Panchakarma is a traditional Indian Ayurvedic treatment that is useful for the cleansing and detoxification of the mind, body, and spirit.

The treatment is used to clean the body of toxic materials left by disease, poor nutrition, and environmental toxins. Normally the body has the innate ability to efficiently process and remove these waste materials, including the vitiated doshas. However, due to one’s repeated dietary indiscretions, poor exercise patterns, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition, the digestive enzymes, metabolic co-factors, hormones, and agnis which regulate the body’s internal homeostasis become disorganized. This can lead to the accumulation and spread of toxins throughout the physiology resulting in disease. This waste matter is called ama in Ayurveda. Ama is a foul-smelling, sticky, harmful substance that needs to be completely evacuated from the body. Panchakarma will remove the excess doshas and correct imbalances in them as well as eliminate the harmful ama out of your system through the body’s own organs and channels of elimination (colon, sweat glands, lungs, bladder, urinary tract, stomach, intestines, etc). Panchakarma purifies the tissues at a very deep level. https://www.ayurvedichealing.net/panchakarma/

The doshas are biological energies found throughout the human body and mind. They govern all physical and mental processes and provide every living being with an individual blueprint for health and fulfillment. There are three doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha

The doshas are dynamic energies that constantly change in response to our actions, thoughts, emotions, the foods we eat, the seasons, and any other sensory inputs that feed our mind and body. When we live into the fulfillment of our individual natures, we naturally make lifestyle and dietary decisions that foster balance within our doshas. When we live against our intrinsic natures, we support unhealthy patterns that lead to physical and mental imbalances. www.eattasteandheal.com

Panchakarma is a Sanskrit word that means “five actions” or “five treatments”:

• Daily warm oil massage (abhyanga)

• Herbal steam therapy (swedana)

• Lymphatic massage

• Herbal enemas (basti)

• Nasal administrations (nasya)

Panchakarma is a five-fold therapy; it is highly individualized based on the needs of the individual depending on the Ayurvedic constitutional type, doshic imbalances, age, digestive strength, immune status, and many other factors. Depending on each individual’s needs, all or only parts of the five therapies are utilized.

Panchakarma is not only for detoxifying the body, but also for rejuvenation — strengthening the immune system, and restoring balance and well-being.

Panchakarma is a time-proven natural therapy that detoxifies and restores the body’s inner balance and vitality.

According to Ayurveda, good health depends upon our capability to fully metabolize all aspects of life, assimilating that which nourishes and eliminating the rest. When we can’t completely digest our food, experiences, and emotions, toxins accumulate in our bodily tissues, creating imbalance and – ultimately – disease. Panchakarma is an elegant cleansing process that releases stored toxins and restores the body’s innate healing ability. https://www.ayurvedichealing.net/panchakarma/

I signed up for a 2-week treatment after a man from India, whom everybody just called Krishna in the ayurvedic shop in Budapest, examined me by pressing his fingers against my wrist and run a verbal list of my health problems and hidden symptoms of my digestive disorder. Then he also looked at my tongue and confirmed his wrist-based examination with a firm "Aham". What can I say? He could read my body.

I was very intrigued to give Panchakarma a chance - after many failed alternative treatments from homeopathy, acupuncture to bioresonancy - and made myself believe that this was what my body needed to start healing. As I have been living with chronic disorders that worsen over the years, I was aware that Panchakarma will not make a noticeable difference right away. If a health problem developed over some months or years (as most health problems that we notice are already the result of a long-term dysfunction of the cells or blockages in the body, mind, or soul), it will take the same amount of time, if not longer, to heal it. I believe that the body can heal itself naturally with the help of caring for it with the right attitude, positive mindset & feelings, food, lifestyle, etc. In my case, the physical problems originate in the colon (apparently I have chronic Vata disorder) so I received digestion aids in the form of herbal medicines, tea, and a Vata diet which help to bring my body back to balance. Also if I eat the right food in the recommended way (e.g. raw diet is very bad for me, and I was eating a lot of raw salads and fruits believing how healthy they were!) my digestion uses less energy and my body can invest more of it into healing the damages instead. Just an example.

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PERSONAL STORY... HOW DO I THINK I DEVELOPED MY CHRONIC HEALTH ISSUE?

I am curious to find out if my body can heal or just improve at least with this treatment despite I believe that there is a deeper aspect to my health issues than the colon. I think the colon problem is already the result of something else. In one of my previous blogs, I wrote about what I think the root cause of my situation could be and it was LOVE. To be more precise the lack of it. Not feeling loved and not receiving true unconditional love that affects my sensitivity and through my feelings it affects my body. Love is the healing energy, as Deepak Chopra says, and love is connected to the immune system. If you feel loved your immune system is stronger, consequently, if you feel unloved your immune system weakens and you become prone to ailments and illnesses. About 80% of our immune system lives in our gastrointestinal tract. Understandably LOVE - GUT - IMMUNE SYSTEM is highly connected.

