Panchakarma II

Day three of the treatment changes the process just a little. Before I tell of the change, I must report about something that happened, and the results during my treatment. It was something that wasn’t expected, however ended in great joy!
The left side of my neck goes out every once in a while due to a car accident about 15 years ago. Normally, at home, I would go to a chiropractor and they take care of it, and off I go about my usual day. Well, my neck went out on me during the day after the second treatment. Now I’m not saying at all the treatment did it, I think it was playing in the ocean that somehow did it. Anyway, for the rest of the day and during practice the next morning I was unable to move my head very far to the right and left. I was concerned because during the massage you lay on the floor, not on a table, so your head is turned to one side or the other. It’s not rested in a nice little hole like back home.
When I got to the treatment I told my therapist that my neck was hurting and that it was hard for me to turn my head all the way. Now, I had faith in my therapist, but his English wasn’t to the point where we could have a conversation so I wasn’t sure how much of it he understood. He did acknowledge that he knew what I was saying and I felt that he did understand. Usually when you explain pain somewhere in your body, the corresponding result from the therapist is to apply easy, simple pressure in that area and to make sure that it feels comfortable to you and to not make it worse.
The the treatment begins as usual, sitting on the stool and he does this stuff to my head and neck. There was no change in the way he did this, except he may have stayed a little longer on my left side which was the sore side. Then he had me lay down on the mat as usual. I slowly put my head down on the mat and was able to get it turned all the way without any pain. He then placed a towel on my back, and I’m still not quite sure how he did it, but with just a simple press of his hands he was able to pop every vertebrae in my back! It was truly amazing how he did it. There was very little pressure but I think it was the movement of his hands in an upward motion that just put everything in its place.
So he begins the massage, and once again I’m expecting him to go lightly on me, or at least my neck area. He changed the massage around a little so I knew he did completely understand me and about my neck. However, going easy must not be in is ability. He had me clasping my hands and placing my arms underneath me, and at one point he was actually using my back as a treadmill! That is no joke. He was walking down my back, right foot then left foot, using his toes to press into my neck and all the way down my spine, walking just like you would on a treadmill.
There was many other things that he did during this treatment that was so different from the previous days, and it was in no way easier, in fact the pressure today was extreme. At one point of the massage I started to laugh to myself, because I pictured myself coming out of this massage with bruises and two black eyes!
However, I must admit that once the massage was over, the neck pain, gone! I could turn my head both directions and I felt as good as new! After this, the treatment changed as I have mentioned earlier.
The basting was over, and they started me off with the rub. After the massage I stood up and they wiped off all the excess oil from the massage, had me get up on the table and start the rub like they did in days past.
After the rub was complete, they once again had me off the table, one wiped me down, and the other therapist cleaned the table. Then it was back onto the table for what I’m calling the marinade.
This was made of warmed oil infused with herbs, and the smell was so good I think I could have eaten the oil as a soup. They began to pound and rub the herbs into my body. As with the rub, this was applied in a certain way and since there was a therapist on both sides of the table, they did the same thing on both sides at the same time, so it felt very uniform. I could have laid here for days letting them do this, it was truly amazing! The warm oil, the pounding and rubbing of the herbs; nice! When I talk about pounding, it wasn’t a hard pound but was much more than a tap. They would dunk what looked like cheese cloth wound up into a ball into the warm oil, then pound your body three or four times then rub that body several times, before dunking the cloth again.
After this was done, it was off the table and and wiped me down again and sent me on my way. This treatment was to be done until it was time for the purge, however after two days they needed to change my treatment. The idea, based on my dosha, was to create fire within my body which would bring all the toxins out into the blood, then into the digestive track and out of the body it would go.
By the time this treatment started, using the marinade, I was feeling very hot all the time and was attributing it to the weather and the humidity. After the first day of the marinade my arms broke out in a heat rash. Once again I thought it had to do with being in southern India, not the treatments. Daren made sure that I showed Dr. Unui on the next day.
When I sat down next to him, he looked at me and said “Do you feel okay?”, and my reply was; “feeling a little warm.” He smiled and said; “I can actually feel the heat coming off of you!” I showed him the rash and he said I was hot enough and that he was going to change the treatments to hold the fire, but not build anymore heat.
So that day, the massage first, and it didn’t change at all, but after that they put me into a steam box. This would be just like a steam room, but your head is not in the steam so you can breathe regular air, and your head is allowed to give off heat. The idea behind this is that you sweat out many of the toxins by doing this, and with external heat, your body doesn’t try to hold it in as much. I was only in the box about 15 minutes which I thought was perfect. After it was back to the table, only this time for something quite unique. Something that is show often in pictures of ayurvedic treatments.
They put me back onto the table face up, and placed a large bowl of warmed oil over my forehead. After placing a protective cloth over my eyes, they begin to pour this oil out of a small hole in the pot, over my forehead moving in smooth even strokes from ear to ear. It’s hard to explain this feeling, other that is was one of the most restful feelings I have ever had. It’s like your mind just simply shuts off and you wander out into space. Truly a heavenly experience! I will admit that I did fall asleep during this because it felt so good and was so relaxing.
The idea behind this treatment is the oil is to bring the fire up and out of the body without shutting down the detox process. Well, they were welcome to give me that treatment for the rest of my life and I would be happy.
The doctor had also give me some herbs (of course he had) to turn into a paste and shower with for the heat rash. The first day I’m sure I looked like a circus clown trying to make this paste in the shower and then applying it to my body, but after several days I had it down like a pro. Did it work? Of course it did. Based on what we are used to in the west we think their treatments to be very primitive, but let me tell you, they know what they are doing, and everything, and I mean everything, they use is 100% all natural, as they don’t know anything else. No patented drugs here, everything comes from nature.
I will admit I was still feeling very hot all the time, maybe something like a hot flash, but one that lasted for days! Plus I was very tired. We were doing the yoga practice as well, but wasn’t moving about much besides that. I went into the ocean once after my neck for about 20 minutes but after that I was tired and needed to rest. I also didn’t like going out into the sun! Me, of all people, didn’t want to be in the direct sun. When has that EVER happened before?
Next comes the purge, which I will talk about in the next update. I’m writing this part the day after the purge, and will write about the purge soon, but let me just say WOW! The difference is amazing.