans, pujas and homas. Basically it is a complete retreat for your mind, body and spirit.
If you do not have time for the full panchakarma, the Doctor will recommend treatment according to your condition and length of time available. During panchakarma, you will also have various ayurvedic preparations to take, generally around meal times, and usually these medicines are continued for a few months after treatment. The full effect of panchakarma lasts for one whole year. How you feel and react will be unique. Some people are not able to handle panchakarma and are therefore advised to stop treatments. Vomitting treatment is not prescribed over the age of 50, though you can still be given the medicated ghee to take orally.
Here, in Amma's ashram, the most wonderful benefit is the spiritual ambience and while being treated, the nuns/monks chant the 108 names of Amma and the 1000 names of the Divine Mother (Lalita Sahasranama), finishing with Lokah Samastah Sukinoh Bhavantu (May all beings have peace and happiness). They treat us with such devotion and respect, I feel comfortable placing myself in their hands.
The trade off is that you do not have specially prepared food during panchakarma except during virechanam and vasthi when they give lunch in your tiffin. Some people cook themselves.
I manage with what is available from the ashram food, canteens, fruit stall, juice bar and eco shop.
My usual breakfast is ragi porridge or ragi pancake. Ragi is red millet, has no gluten and is low glycemic (sugar load) and millet is especially nourishing for the bones and muscles. You can also get oatmeal porridge/granola, homemade almond milk & gomasio (ground black sesame-high in protein and best source of calcium). I bought organic sunflower seeds (high in Vit E) and organic almonds (more protein) from Amma's eco shop. I'm allowed a maximum 10 almonds soaked and peeled occasionally. During panchakarma we are advised to avoid fried foods, ice cream, cold drinks, carbonated drinks, chai, coffee, stimulants, wheat, baker's yeast, sugar, dairy except for buttermilk few times a week, excessively spicy food, eggs, cheese, soy products, raw food except for fruit, gassy foods such as crusciferous cabbage, cauliflower, chickpea. Avoid nightshades-white potato, tomato, eggplant, mushrooms & peppers (inflammatory). Also avoid peanuts and peanut butter (full of alfatoxins).
I buy fruit at the fruit stall; apples, mangoes, papaya, pomegranate, bananas. I made the mistake of having bananas during nasya; not a good idea as they are mucous forming. Do not have bananas during vasthi-they create air. Allowed grapejuice special without added sugar or water from the juice bar. Drink coconut water and you can eat young coconut jelly. Advised to drink about 3 litres water a day; if you eating the ashram food, it is also very liquid.
For lunch, I usually get the vegetable dishes from the ashram food-they generally have more veg at lunch and it is less spicy than other times. Western canteen also does plain steamed vegetables and a variety of foods such as pickled beets, salad and soups.
I'm now getting better organised and buying kitchari (rice and mung dal) before canteen closes so I have that to eat for supper; best eaten before 6pm. Otherwise after lunch, the main food canteens are not open till 8pm, except for snacks in the indian canteen; I have sometimes had appam and curry from there. We are allowed plain dosa (rice/urad dal pancake) and idlys (steamed rice/urad dal dumplings) but dosa is only available 8pm; idlys are sometimes available breakfast and lunch. When Amma is in the ashram, food canteens are open almost all day, you won't go hungry. Although recommendation is to eat before 6pm, I have sometimes eaten late; light soup is a good option. It is a bit difficult when seeing your friends tuck into pizza, fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and cakes! It is worth abstaining during panchakarma and be careful not to go wild afterwards. I was craving a change so sometimes having a a salad, raw coconut pie is probably not as bad as fried foods and sweets.
I am now on my second panchakarma. More on that in my next blog. I highly recommend you to consider panchakarma. I do it as a preventative, giving my whole system a clean and maintenance service. They say each panchakarma rids the body of about 40% accumulated toxins (ama).
We get toxins from many sources: in industrially produced food with thousands of additives, toxins in meat, poultry, fish and dairy, pesticides residue in food and drinking water, toxins resulting from impaired digestion, intolerances and allergies, environmental toxins on our clothing, our furniture, in our homes, pollution of air and water, harmful chemicals in cosmetics, household cleaning fluids, toxins from allopathic drugs and treatments, synthetic supplements, vaccines, toxins created in the body due to negative emotions, negative thinking and stress. Our body is also coping with increasing levels of electromagnetic forces in our modern digital age on top of naturally occurring cosmic radiation.
The human body is a remarkable collection of about 50 trillion cells, which specialize into varying tissues, organs and glands. Our digestive system is in reality EXTERNAL to our body (it is one very long hole from mouth to anus). Taking good care of our digestive system is vital for our well being. The body is continually detoxing through the actions of the liver, elimination through the colon, kidney filtration, lung excretion and skin sweating/secretions. Our stone age body is living in a very different world since rapid industralisation. I'm amazed how well our body interacts with this world, but in order to keep disease away, it is a good idea to support the body in detoxing as most of us are overloaded.
