Oiled brow
Pancha karma means ‘five works’. It’s basically an ayurvedic detoxification treatment. The five works or cleansing treatments are as follows:
1. Vamana. Therapeutic vomiting.
2. Virechana. Therapeutic purgation.
3. Basti. Medicated enemas.
4. Nasya. Nasal elimination.
5. Ratka Moksha. Therapeutic release of toxic blood.
I underwent a 14-day pancha karma treatment at the Sivananda ashram in Kerala at the end of last year. This course of pancha karma didn’t involve vomiting (though I did this involuntarily myself during the programme!) or the blood letting, but there was plenty of purgation and enemas.
Pancha karma, as you can probably tell, is a very intense therapy, so you have to be deemed fit to do it by an ayurvedic doctor. When doing so, the doctor will normally tell you your ayurvedic constitution and give you dietary recommendations. The three constitutions are: kapha, who are big-built, easygoing people; pitta, who are medium-sized, firey and motivated; and vata who are skinny and nervy. Often people are mixtures of these. I, with my average height and weight and slight reddish tinge to my skin and hair, am pretty standard pitta.
The pancha karma is divided into two stages. The first stage involves massage (dry and with oil). The idea is to move all the toxins to the digestive system. The second stage is flushing out all these toxins, i.e. purgation.
Days 1-3 involved dry brushing, with herbs rubbed onto your body. The tiny Indian masseuses had surprising strong arms and hands and this could sometimes be quite painful. It’s supposed to help with weight-loss, and it is possible at the ashram to undergo a 14-day treatment of solely to do this.
Days 4-8 featured massage with oil and hot bundles. This was lovely: warm ghee was dropped onto my third eye and I felt like my face was melting away. The bundles smelt of garlic and savoury herbs, so it was a bit like being gently bashed about with some bouquet garni. I also did the nasal elimination, which was sniffing a medicine to clear the head and nasal passages, and started on the ghee treatment: I was given a small cup of the stuff mixed with herbs. I was warned about this, how noxious the ghee was. The first few days it was okay, almost pleasant, but as the days went on the measures increased until on day eight my nose wrinkled at the sight of that little plastic cup. I forced it down and after two hours of writhing in my bed knew there was no other way about it, and I went to the bathroom where both ends opened. I was amazed at the volume. Later, the doctor told me you should stop taking it when you can’t tolerate it anymore, i.e. either when it comes out in your stools or you can’t stand the sight of it.
Day 9 was the big day. Purgation. At the ashram you could see easily spot the people who were undergoing this by uncomfortable expression on their faces and the large silver kettles full of warm water (cold water is too harsh on the stomach) that they were carrying to their bedrooms. On day 9 there are no nice massages, just a beaker of foul-smelling liquid that I almost vomitted on taking, then back to the dormitory with said kettle. You then lie in bed and wait for the purgation. Mine started about two and a half hours later. The cramping pains were terrible, my face was burning and I was covered in sweat. I wanted to lie on the floor to feel the coolness. After a while a masseuse came and checked up on me. “How many times did you go to the toilet?” she asked me. “Not how many times,” I replied. “How long. I went for an hour.”
Days 10 to 14 were alternate full-stomach enemas, followed by empty stomach enemas. It was a bit humbling to have a enema. I didn’t really like people seeing that part of me! The full-stomach enemas were easy: there were mainly oil and were over pretty quickly. The empty stomach enemas involved a lot of liquid being inserted into me and a lot of stuff coming out. Incredible after the purgation how much there was to come out.
I know I make pancha karma sound horrendous, but as I said it is an intense experience. I also have no tolerance for pain: I’ve never been attracted to either drink or drugs as I cannot bear hangovers or come-downs. And don’t get me wrong — I absolutely love the Sivananda ashram in Neyyar Dam: it’s one of my favourite places in the world. You can stay there for about 10 pounds a night (high season dormitory, all inclusive), and have one of the best times in your life (if you’re like me, of course!).
I wasn’t in particularly bad shape when I underwent pancha karma, so I didn’t see any dramatic results. However, I lost weight and the bloating and heartburn I suffered before (a result of too much pitta, the doctor informed me) went away. Some other people reported greater effects: one man I met at the ashram was having pancha karma because it was the only thing he found that could clear up his psoriasis.