Panchakarma Part 4 - Result

The next 10 days was the final leg of my panchakarma treatment, the weather here was reaching 40 degrees daily but I tried to get my 5km walks done in the morning to keep my body moving. It would still be hot like 32 degrees every morning but the sun did wonders on getting my balayage highlights lighter, making my hair look great even though the highlights were done 6months back! This final leg of my treatment involved daily udwartana (dry powder massage) for an hour and then in the afternoon (on alternate days) either Nasya (nose treatment) or Akshitarpana (eye treatment). Although some may not be fond of Udwartana massage, I enjoyed having this daily as felt it really gave my body a refresh. Plus as I was happy with having it daily, dr said it would help the body in breaking down fatty deposits. Every session of treatment was decided the day before so that the dr could personalise the day based on how I was finding the treatment, we took it day by day.

I found the Nasya and Akshitarpana treatments very interesting. For Nasya they would cover your eyes with a cotton blindfold, and then would bring steam for you to inhale, then would put oil drops filling each nostril which you had to hold on your throat and not swallow. Once both nostrils were filled with this medicated oil, they would bring steam again for you to inhale along with the medicated oil so that it could enter through the nose and be absorbed. This treatment is great for sinus issues, eye problems and releasing toxins from ear, nose, throat and head. For Akshitarpana, the therapist made a dough and then using a dry coconut, shaped the dough around the eyes to make it look like sunglasses. She would firmly press the dough in place so once the dry coconut frame was removed, the dough would stay in place. Then with my eyes closed, they would pour warm ghee to cover my eyes and ask me to open and closed my eyes so the ghee would be absorbed by the eyes. On the first day I refused to open my eyes, thinking it might be dangerous or just finding it weird. But as each treatment session passed, I slowly opened my eyes to the point where I could open my eyes wide open and see the layer of ghee on top of my pupils. Felt an achievement and felt like a psychological thought holding me back initially, just like how I refuse to open my eyes when in a swimming pool and head is underwater. Something for me to work on!

The last 2 days of my treatment, my period came and so there was minimum treatment as in Ayurveda your period is a natural cleansing system on the body and so a woman should give herself the chance to rest so the body can do all the eliminating of unwanted waste. I have PCOS so my periods are very random, and on average, I get it 3-4 times a year. Suffering from PCOS from childhood and not having my period for the last 7 months just shows that the cleansing of panchakarma on my body has had some effect.

In my last week of treatment, the dr did scan and blood test result so he could compare my hospital reports which were done a week before leaving London. The results showed the my diabetes had been reversed, clots fully gone from the lungs and the extra nerve in my left eye had also gone. So does this mean that I can go back to life as it was before? No. What I have learnt on my journey here is the lifestyle changes I need to do such as daily yoga morning and evening, importance of pranayama daily, listening to my body and for me what works which is eating twice a day (9am and 5pm with no snacking in between). I learnt the importance of eating seasonal fruit and veg, oh and did I mention I went from 94kg to 84kg in these 6 weeks. This is someone who managed to go from 120kg to 94kg in the last 9 years and not been able to budge the scales at all. But don’t sound so surprised as 94kg me and 84kg me, look the same. This Panchakarma for me has cleaned me from within, and as I go back to London life which will be busier and with the natural stress, my weight may go a few kilos up, but I hope to keep consistent to keep my body health and have the extra push in losing weight.

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