Panchakarma: The ancient science of Ayurvedic detoxification
All illness in Ayurveda (in body & mind) is referred to as Disease – it is sometimes better to look at it as two words, Dis-Ease. Disease sounds very serious, but when Dis-Ease is ignored, pushed away and left untreated it invariably does eventually lead to more serious forms of disease.
We all know when we are suffering from dis-ease, but in the west we have a tendency to ignore it because we are too busy. Eventually the dis-ease will become a little more serious and we might seek the opinion of our doctor. Sadly we often see in Western Medicine a tendency to only treat the symptoms of this dis-ease, hence we are never really treating the root cause of it and symptoms have a tendency to keep re appearing. Think about when we are prescribed several courses of antibiotics to treat an infection before it is considered necessary to perhaps dig a little deeper and see what is causing the infection in the first place. When we look deep enough, it is often something which seems at first completely unrelated to the infection we are presenting with.
In Ayurveda we have two main ways to treat dis-ease. Firstly there isShamana, which is based around the concept of ‘pacification’. This is where we will work with foods, herbs, lifestyle routines, yoga and therapies to provide a gentle, all-encompassing care plan to bring the body & mind back into balance. If we learn to listen to our bodies and catch the dis-ease at the early stages this is the perfect way to maintain good health.
The second ‘tool’ we have for treatment of dis-ease is Shodana. Shodanameans ‘to go away’ and in this treatment we are focused on deep cleansing and detoxification. Panchakarma in Ayurveda is categorised as a Shodana treatment – it literally means Five (pancha) Actions (karma). It is very successful in treating more advanced stages of dis-ease.
Panchakarma is extremely powerful and its benefits are far reaching: it removes Ama (toxins) from the system; it removes excess Dosha accumulation from the body & mind, it corrects imbalanced tissues; it can help with waste detoxification; it clears the body’s channels of blockages andit strengthens our Agni (digestive fire) and our overall immunity.
The human body has an amazing ability to heal itself and, even at a cellular level, its aim is to keep working to try and keep us healthy. However, if the Doshas become severely imbalanced (usually due to diet, lifestyle, stress etc) and toxins begin to build up, then blockages occur and the body will gradually lose its ability to keep rejuvenating.
In Ayurveda we call this toxic substance Ama and, in Ayurveda, this Ama is the cause of all dis-ease. Wrong food & lifestyle choices, stress and other factors can all result in our Agni (digestive fire) becoming weak and then wecan’t ‘cook’ the toxic matter (Ama). My Teacher likened it to a pan of cheese over a fire – if the fire is hot, the cheese will melt into a runny, mobileconsistency; if the fire is struggling to get going the cheese won’t melt andwill simply warm to a sticky consistency. This is the consistency of Ama. Ifour fire is weak then much of what we ingest can’t be digested, metabolisedand absorbed and this half-absorbed food simply circulates in the body eventually building up and causing dis-ease.
This is why our Agni is said to the most fundamental thing we must look after. It is said when our Agni goes out, there is only death to follow.
Step in Panchakarma. This therapy is best done at the change of the Seasons– for me I always do it during the transition from Summer to Winter. It feels right to do it then rather than Winter to Summer as we are psychologically starting to ‘bed down’ and ‘settle in’ for winter, so I find it easier to make thetime to close myself away for a few weeks and also, I know if I clean deeply now, I am less likely to be struck down in Winter by the usual Kapha Season colds, coughs and chest infections. So I have not long finished my annual Panchakarma and, I have to say, I am feeling ready to take on the darker months and my digestion feels ready to face the annual Christmas on-slaught of food and drink!
If you go East, traditional Panchakarma will be done over weeks and even months depending on the severity of the dis-ease being treated. I was taught a very manageable 14 day Panchakarma which serves me well each year. I usually block out 21 days so I can have a few days of ‘clean’ living before and after so the actual detox days don’t feel like such a shock to the body and mind. The 14 days are then broken into three phases; the first is the preparation phase known as Purvakarma. Here the focus is on total oleation of the body internally & externally. This is done via a mixture of ingesting ghee (clarified butter) and external application of oils through massage, oral and eye therapy. The diet is light and the perfect meal is Kitchari – an Ayurvedic staple consisting of cooked basmati rice, Mung dal, herbs and spices. The focus is on taking all the pressure off the digestive system so the body can get to work. I tend to just eat this for the whole period as it is so warming and nourishing and requires so little prep time. The aim of all the oil is to mobilise the excess Doshas and Ama from around the various parts of the body and transport them to the GIT.
Once the excess Doshas and Ama are collected in the GIT, we can move on to the second phase; Pradhanakarma. This is the phase where we eliminate and this is the phase of the Five (pancha) karma (actions). These are all eliminating actions focused on elimination from various points of the body depending on what excess Dosha we are trying to eliminate. Some or all of these five actions may be done during the second phase. As a person of high Pitta Dosha, my focus is always on ridding the body of excess Pitta Dosha, which is done through therapeutic purgation. I also treat excess Vata Dosha through a series of medicated enemas. The other actions are therapeutic vomiting (to remove excess Kapha Dosha), intranasal therapy (also for Kapha Dosha) and blood-letting ( for Pitta Dosha).
The third phase is really akin to the recuperating phase following aprocedure. It is very important and can’t be overlooked, just as we wouldn’trush back to work following surgery, so we allow a period for the body to rest & strengthen following the second phase. This is done through eating a light, nourishing diet and administering whatever therapies have been assigned to you.
Panchakarma should be done at least once every couple of years. For most people this is a treatment that must be done under the care and guidance of a qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner and, ideally, in a residential scenario whereyou can let go of life’s other responsibilities and be supported through the process. It is certainly not for the faint hearted but it is a true gift to yourself if you can muster up the inclination!
In 2019 I will be offering guided Panchakarma, so please get in touch if you’d like know more about thisamazing cleansing journey back to health.