Ayurveda is more than a system of natural healing. It is both a science and an art of appropriate living which supports longevity and maximizes human potential. Ayurveda offers clear and specific guidance for every individual in the proper choice of diet, living habits and exercise to restore and maintain the body, personality, and higher aspirations of the human spirit. By such means Ayurveda aims at preventing disease and promoting natural beauty and positive health.
Both health promotion and healing are based on the principle that the physical form, internal functioning and psycho-spiritual makeup of an individual is determined by the doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, all of which are natural forces having distinct qualities and functions. The body is viewed as a product of these forces that have condensed from the outer environment. Though existing as what seems to be a separate form from the point of birth, the individual remains energetically connected to the world that gave it being throughout its entire life. Interaction between the individual and the environment happens through the interplay of the bodily doshas and the energetic qualities of the given environment. Inappropriate diet, personal habits, lifestyles, repressed emotions, climatic and seasonal factors, and various other forms of stress, contribute to the disruption of the delicate internal balance of doshas. Disruption of these subtle forces directly affects agni, interfering with digestion, assimilation, and elimination of food substances and disrupts the natural expression of emotions. When agni is weakened, indigestion and confusion result. Incomplete digestion makes even the purest, most nutritious food the source of toxic material known as ama. Once formed, ama enters the bloodstream, clogging the channels and accumulating in sites where energy is lowest and the body most vulnerable. It clouds the mind, making the individual less likely to make choices that support health and beauty.
In Ayurveda, health promotion, beauty management and healing rely on freeing the body of ama, restoring sound cellular nutrition, facilitating complete elimination and re-establishing balance to the doshas. This can gradually be achieved through following appropriate diet and lifestyle and improving agni. But with modern living, so inherently chaotic, such changes are challenging, needing discipline and patience. A faster and deeper cleansing and re-balancing can be accomplished through Ayurveda’s traditional rejuvenation therapy. Commonly called Pancha Karma, Ayurvedic rejuvenation therapy is the oldest scientific system for detoxification and re-nutrifying the body. From ancient times it is commonly regarded as a thorough system. It rejuvenates the whole system, bringing youthfulness and strength to the body and calm openness to the mind. The combination of oleation massage, full body steam, and flour scrub beautifies the skin making it soft, smooth, and well-toned. While the specific cleansing therapies and rejuvenative tonics work on the internal body, they strengthen the foundations of outer beauty and promote strength of character.
Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Therapy can either be used to improve good health, enhance natural good looks, or initiate the cure of a disorder. Traditionally, undertaken as a preventive therapy at the change of seasons, winter to spring and summer to fall, the aim is to cleanse the body not only of waste material that may have built up, but also excess in the subtle energies or doshas, thereby promoting positive health and longevity, and balanced beauty through the changing climatic conditions. It is believed that cleansing the body before giving healing foods or herbal medicine would bring better results. Rejuvenation therapy should not be considered as a replacement for appropriate diet and lifestyle. It should be viewed as an integral part of an on-going self care that helps beauty be with you throughout life. It is also a fresh start in the process of making health-supporting lifestyle changes.
As a primary healing therapy, thorough cleansing of the body makes it more receptive to medications and tonics as well as increasing the body’s ability to fully metabolize foods. Thus, not only are the causes and symptoms of a disease removed, but the body is strengthened-preventing disorders in the future.
If you are in good health, the Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Therapy would bring even disorders that have not yet manifested symptoms to balance.
Once the Pancha Karma process has been completed, the channels of the body are deeply cleansed and free flowing and the mind open, that diet and lifestyle become more important than previously.
Ayurvedic RejuvenationTherapy is divided into three main areas of treatment: purva karma, pancha karma, and administration of tonics and rejuvenatives. In all cases a simple diet of grains, mung beans, steamed vegetables, and cooked fruits is advised for a week before the rejuvenation program. No meat, alcohol, refined sugar, or caffeine should be taken. Such a diet then is controlled throughout the treatment period. Fasting is not recommended as the therapy is quite demanding of energy.
The writer is a Professional Counsellor of Professional Psychological Counselors Association
- Sri Lanka Foundation