In the ayurvedic tradition, it is due to the accumulation of toxins that we succumb to disease. Panchakarma aids the body and mind to detoxify thereby preventing and healing diseases. Panchakarma is a process through which we can achieve a state of optimum health. It is recommended to undergo panchakarma annually for 3 years.
Snehanam
Vamana
Swedanam
Nasya
Abhyanga
Virechanam
Pirichil
Navarakizhi
Nirooha and Annwasan Vasthi
After a consultation, the ayurvedic doctor prescribes the treatment schedule. If the full treatment is prescribed, it takes 6 weeks and a further recommended 2 weeks to recover before resuming travel and work. All medicines and medicated oils are according to your constitution and condition. Here in Amritapuri, the oils and medicines are home grown.
Snehanam
Over 7-8 days, you take a large dose of medicated ghee every morning. This treatment regenerates every cell in the body. The ghee absorbs toxins and enables detoxification. Snehanam improves sleep, intestinal function, elimination and gets rid of stress.
Vamana
After a week of taking the ghee, you are assisted in vomitting which gets rid of all the toxins absorbed by the ghee. Vamana is good for congestion, fever and migraines. Vamana acts on plasma ( body viscous fluid eg blood plasma, cytoplasm), stomach, sinuses, lungs and the lymphatic system.
Abhyanga
Hand massage using a little medicated oil for 7 days. This makes the skin soft, brings clarity and alertness to the mind and helps people suffering from insomnia. Especially beneficial for people who do heavy physical work.
Swedanam
Medicated steam bath. You sit in a steam tent. Swedanam opens up the pores, eliminating toxins and enables absorption of medecines.
Swedanam is used prior to nasya.
Nasya
This is done over 7 days. Treatment is in the afternoon. After sitting in the steam tent until the face begins to sweat, medicated ghee is administered into the nostrils while you lie with your head tilting back. The oil effects the entire nervous system, sinuses, throat, thyroid gland, neck and shoulders. Nasya gets rid of mucous and improves mental clarity and breathing.
Virechanam
This is an oral purgative treatment. Early in the morning, you drink a laxative preparation. You are instructed not to sleep (inhibits detoxification), drink a small glass of warm water every half an hour and rest in your room, close to the bathroom! Cleanses the whole intestinal system. Excellent if you have excess pitta (bile) in the small intestine, liver, gall bladder, spleen and blood. Really effective for eczema and haemorrhoids. Virechanam has to be done at least 10 days before the Vasthis inorder to prepare the intestines. It is only for one day, you feel awful as you eject toxins both ends (mouth and anus), but well worth it as you feel great afterwards. Amma recommends doing this treatment once a month! It really makes you resolve to eat better and not put rubbish in your system, though unsurprisingly, I have very quickly forgotten my resolution.
Pirichil
This is my favourite. You lie on the wooden massage table and you are bathed with medicated hot sesame oil by 2 staff, one on each side, and gently massaged for 7 glorious days. This is great for joint problems, neurological problems. Pirichil relaxes the muscles, and nourishes your skin.
Navarakizhi
A very gentle massage with bundles of cooked milk rice and medicinal herbs, leaving your skin super soft like a baby. Treatment is for 7 days and is good for meurological problems, paralysis, muscular problems, wasted weak muscles and it cools and helps regulate body temperature.
Nirooha and Annwasan Vasthi
This eliminates all toxins from the large intestine. It eliminates and helps to regulate vata (air) in the colon. Excess vata can lead to chronic conditions such as constipation, gout, arthritis and sciatica. Vasthi also helps to ease menopause. The treatment consists of small and big vasthi and is administered over 10 days. It is especially important to observe the guidelines on diet during this time so the treatment is not painful. Herbal rectal suppositories are administered.
My first panchakarma was in august 2011. I was not given the ghee/vomitting treatment. You are only administered whatever is required. Friends who have done this say it is awful. Maybe I got lucky!
My first vasthi treatment caused some pain; I think it is because I ate potato which causes gas, a mistake I will be very careful not to repeat this time. They adjusted the dose of the suppository for me and thereafter I was fine.
You do become very tired and sensitive during panchakarma; some people get emotional, crying, or irritable. Most of us feel the need to be quiet, to go within. The treatment facilitates personal reflection and growth as well as detoxifying on a physical level. You are advised not to read; I tried a bit but found I couldn't continue as I was too tired. You rest but cannot go to sleep during the day as this induces tamas (lethargy) and stops the detoxification process. You can do gentle light work, but not anything physically demanding or taxing. Your body becomes very soft and vulnerable like a baby. It is important to keep your head and especially the ears covered, particularly from wind. Do not sit under a fan, or go to the sea (too windy). Even now in March in Kerala, early in the morning, there is a cold wind.
Panchakarma is a great time for gentle spiritual practice; gentle yoga, meditation, japa mantra repetition, bhajans, pujas and homas. Basically it is a complete retreat for your mind, body and spirit.
