What’s Missing in Modern Cleanses + Week 3 of Panchakarma Part 1
Week 3 of Panchakarma : Do not skip this step
Love comes in many forms: A tender touch A loving smile A caring embrace A supporting hand A feeling of being held. With love, we can rest deeply enough to heal.
The first step was to prepare the body for the cleanse, then the oilation/cleansing phase - this I have already discussed in the last two post.
Now comes the next phase; rebuilding and strengthening the body.
This is an aspect that is greatly missing in other healing systems.
The body needs to be purified to deal with the toxin burden that can happen with daily living, but we cannot forget to strengthen the body afterwards. Otherwise, we have weakened the body. Created more space for vata to accumulate and degeneration to occur.
Modern western fasts and cleanses are equivalent to doing a renovation on your house and leaving it unfinished. Taking out parts of the house that are worn and dirty like that sink from the 1980’s, the moldy kitchen cabinets, or the trim around the floor that has gotten a beating over the years. It’s scraping old paint off the walls and then just leaving it.
Now, the house may appear cleaner, tidier but things are missing. Your cups may fall off the shelf, the water may flow to the floor where you do not want it to go. The house looks incomplete, space where there should be something, there is nothing. If this space is left open like this, over time something else will come to replace it to fill the space. Maybe newspapers pile up, dust bunnies, old dishes etc. Basically, things will flow where they shouldn’t and things will be filled with things that shouldn’t be there. Just like if we plow a field, Mother Earth will cover it with plants and trees very quickly. If we want to grow something before her, we need to get in there right after clearing. Then we can have a garden growing what we want.
Same with our bodies.
In a vast open void fear can creep in and call this place its own There. The light of Love must come to outshines the darkness Filling it through its illuminating rays Then all becomes ‘one’ Strong. Vital. Connected. Healed.
Week 3 of Panchakarma
After my body was cleansed we began rejuvenating treatments. For a few days I was given the luxurious oil bath. This treatment is called the royal treatment because it used to be reserved only for royalty. Its ability to impart strength, nourishment and youthfulness was and is highly regarded.
It is done with two people where warm oil is continually poured all over the body in a certain sequence. It is deeply relaxing, cleansing and rejuvenating. It can be used for individuals with arthritis, degeneration in the joints and muscles, stroke, nervous system disorders, to bring youthfulness and to stop the aging process.
I loved this treatment and it felt amazing! I could feel my body rejoicing as it chugged the oil into every cell, deeply enjoying its soothing effect. I felt that every part of my body was nurtured and caressed with love. The oil felt nourishing and increased lubrication in my joints, flexibility increased and my muscles are more toned. I also felt the effect on my nervous system as I relaxed deeply and trapped emotions bubbled to the surface to be released.
How life has made its mark Bones brittle Hair scarce The mind a fragment of strength it once was. And now Oil pours like love from a mothers heart Cells rejoice A long awaited reunion The body covered with a blanket of safety Secure comfort Peace at least rest can come deeply now.
Then, we began nasya. Nasya is a purification procedure where medicated ghee or oil drops are put into the nose. It helps to open the channels of head, remove blockages and accumulation and prepare the body for nourishing treatments. It is used for diseases of the shoulder, neck and head. It works on cleansing and rejuvenating the brain lymphatic system. A part of daily practice is to apply one drop to the nostril. For panchakarma they do 3 plus drops at increasing doses each day for up to 7 days.
After 3 days of nasya, I was given shirodhara. Shirodhara is the light pouring of continuous warm oil over the forehead. It works on the glands in the brain- the pituitary, the hypothalamus, the pineal gland etc. It helps to calm the nervous system. Effective for anxiety, insomnia, depression, hypertension, anorexia. It improves hearing, eyesight and clears nasal problems amongst many other things.
I was excited to get shirodhara, I had it years ago and loved it, it was so calming and felt wonderful. I went to get the treatment in the afternoon with a smile on my face with anticipation knowing the deep relaxation I would feel. I layed on the table and then the rain started.
Pouring, hard.
I ask them to shut the door as I felt a bit of irritation and agitation. Even still, I could hear the monsoon rain and then it started raining even harder. They had begun to pour the oil and I felt increasingly uncomfortable. I felt like little ants were biting me on my arms, my forehead felt like the oil was burning but the therapist said it was cool. Everything was wrong, I just wanted to get up and run. 45 minutes felt too long. When the treatment was over, I got up, walked quickly to wash the oil off and ran into the doctor office. I explained how I felt and he looked at me with his usual calm and happy smile “no problem, it’s okay, it can happen.”
“Oh, okay, so no issue with the treament?”
“No, treatment is fine, this can happen, just let it come and let it go.”
We continued chatting and then he causally asked me “Why this fear of rain, did something happen.” I immediately responded “I dont have a fear of rain…”
My eyes welled up with tears and without even thinking I walked out of the room covering my face. He followed me and asked “What’s the matter?”
When I was around 12 years old, there was an extremely heavy rain one night. I awoke to my mom with panic in her face, eyes wide, she quickly explained we needed to leave the house because the house was filling up with water like a cup. The creek beside our house was nowhere and everywhere. We were now living in a lake that was gushing and flowing with an intense current around our house. The water had filled the basement and was now rising up the first floor of the house. I grabbed my pet budgee and his cage and my dog. I didn’t grab anything else, there was no time we needed to get out of there. As we opened the frontdoor, water gushed in and the rain dropped from the sky like godly tears.
The driveway gone, the flowers gone, the bushes gone… water everywhere.
My mom grabbed the bird cage and put her purse on her head and waded to the car. I grabbed my dog by the collar and began wading through to get to the car, but the current was so strong and the water was up to my waist. My fingers slipped and my dog was being swept away, I screamed in terror, my beloved Tilla, she was fighting to stay close to me but the current was very strong.
I managed to grab her by the neck and pull her to me, we got in the car soaked and shaking. The water was coming into the car door and we were worried if the car would even start. Hearts pounding we drove to my Godmothers house with the wind shield wipers aggressively moving left and right. Her house was at the other end of town on higher ground. 15 minutes later we were there and I ran out of the car and pounded on the door. A lady in a nightgown answered a couple minutes later staring at me with anger.
“Who are you?!” I said with agitation, “Where is Bonnie?”
“Who are you and why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?” She snapped back in an irritated tone.
I was confused, perplexed, nothing made sense.
Then my mom yelled from the car “You’re at the wrong house… it’s that one” she pointed.
Disoriented I apologized and quickly went and to the next house to awake my Godmother.
She answered the door and let us in, with my mom, the bird and tilla the dog. We had everything that mattered.
The intense rain during the shirodhara had triggered a trauma that was dormant in my nervous system. I remembered and knew about this event but didn’t realize the impact it had had on me over the years. I knew that when there was heavy rain I could never sleep well and it always made me uneasy. I would get really uncomfortable during rain storms, but I never thought anything of it… I just thought it was normal…
The night after my agitating shirodhara it rained, hard. The monsoons have started and even with ear plugs I could hear the rain pounding on the cement. Yet, I slept through the night, no fear, no uneasiness. I am glad to say, this memory although I will not forget, does not bother me anymore.
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May you be happy, may you be healthy.
Much love,
Thalita