The Ayurvedic view of the universe mainly emphasizes the earth, the atmosphere, the sun, the moon and life on the earth, even though the universe is also described in the Vedas as consisting of galaxies and innumerable stars.

      The aims of Ayurveda are to collect and eliminate metabolic wastes and toxins in the human body.    Lack of exercises, strain of everyday life, food habits and pollution makes us all susceptible to health hazards. Ayurveda can arrest the bad effect and help you to lead a healthier life.

Panchakarma therapy can also suit people who have no real health problems. It raises the mental clarity and understanding along with the dawning of a sense of lightness, freedom and non-attachment. Much of the “struggle of life “ drops away to the benefit of a surrendering to the experience of the divine within.

Consider this therapy now dealing in those common disorders:

Panchakarma retreat : Ayurvedic Disease Management

     This is a very serious retreat which comprises many restrictions as not leaving the center except for a walk around, restriction on food, regular schedule with the doctor and intakes of medecines …. the treatment can give you a feeling of disconnection with your habitual physical as well psychological patterns.It includes avoiding undue mental and physical stress, including travel, strenuous exercises and sexual activity; Also sunbathing and swimming in cold water are particularly not advised during and for at least a week following Panchakarma.

There are three stages of Panchakarma : Purvakarma which is the preparatory procedures for Panchakarma, the 5 procedures of Panchakarma and the post treatments procedures.

Purvakarma : preparing for Panchakarma

     The set of procedures which Ayurveda prescribes to facilitate the removal of ama and toxins from the tissues is collectively called “Purvakarma”. The 2 mostly important processes used to prepare the system for cleansing are “snehana” and “swedana”. They come obligatory before any of the main procedures and are generally scheduled for 7 days.

a) Snehana : oleation
     Snehana, the first step of Purvakarma, saturates the body with herbal and medicated oils. The saturation takes two forms : external oleation, where medicated oils are vigorously massaged into the body and internal oleation, where medicated oils are ingested.

b) swedana : Therapeutic Heat
     Though swedana literally means “sweat”, the main purpose of swedana is not to produce sweat, but to dilate the body’s channels so that oleation’s objective – removing ama from the organs – can be more easily achieved. Sweat results naturally when the channels widen. Every part of the body is exposed to the steam except the head, because it cannot tolerate high temperatures. (see steam bath picture)

Panchakarma’s Five Main Procedures

a) Vamana : Therapeutic Emesis
     Vamana is one of the least understood of Ayurveda’s five elimination therapies. Most people associate emesis or vomiting with nausea and sickness and are repulsed by it. However, the emesis procedure used in vamana is quite smooth and painless. It effectively removes toxins from Kapha zone and so cure disorders as lung problems, bronchial asthma, allergies, chronic colds, rhinitis, rheumatic diseases and some chronic skin disorder like eczema, psoriasis and leukoderma. It is also beneficial for some viral disorders, like Herpes Zoster.

b) Nasya : Therapeutic Cleansing of the Head Region
     This procedures purges and rejuvenates the tissues and organs of the head and neck. It removes ama and toxins from the nose, larynx, pharynx, mouth, para-nasal sinuses, ears and eyes. Nasya cleanses and opens the channels of the head and improves oxygenation –the flow of Prana – which has a direct and highly beneficial influence on brain functioning. It relieves chronic vascular headaches, migraine, epilepsy, and helps also with eye and ear problems such as dry, itching and watery eyes, conjunctivitis, glaucoma, hearing loss and tinnitus as well as loss of the sense of smell. Different types of administration of Nasya, depending on the case (generally, treatment is performed for seven days in a row) allows the patient’s head to feel lighter and less congested; her mind clear and her senses more acute. She will also feel more comfortable and happy.

c) Virechana : Therapeutic Purging
     Virechana is a purgative treatment that cleanses the small intestine and associated pitta-dominant organs (e.g, the liver and gall bladder). It also helps remove waste matter and toxicity from the blood. While virechana involves the use of strong purgatives which induce loose bowel movements, it affects the body quite differently than dhiarrhea. The effects of the purgative herbs subsides after a short time and the patient is left feeling stronger and more vital because toxins and waste material have been eliminated. This therapy is good for all types of pitta-related disorders. This includes hyperacidity, colitis, urticaria, hemorrhoids, chronic headaches, some types of diabetes, allergies and skin diseases.