According to neuroscientists and healers studying/ working with vibrations say that ill children can only be healed through their mums in other words through their mums' vibration, which means mums need to heal first. But what happens when you're one of these sensitive kids who grew up without your mum being healed?

SENSITIVE CHILDREN HAVE SENSITIVE REACTIONS.

Some sensitive children aren't just emotionally sensitive, but they're sensitive to anything physical that triggers their senses. Sensitive kids feel every emotion quite intensely. www.verywellfamily.com

WE CAN GROW TO LOVE.

What is the problem with love?

I see that most people don't know how to love without wanting something in return. They are not even aware that their love is conditioned because they follow patterns from their environment (media, family, friend groups) with what they identify themselves with. They don't question why, they just do it. Sometimes I feel like I am Leeloo from The Fifth Element (Luc Besson movie) who was made to save humanity and she turns weak when she sees so much cruelty and unloving actions between humans that she doesn't want to save humanity anymore until Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) kisses her and she is hit by the feeling of love which gives her trust back.

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NOW BACK TO PANCHAKARMA...

So over the two-week treatment, I received a BIG kick into cleansing and detoxifying with daily warm ayurvedic teas and small portions of vegetarian meals along with herbal medicines and daily treatments with warm oil massages, yoga, meditation, and pranayama exercises to aid the healing process of my body.

As the ama (toxin, waste material) appear as sticky mucous within our body (can cause stiffness and energy blockages), the importance of the first week was about warming my body up to prepare the toxins to turn more fluid state to be able to get rid of them easier. I received a 3.5-hour massage every day (2 hours in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon), sweating in the herbal sauna experience, and Shirodhara (= a warm gentle, and methodic pouring of herbalized oil over the forehead synchronizing brain waves and profoundly coordinating and calming the mind, body, and spirit).

I didn't have any problem in the first week apart from starting to feel bored (rarely happens to me!), over-relaxed (OMG too much resting and lying around), and slightly annoyed with daily massages after the 5th day of my stay. The days started to feel routine-like (because they were every day the same happenings in the same order) and the only spice was the chit-chatting with my therapist who made me smile so often. I felt safe and home in his hands. He passed on beautiful energies to me.

On the 6th day, I was ready for my colon flush. In the morning. I started with a little oil (couldn't recognise what type of oil it was) to swallow, then bit into and sucked a slice of lemon, then drank 2.5 dl warm water straight after the lemon for breakfast. And the next 3 hours were about drinking 3L of warm water and sitting on the toilet. After finishing the procedure I felt clean inside out. My skin turned seemingly cleaner and smoother. My eyes turned more open and wider. My heart opened up, I turned very sensitive (at least to the music I was listening to), pure, and felt so much love and joy that it made me cry. Some people want to hug everybody after taking drugs, I wanted to hug everybody after having a flush. 😄

On the second week, I received 5 herbal enemas (which had the colour of coffee with milk), a special warm oil bath prepared in a circle around my lower back (see photos below), and some sort of a cooked cabbage steam inhalation treatment on top of the usual massage treatments.

Enemas are harmless, with no pain entering inside the rectum. I felt some warmth in my lower abdomen and then I just had to hold the liquid inside for a little while to give time for the herbs to do their healing job (if the colon is very dry, it can absorb most of the nutritious liquid) and at last go to the toilet to get rid of the liquid mixed colon waste (in other words: poop). After I received my first enema my nose turned unblocked and I was super happy to be able to breathe through my nose an entire day and night (unfortunately I am on and off with a blocked nose for about 2 years now). After the second enema, my nose turned blocked again and it stayed that way ever since. :( After my third enema I turned very moody and felt uneasy. I became sullen, negative, and picky and I cried through the afternoon. I felt emotional stress. Earlier when I had the flush I was crying from emotional release, happiness. This time with the enema I was crying from the feeling of discomfort, and sadness. Then I was pretty much OK after the fourth and fifth enemas.

Although I enjoyed the treatments and yoga sessions particularly, the time was going so slowly during the 2 weeks that I couldn't wait to leave. I did the treatment in December when Hungary is cold and dark, and as I was advised to keep myself warm, I stayed in all evenings after I finished my dinner at 6 pm and sometimes I finished even earlier. Also, there was nothing uplifting and exciting about walking around in the small village where the Ayurvedic centre is based. It felt rather dull outside. It was only me and another client staying at the Ayurvedic centre the last week and so there was no movement of the energies. The Hungarian staff (the receptionists and 2 kitchen members) normally left while we were consuming our meals and the other client and I were left alone in the dining area being asked to switch the lights off when we finished eating. The Hungarian staff didn't have as positive and heartwarming energies as the Indian staff. It's not personal about them but more because of the Hungarian culture itself. The past historic failures and pain of the nation are still lingering on spiced with the current political and financial conflicts that give the Hungarian people a negative glow. Many seem weary, gloomy, and choosing to be beaten by the past. The Hungarian mentality is resigning and complaining. The trust level is low and corruption is spread. There is a saying in Hungary "Sírva vigad a magyar" which would translate to "Weeping, the Hungarian makes merry" which gives a negative glow to the Hungarian people.

