Panchakarma
During my stay at Preksha Yoga, I decided to do a consultation with the Ayurvedic doctor who worked on the premises. She did a comprehensive analysis of my doshas to give me an understanding of what was out of balance in my body. Her recommendation was that I do a personalized version of Panchakarma. Panchakarma is an intense Ayurvedic detoxification process made up of five parts: vamana (purging by vomiting induced by ayurvedic medication), virechana (purging induced by herbal laxatives), basti (ayurvedic enema treatments), nasya (cleansing of the nasal passages), and raktamokshan (therapeutic bloodletting using leeches). The treatment plan the doctor prepared for me included an 8-day vamana treatment (which included several days of nasya), followed by a 10-day basti treatment, with a couple days of rest in between, for a total of 20 days. She had originally recommended raktamokshan as well, but luckily for me the leeches were out of stock. The reason she recommended such an aggressive treatment plan was because I’ve suffered from eczema throughout most of my adult life, which according to her is a sign of toxicity in the body. At the time my eczema was dormant, but it is an ongoing condition that is not technically curable.
After a lot of thought and research, I decided to move forward with the treatment in April, after my workload was reduced with the help of my new contractor. Although it seemed like an aggressive and uncomfortable process, this was a rare opportunity to receive this sort of treatment with the guidance of an ayurvedic doctor, have all my meals prepared for me, and receive daily massage and steam treatments at a price I could afford. I ended up paying around $1,000 for the treatment, but would have paid upwards of $5,000 for something like this in the US and would have to do the meal prep on my own. I had no idea how difficult it would be – which I was for the best because had I known, I probably never would have gone through with it.
The vamana treatment was first. For the first seven days, the body is prepared for the vamana procedure (the “detox day”) on the eighth day. The first part of the preparation is done through consuming medicated ghee (clarified butter) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The ghee is intended to begin to lubricate the body internally, and the ayurvedic medication causes the body to release toxins into the belly. The ghee starts out at 30ml on the first day and is slowly increased to 150ml on the final day. This is A LOT of ghee. The first couple days weren’t too bad, I was able to plug my nose and throw it back fairly easily. I was given fresh ginger and limes to chase it. The flavor isn’t pleasant – not only because I was drinking straight clarified butter but because of the medication in it. By the fourth or fifth day, my gag reflex started kicking in from the increased amounts of ghee. The final day, I wasn’t able to get it all down. Every time I brought the cup to my lips I would gag. I tried multiple times, but after almost vomiting, I decided my body was giving me a clear message that it had had enough.
Those first seven days were extremely uncomfortable, not only because of drinking the ghee, but because of the effects it had on my body. The detoxification process was intense. I experienced intense nausea after drinking the ghee for the first couple of days as my body began to detoxify. The doctor recommended that I take a walk on the beach after drinking the ghee each morning to help it settle, which did help and was also a nice distraction. Some days I experienced intense fatigue and body aches. Other days weren’t quite as bad, but I still needed a lot of rest and could only manage to work 3-4 hours per day. My diet was also modified. In the mornings, I ate fresh fruit (usually papaya) and porridge topped with ghee. Lunches and dinners consisted of some variation of kitchari or lentils and rice (topped with ghee), a vegetable soup (with more ghee), and some sort of cooked vegetable. I couldn’t have raw vegetables, sugar, or dairy (except ghee). I was instructed to drink only warm liquids to further encourage the cleansing process, so I drank ginger tea for the first half of the day and hot lemon water for the rest of the day, which was a doozy in the 90-degree and high humidity climate. The food was tasty but quickly got boring since there wasn’t much variety from day to day. The best part of the treatment was the daily ayurvedic massage treatments. I received a variety of different types of massage each morning, all which included a lot of oil, followed by a steam bath. I was being lubricated from the inside out.
The eighth day, my detox day arrived, and I began to experience anxiety. I had read about other people’s experiences, and it sounded awful. But I had come too far to back out by that point, so I made my way to the treatment room first thing that morning. I received my daily massage and steam bath treatment but did not eat breakfast that morning. After my massage, the two massage therapists who assisted the treatment, began to set things up. I sat in a chair and a large laundry basket with a trash bag was placed inside was placed in front of me, to catch my vomit. That was the point where I began to cry. I didn’t know what possessed me to do something like this to myself. Anitha, my massage therapist, comforted me and assured me that it was just part of the treatment.