d) Basti : Therapeutic Purification and Rejuvenation of the Colon
     Basti therapy is perhaps the most powerful of the five main procedures of Panchakarma. Basti is the introduction of medicated liquids into the colon through the rectum. While it directly affects the colon, it is not a localized or symptomatic treatment. The colon is seldom, if ever, addressed for its own sake. Rather, it is utilized because of its vital link with all of the other organs and tissues. Consequently, basti has a wide-ranging influence in the body. Basti therapy is the most effective treatment for chronic constipation, low back pain, sciatica, rheumatism, gout, arthritis ; and various neuromuscular disorders, such as paraplegia, hemiplegia, poliomyelitis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and dystrophy and atrophy of the nerves and muscles. In most cases, this type of treatment schedule are followed for eight to ten days.

e) Raktamokshana : Therapeutic Withdrawal of Blood
     Although raktamokshana is the most limited of the five major procedures, it provides a rapid and sometimes dramatic reduction of symptoms in certain acute disorders,especially where time is critical factor. It successfully treats blood-related diseases and is also indicated for enlarged liver or spleen, gout and some types of headaches and hypertension.
     Snehana and swedana do not have to precede raktamokshana. On the day of the treatment, the patient simply lies down on a table and a small amount of blood is withdrawn intravenously. After approximately one hour, the patient can get up and leave. The blood is examined for color, smell, consistency, and viscosity and clotting characteristics. Then palliative therapies, as adjustments in diet and use of specific herbs to cleanse the blood, sustain this thorough cleansing.

Post -Treatment Procedures

     Panchakarma therapy can be likened to a surgical operation in which the pre-operative and post-operative procedures are of critical importance. Without the preparatory procedures of snehana and swedana, internal cleansing is superficial and does not remove the basis of the disease. Once the toxins and waste products are eliminated from the gastrointestinal tract by Nasya, Vamana, Virechana and Basti, both the digestive agni and the dhatus must have the opportunity to rebuild themselves.

a) A graduated Diet
     Digestion is the first aspect of the physiology that needs to be reconstructed. The digestive fire is weakened by the process of ama being drawn back into the digestive tract and expelled from the body. The diet given to the patient immediately after Panchakarma consists of nutritive and easily digested preparation of rice and split yellow mung dal (lentil). The diet is structured in stages, going from more liquid preparations to increasingly solid ones.

b) A graduated Lifestyle
     Ayurveda strongly suggests that patients plan for some down-time after the main procedures are complete to insure that their progression into activity is not too fast. If the contrast between the deep rest of Panchakarma and the dynamic activity of working life is too sudden, the system may experience a shock. They are adviced to avoid undue mental and physical stress, including travel, strenuous exercises and sexual activity. Also sunbathing and swimming in cold water are particularly not advised for at least a week following Panchakarma.

Expectations surrounding Panchakarma

     It is important to address the issue of what one can expect from this therapy. While Panchakarma alleviates symptoms of disease, its real objective is to eliminate their cause. In itself, the absence of symptoms does not always indicate a complete cure. Symptoms can often be quickly eliminated, but cure usually takes more time. If a person has been storing the seeds of degenerative disease in his body for fifteen or twenty years and suffering from symptoms for five to ten years, it is unlikely that they will be completely healed in ten or fifteen days of Panchakarma. It takes time and repeated treatments to rid the body completely of ama and to rebuild and rejuvenate the dhatus. Individuals also respond differently to Panchakarma treatment because of differences in their individual constitutions.
     

The whole treatment takes twenty eight days, but we generally advise the patients to set aside a few days before and after the treatment program for reasons described before. In the West, however, few people seem able to take this much time away from their work and responsibilities, so one and two week programs have been tailored (See Retreat/Special Rejunevation).

This one or two weeks program is highly recommended once or twice a year for preventive purposes. In these abbreviated programs, the preparatory procedures of snehana and swedana must be given for a minimum of seven days before administering virechana. Then another 7 days focus on cleansing nasyas and bastis.

Each day : 30 € ( vegetarian and mostly organic food) on a shared based room. 8 € extra for a private room.

The Therapist

Dr Sanjeev Kumar (D.Y.N.A.) (N.D.) is an ayurvedic practitioner and doctor with many years of experience in treating people according to this ancient science. His education in Ayurveda has lead him to the acquirement of the following titles:

1. Diploma in Yoga and Naturopathy (A one year course that is organized by the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy and supported by the Ministryof Health, Government if India.)
2. Doctor of Naturopathy (three years)
3. Diploma in Yoga, Naturopathy and Ayurveda

His education in Yoga manifests in the following titles:
1. Certificate ((Yoga Pushp)
2. Diploma (Yoga Bushan)
3. Advanced Yoga Instructor
4. Graduation (Yoga Visharad)
5. Master (Yoga Charya)