I couldn't help but feel separation as the Hungarian staff's main energy while I was there meaning they didn't do their job wholeheartedly. Not a smile, not a kind, loving, supportive expression. There was pain and separation written on their faces. Separation from their true self, separation from possibilities, separation from their clients and life itself. A chef or cook can not be depressed (especially not in a healing centre!) because their vibration gets built in the food they serve to others which information harms the consumers' cells and slows down healing.

On the positive, I found this centre very professional, well-organised, and highly prepared with all medical and herbal needs for clients that are brought here from Kerala, India. The Indian therapists are !!!OMG!!! so skillful, focused, and attentive that I seriously started to think to go studying Ayurveda in Kerala. My therapist shared info on the school he attended and told me about his experience on how he became a healer. I was highly inspired by him! All the therapists were from India, speaking a little English and no Hungarian at all or maybe a few words. They all radiated positive, divine energies with smiles and respect toward us that I felt I didn't deserve for some reason. I mean, how dare I come here with my health issues and give them my blocked energies when they are shining warmly? They'd deserve to be shined back at. My therapist was so tuned into my energies and the problems in my body, that knowledge he collected just by touching/ feeling my body over the massage, that I was flabbergasted. No way I could hide that I was in a bad mood or that I ate meat (I only ate meat the day before I arrived otherwise meat is not allowed during the treatment). He felt it right on.

What happens after the treatment?

After the treatment, I felt the same as before with the little difference in my body became a bit more flexible. I noticed that I could lift my right leg higher up than before and the pain in my back, which I used to feel in certain yoga poses, was gone.

On the negative, my skin turned so dry that it hurt and was itchy. It is funny because every day for 2 weeks (even on Saturday and Sunday!) my whole body was massaged in plenty of warm ayurvedic oils yet my skin turned extremely dry. I also had many red dry spots on certain parts of my body like on my bottom, around the armpits, lower back, and hip, which was said to be the result of the toxin that was leaving my body through the skin. I was advised to put sesame oil on my skin to aid both the dryness and the spots. The spots were gone in about 2 weeks but the dryness stayed on for months.

I also received a massive bag of Ayurvedic supplements and a list of food of what to eat and what to avoid strictly in the next 3 months. Why 3 months? I was told that the old cells die and new ones are born in every 3 months. I did some extra research on that, and here's what I found with the help of feelguide.com and livescience.com:

"You are given a new liver every six weeks (a human liver can regenerate itself completely even if as little as 25% remains of it). Your stomach lining replaces itself every 4 days, and the stomach cells that come into contact with digesting food are replaced every 5 minutes."

"Skin: The epidermis sees a fair amount of wear and tear, thanks to its role as the body's outermost layer of protection. These skin cells rejuvenate every two to four weeks.

Hair: The body's natural fuzz has a life span of about six years for women and three years for men.

Stomach and Intestines: Cells that line the surface of the stomach and intestines have a difficult, short life. Constantly battered by corrosives like stomach acids, they typically last only up to five days.

Bones: Cells in the skeletal system regenerate almost constantly, but the complete process takes a full 10 years. The renewal process slows down as we age, so our bones get thinner."

What do I recommend?

As Panchakarma is recommended for not only healing but rejuvenating purposes, please do as much research as possible before you attend the treatment in your chosen healing centre, in or outside of your country, as it is very costly and you will want to complete it with positive feelings and mindset. So check their website, call them up, read the reviews, and educate yourself on what Panchakarma is about. Many people are not prepared emotionally and mentally for the changes that their body is about to go through during the treatment, they expect it to be a beauty treatment, and in the end, it is kind of a beauty treatment it's true... but not in the conventional way of thinking of beauty. It is a cell-based cleansing and detoxifying process so you're not going to get gentle beauty touches but deep and thorough "invading" methods inside out.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely!

Panchakarma treatment in Hungary may be a bit westernized to fit European cultural needs and habits. I have a feeling that it would have been tougher to go through with it in its original environment, India. However, I would have loved to connect the healing adventure with an exciting travel journey!

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If you're interested, you can watch my Panchakarma vlog below:

Thank you for reading and watching!

Until next time ♡