The doctor arrived and the procedure officially started. The procedure begins with consuming a large amount of warm milk, to coat the stomach. I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was around six large glasses. I hadn’t drunk milk in around seven years, and I was only able to get about five glasses down before I started to vomit. The vomiting was not supposed to start at that point, so the doctor didn’t make me finish the milk. I then had to sit for about 20 minutes with the warm milk in my belly. I was nauseated and uncomfortable. The doctor then prepared a glass of brown liquid with the ayurvedic herbs to induce vomiting. The length of time of vomiting varies by person, but can last between 20 minutes to an hour. I was one of the lucky ones who got to experience the full hour.
The glasses of warm milk were replaced by a giant container filled with lukewarm herbal tea, along with several glasses. Harry, the other assistant, began filling the glasses with tea after I drank the medicated drink from the doctor. It wasn’t long before the vomiting started, and as soon as it did, the doctor instructed Harry to start giving me glasses of tea. She told me to chug the tea. I did my best to drink the tea as quickly as I could, but struggled to get it down because I was extremely nauseated and as soon as I would drink it, it would come back up. The reason my procedure ended up lasting for so long was because apparently, I was not drinking the tea quickly enough to get a deep enough movement to release all the toxins from deep inside my gut. Eventually that came, but it took about 30 minutes for me to get there. I have never thrown up so violently in my life. My body completely emptied itself. Afterward, I felt a huge feeling of relief and even laughed. Until the doctor told me she wanted me to do it again. I looked at her in horror. I felt like I was being tortured. I had already vomited probably 50+ times in that 30-minute time frame, and she wanted me to do it again?!
I tried my best but wasn’t able to get that violent projection a second time. I couldn’t drink the tea fast enough and it just kept accumulating in my belly until it was bulging out like I was pregnant. I eventually reached a point where I couldn’t even vomit anymore, my body just shut down. The doctor gave me more medicine, warm salt water, and I even tried sticking my fingers down my throat, but nothing happened. I was completely drained by that point, still nauseous, and uncomfortable from the bloating of my belly. I could barely hold my head up and was moaning repeatedly in discomfort. By this point, it was about an hour and a half after I started consuming the warm milk. Finally, the doctor said I could stop. She laid me down on a massage table where I rested for about 10 minutes. She told me she would give me virechana herbs to help me pass the remainder of the tea and toxins through the other end. I was then escorted back to my room by Anitha, who I had to hold onto for support. I laid down on my bed and immediately began to cry. I couldn’t believe what I had just been through. The entire experience was traumatic and torturous, and I felt like I had failed because I couldn’t throw up “hard” enough. Anitha massaged my legs and sat with me while I cried. After I stopped crying, she gave me a hot water bottle to rest on my belly and left me to rest.
I was instructed not to sleep so I laid on my bed slowly regaining my strength, and processing what I had just been through. About an hour later Anitha returned with warm rice water for me to drink, along with the virechana medication. The virechana process was almost just as bad as the vamana, except that it lasted longer. I had to keep running to the toilet with violent diarrhea and was doubled over for hours with severe abdominal cramping. It was about four hours before the effects subsided, and I was finally able to relax. That night I was only allowed to eat plain white rice in rice water with a small amount of salt. The next day I felt weak but better. It took a couple days to regain my strength, but I was surprised that I didn’t feel worse. I think the lubrication prep along with the constant consumption of liquids during the detox procedure, helped my body to survive the experience without damage.
The worst was behind me by that point, and the following two weeks were a breeze comparatively. I no longer had to drink ghee in the mornings for the basti treatment, but still was on the modified diet and received the daily massage and steam bath treatments. After the massages, I received a daily enema. Every other day was a ”flushing” enema which consisted of warm water mixed with ayurvedic herbs that was inserted into my colon and flushed out entirely about 10-15 minutes later. The other days I received an enema of medicated oil, which I was instructed to hold in my body for as long as possible – ideally the rest of the day. I did my best and was successful most days, but there were a few days my body just wasn’t having it. The enema produced some of the same effects of the ghee and I felt fatigued and achy and was aware my body was detoxing, but not nearly as intensely.
By the end of the 20 days, I was beyond ready to be done with the treatment. I enjoyed the daily massage but was bored with the food and ready to feel energetic and like myself again. All in all, I have mixed feelings about the treatment. I lost 13lbs which I’ve been able to keep off, and my skin was clearer and more vibrant. I didn’t notice much of a shift in my energy levels, but I do believe in the benefits of detoxing, and I know my body and organs benefited from the treatments in several ways. I most definitely would never do the vamana treatment again. It was aggressive and violent and, in my opinion, unnecessary. I believe there are other ways to cleanse the body that can be just as effective but not nearly as torturous. I would probably do the virechana and basti treatments again, however. In addition to the detoxification effects, the basti treatments also have anti-aging effects and are beneficial for the bones and ligaments, which makes sense since the body is essentially being lubricated inside and out.