If you do not have time for the full panchakarma, the Doctor will recommend treatment according to your condition and length of time available. During panchakarma, you will also have various ayurvedic preparations to take, generally around meal times, and usually these medicines are continued for a few months after treatment. The full effect of panchakarma lasts for one whole year. How you feel and react will be unique. Some people are not able to handle panchakarma and are therefore advised to stop treatments. Vomitting treatment is not prescribed over the age of 50, though you can still be given the medicated ghee to take orally.
Here, in Amma's ashram, the most wonderful benefit is the spiritual ambience and while being treated, the nuns/monks chant the 108 names of Amma and the 1000 names of the Divine Mother (Lalita Sahasranama), finishing with Lokah Samastah Sukinoh Bhavantu (May all beings have peace and happiness). They treat us with such devotion and respect, I feel comfortable placing myself in their hands.
The trade off is that you do not have specially prepared food during panchakarma except during virechanam and vasthi when they give lunch in your tiffin. Some people cook themselves.
I manage with what is available from the ashram food, canteens, fruit stall, juice bar and eco shop.
My usual breakfast is ragi porridge or ragi pancake. Ragi is red millet, has no gluten and is low glycemic (sugar load) and millet is especially nourishing for the bones and muscles. You can also get oatmeal porridge/granola, homemade almond milk & gomasio (ground black sesame-high in protein and best source of calcium). I bought organic sunflower seeds (high in Vit E) and organic almonds (more protein) from Amma's eco shop. I'm allowed a maximum 10 almonds soaked and peeled occasionally. During panchakarma we are advised to avoid fried foods, ice cream, cold drinks, carbonated drinks, chai, coffee, stimulants, wheat, baker's yeast, sugar, dairy except for buttermilk few times a week, excessively spicy food, eggs, cheese, soy products, raw food except for fruit, gassy foods such as crusciferous cabbage, cauliflower, chickpea. Avoid nightshades-white potato, tomato, eggplant, mushrooms & peppers (inflammatory). Also avoid peanuts and peanut butter (full of alfatoxins).
I buy fruit at the fruit stall; apples, mangoes, papaya, pomegranate, bananas. I made the mistake of having bananas during nasya; not a good idea as they are mucous forming. Do not have bananas during vasthi-they create air. Allowed grapejuice special without added sugar or water from the juice bar. Drink coconut water and you can eat young coconut jelly. Advised to drink about 3 litres water a day; if you eating the ashram food, it is also very liquid.
For lunch, I usually get the vegetable dishes from the ashram food-they generally have more veg at lunch and it is less spicy than other times. Western canteen also does plain steamed vegetables and a variety of foods such as pickled beets, salad and soups.
I'm now getting better organised and buying kitchari (rice and mung dal) before canteen closes so I have that to eat for supper; best eaten before 6pm. Otherwise after lunch, the main food canteens are not open till 8pm, except for snacks in the indian canteen; I have sometimes had appam and curry from there. We are allowed plain dosa (rice/urad dal pancake) and idlys (steamed rice/urad dal dumplings) but dosa is only available 8pm; idlys are sometimes available breakfast and lunch. When Amma is in the ashram, food canteens are open almost all day, you won't go hungry. Although recommendation is to eat before 6pm, I have sometimes eaten late; light soup is a good option. It is a bit difficult when seeing your friends tuck into pizza, fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and cakes! It is worth abstaining during panchakarma and be careful not to go wild afterwards. I was craving a change so sometimes having a a salad, raw coconut pie is probably not as bad as fried foods and sweets.
I am now on my second panchakarma. More on that in my next blog. I highly recommend you to consider panchakarma. I do it as a preventative, giving my whole system a clean and maintenance service. They say each panchakarma rids the body of about 40% accumulated toxins (ama).
We get toxins from many sources: in industrially produced food with thousands of additives, toxins in meat, poultry, fish and dairy, pesticides residue in food and drinking water, toxins resulting from impaired digestion, intolerances and allergies, environmental toxins on our clothing, our furniture, in our homes, pollution of air and water, harmful chemicals in cosmetics, household cleaning fluids, toxins from allopathic drugs and treatments, synthetic supplements, vaccines, toxins created in the body due to negative emotions, negative thinking and stress. Our body is also coping with increasing levels of electromagnetic forces in our modern digital age on top of naturally occurring cosmic radiation.
The human body is a remarkable collection of about 50 trillion cells, which specialize into varying tissues, organs and glands. Our digestive system is in reality EXTERNAL to our body (it is one very long hole from mouth to anus). Taking good care of our digestive system is vital for our well being. The body is continually detoxing through the actions of the liver, elimination through the colon, kidney filtration, lung excretion and skin sweating/secretions. Our stone age body is living in a very different world since rapid industralisation. I'm amazed how well our body interacts with this world, but in order to keep disease away, it is a good idea to support the body in detoxing as most of us are overloaded.
In the ayurvedic tradition, it is due to the accumulation of toxins that we succumb to disease. Panchakarma aids the body and mind to detoxify thereby preventing and healing diseases. Panchakarma is a process through which we can achieve a state of optimum health. It is recommended to undergo panchakarma annually for 3 years.