Restoring the Body From Wear and Tear + Week 3, Part 2 of Panchakarma
Week 3, Part 2 of Panchakarma
The body is a beautiful, complex and loyal servant. A holy vehicle that allows us to live out our lives.
The body is a temple for the soul.
It doesn’t ask for much… good food, fresh air, some movement and rest.
Yet, with modern living, it’s getting harder and harder to give the basic needs to the body. To keep up with the impossible pace, to fit it all in..
I was thinking how is it that we have more technology than ever before, more advancements and yet we have less time to take care of ourselves than ever before?
The Industrial Revolution pulled people out of the villages, away from their farms, away from nature, in hope for a better life. Making society more efficient, more productive…
Yet, now we fit more in. Not a second is wasted.
Not every moment it meant to be filled.
We need empty time to be, to ponder, to rest and recover.
Has this productivity and efficiency made us happier? Has it made us healthier?
Being lazy, bored, inefficient, non-productive are all words saturated with shame. As though we need to be busy, be productive all the time, or we are lacking in value. This is a false belief that we need to eradicate so that we can rest without guilt.
If we do not make time for rest, we will be forced to.
What needs to be pruned in your life? What can you let go of, stop giving energy to; to conserve more energy for yourself, for your wellbeing?
Although times have changed, Ayurveda is still practical and applicable to our lives.
In fact, we need Ayurveda more now than ever before.
Chronic disease, many being lifestyle diseases arise directly because of modern living. Some of the reasons are living out of tune with nature. We are disconnected from her rhythms, many of us see blue light more than we see sunlight. We work when we should be sleeping and we push when we should be pausing.
Another cause is the increasing loss of traditional knowledge, we do know how or what to eat. Our diets are confused with bad combinations and processed food.
Our society is in need of guidance and instructions to avoid disease and Ayurveda has the answers. *Stay tuned for my book coming out later this year full of practical diet and lifestyle wisdom from Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is the medicine of Mother Nature and like any child growing up. Sometimes we have to go the wrong way to learn what is right… Our Mother will watch, she will always be there to help us when we ask and if we go the wrong way she will nudge us (pain, discomfort), but she will not interfere. We need to learn for ourselves.
Perhaps this is what modern society is going through - a developmental phase of rebellion against the laws of nature.
Yet, we are not robots, we are not machines even if we have a Iwatch strapped to our wrist and google glasses with access to infinite information. The body still needs maintenance.
Imagine if we drove our car for 30+ years without going to get the oil change? The tires replaced? It would not function well, if at all, and it would be an unpleasant sight.
Luckily, our bodies are not cars or machines. We have an innate healing system built in, how incredible! Our body can repair itself and renew itself.
It is important especially with modern living that we support our body’s natural repair and detoxification. We can do this through eating foods that are suitable for us, exercising, meditating etc. Ayurvedic Dinacharya can greatly support us - it is practical daily Ayurvedic practices that help support the body and slow down the aging process (article will be coming and this will also be in my new book).
We may not have to 2+ weeks to do a Panchakarma but there are other ways to integrate the benefits of Ayurveda into our lives. Doing a daily oil massage, getting Ayurvedic therapies, a kitcheri mono diet, a mini cleanse/rejuvenation, incorporating spices into our diet, eating fresh foods etc.
Your Ayurvedic Practitioner can help make a plan customized for you, which is important because everyone has different needs, schedules and budgets.
* Ayurvedic Medicine is completely customized to the person, it is not a one size fits all. My Panchakarma was customized to me, no Panchakarma will be the same, they are always different and the plan is based on many factors: The clients condition, the clients strength etc.
My Panchakarma Continued: Week 3 - Part 2
I continued with shirodhara for a couple more treatments and my nervous system began to deeply relax and I felt the restlessness ease away.
Then the final karma to be given is called ‘vasti’. I was given an oil vasti, then a decoction vasti and then an oil vasti. It is a medicated decoction enema that collects all of the remaining doshas, toxins etc and expels it out through the colon. It works primarily on vata. Yet, it also expels kapha and pitta. Without a Vasti, the Pachakarma is not complete.
It needs to be performed properly, following a protocol, because if it’s done incorrectly vata can flow in the wrong direction and the person can pass out. Vasti doesn’t last long, about an hour and then rest is taken. Mine went smooth, I felt calm and relaxed throughout the day.
My 21 day protocol is complete. Yay!
I feel very fortunate to have been able to come and do this at this time in my life. My body needed the love. I didn’t have any disease but came for prevention.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of a cure.
Modern life does its fair share of wear and tear. Even though I live by Ayurvedic principles my nervous system needed extra support after the last 7 years due to an incredibly stressful period. Also, just being exposed to EMF’s, having to sit for long periods because of work/study and all the other fun chemicals floating around in the environment.
Panchakarma is used for disease states but it thrives at disease prevention and helping to strengthen and restore the body. Due to wear and tear, sometimes we need a boost. Daily practice helps support us but if pressure is too great we need a reset to prevent falling into a depleted state which can lead to a disease.
I feel I have a fresh start as a new 7 year period begins. I am hopeful and optimistic of what is to come.
The changes that will occur from panchakarma will be more apparent after one month as the body needs to continue rebuilding and stabilizing itself. I will be taking rasayanas which are herbs that strengthen, nourish and replenish the body. As I mentioned in the last post, we must replenish the body after cleansing, otherwise we weaken it and do more harm than good.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience. Please subscribe and share with other like minded folks.
May you be happy and healthy.
Blessings,
Thalita