Everyday, a person's body takes in toxins through the foods eaten. Many health professionals say that the buildup of these toxins can lead to a wide variety of diseases and medical conditions, including heart attacks and cancer. As a result, increasing numbers of people now detox their bodies using a range of methods. Choose the form of detoxification that best suits your lifestyle.
One can detoxify his/her body by fasting and only on a diet of fruits and water. Ayurveda spa with ayurveda massage is also an effective way to detoxify your body. In Kerala Ayurveda, Panchkarma is a very effective way to detoxify your body. Please read below to know more about it.
Body Detoxification with the help of Panchkarma
Panchkarma is a fivefold detoxification procedure consisting of:
Shiro Virechanam (purgation)
Vamanam (inducing vomiting)
Vasti (enema)
Nasyam (nasal drops)
Asrikvisruti (blood letting)
INTRODUCTION TO PANCHAKARMA:
Elimination happens naturally in every living being. Human body is a complex type of machine, which has millions of functions: - majority of them are voluntarily controlled and some involuntary. Millions of cells in the body are working throughout the day to produce energy and to maintain life. In this process lots of wastes are produced at the level of cells.
It is natural that some toxins accumulate in the body as a result of various metabolic activities, which the body performs involuntarily. There are certain toxins that still remain in the body causing many diseases, when their quantity increases beyond a certain limit. Unless these wastes are expelled from the body they tend to stick into minute channels known as 'srotas' and start producing diseases. Hence to be healthy, it is necessary to eliminate wastes from these channels.
To bring about equilibrium in the body Ayurveda prescribes Panchakarma- a curative line of treatment that works in the principles of sodhana chikilsa (purification procedure)
Sushrutha clubbed the vasthikarmas mentioned separately above together as enema therapy and in the vacant place adds Rakthamoksha or Blood letting as the fifth measure of eliminative or purificatory procedures.
Before doing Panchakarma therapies, pre-operative procedures like Snehana (oleation) and Sweda (sudation) therapy must be done.
The administration of oleation therapy is a must to the patient otherwise the patient's body will be subjected to discomfort like dry stick if it is bent by force it will break. So without the application of oil to the wooden stick it cannot bend. In the same way the sodhana or eliminatory procedure cannot be conducted without proper oleation.
External and internal administration of oil is necessary in Panchakarma therapy. The external application is done in many ways like massage, pizhichil, after heating oil to an optimum temperature.
The advantage of massage are: - relieves weakness, strengthens the body, Induces sleep, Improves the colour and complexion of the skin, Relieves vata in the body and Tones up the tissues of the body
Sudation is administered after oleation. It brings vata under control and helps in facilitating the easy elimination of bowel and urine.
In Sudation Therapy (fomentation therapy) the sweat or perspiration is triggered from the body. Sweat is the internal excreta of the body and Medas (fat). It cures stiffness, heaviness and coldness of the body.
Shiro Virechanam (purgation)
Virechana is the induced purgation. After sneha sweda kriyas virechana dravya (drug) is given in the early morning. It is indicated in pitha vikaras like rheumatic complaints.
Vamanam (inducing vomiting)
Vamana is the induced vomiting procedure after sneha sweda kriyas. Vamana dravya (drug) is given followed by large quantities of milk. It is indicated in kaphaja vikaras like asthma, skin ailments etc.
Vasti (enema)
The work vasthi is named because the urinary balder of animals is used to inject the contents of either unctuous drugs or eliminatory drugs into the rectum of the body to produce immediate effect. It has a very important role in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, hemiplegia, facial paralysis, gout, diseases of lower abdomen, constipation, obstruction and loss of seamen, amenorrhoea and eliminate worms of elementary tract. Vitamin B, increased after vasthi controls diseases of the eye, skin and give complexion to the skin.
Vasthi is of two types: - 1) Using unctuous oil (Anuvasana). 2) Using medicated oil (Nirooha). Nirooha vasthi is given using decoction of certain drugs. Anuvasana vasthi is done using mainly the medicated oil
Nasyam (nasal drops)
Nasya therapy medicated thaila (oil) or choorna (powder) will be made to pass through the nostrils.
Nasya is very useful in the diseases of the upper part of the neck. For the head the nose is the channel. The medicines applied through the nose will reach the head and it helps to clean the doshas from the head.
Nasya therapy will prevent the diseases related to head, prevents premature greying of hair and enhances hair growth, give strength to veins, arteries, nerve, joints, ligaments and tendons of the head and the face of the individual will be cheerful and voice becomes sweet and stabilised.
Asrikvisruti (blood letting)
Blood letting is considered to be one of the panchakarmas by Sushrutha. The main and the best chikilsa of the pitha rogas is rakthamoksha. This can be done through different methods 1. By using the instruments 2. By prachana (by pricking or by making cuts with surgical blades) 3. By siravedha (by cutting the veins)
akthamoksha also can be done using the leeches; application of cow's horn etc. Sushrutha has advocated its use in the treatment of skin diseases, glandular enlargement and diseases produced due to vitiation of blood. When blood is purified the colour of the skin will be bright and the sense organs will act powerfully and quickly.