panchakarma treatments in Ayurveda

 Ayurvedic Panchakarma therapies(Five purification methods)

PANCHAKARMA(Part-1)

    By- Dr kavita vyas [M.D.ayurveda]

In ancient day panchakarma therapy was mainly used for strengthning the inmmunity of the person and increasing the healthy life span. Like we do servicing of the vehicles for maintenance of milage in the same way we do panchakrma for the servicing of whole body. 

With increase in the disease panchakarma therapies are now know as treatment therapies but mainly these were described for maintaining the health.

Ayurvedic Panchkarma treatment 

Panchakarma includes five purification methods -

1. Vamana Karma (Emesis)

2. Virechana Karma (Purgation)

3. Basti Karma (Medicated Enemas)

4. Nasya (Medicated Nasal Cleansing)

5. Raktamokshana (Blood Letting)

As per charak samhita and sushrut samhitaThese five methods are considered to be the most radical way to cleanse the body and there by eliminate the disease causing humors.

In south india tradition of treatment there are many other therapies are given under panchakarma like shirodhara, abhyangam, pottali swedam, udizzil, pidizil etc. so nowadays all doctors of panchakarma use both north and south methods of panchakarma. 

These methods can be applied for chronic and acute diseases e. g. the use of vomiting therapy to treat asthamatic attack.Or these methods can be used for internal cleansing of the body so it increases the efficiency of body and mind and also healthy life span of the person.

Healthy lifestyle and healthy environment 

Panchakarma Therapy is useful

1. For healthy person - to preserve well- being and to prevent illness.

2. In ill-health - to cure the illness, to prevent recurrence.

Mainly Panchakarma is indoor treatment.For getting good results person should get admitted in an ayurvedic panchakarma hospital and then he/she can take panchakarma treatment. Panchakarma therapy can not be done without proper equipments and facilities.

Before starting the main treatment (pradhan karma) we have to do purvakarma (Preliminary preparations) and after doing pradhan karma we have to take proper measures for follow up (Uttara karma). I can say Panchakarma should be taken as seriously as an operation (surgery), like before a operation we do pre-operative,measures and later on post operative measures.In the same way we do in panchakarma treatment. Nowadays because patient has lack of time some physicians has started doing Basti (medicated enema), Nasya (nasal cleansing) and rakta mokshana (blood letting) treatment as outdoor treatment. One should take these treatment under the guidance of a qualified doctor. Ayurvedic therapist are trained to administer the therapy, including measuring the eliminated substances. Panchakarma methods are varied according to the individual, specific disease, season, and culture and so on.

         We are describing here panchakarma treatment in short, so that readers can have a general knowledge about these therapies.

First we will see Purvakarma and in later articles we will discuss other parts of panchakarma therapies.

Purva Karma (Preliminary Preparation)

Purva karma includes snehana (oleation) and swedana (sweating) methods. Before doing five purification methods like vaman, virechana etc. one has to under go purva krma (snehanam and swedanam). 

Snehana (oleation) - Oral intake of ghritam or oil, external application of oil on the body are mainly considered as snehanam.

Swedana (sweating) - Steam therapy or therapeutic sweating.

Snehana and swedan are considered as preliminary practices of panchakarma. Snehana and swedanam are done at least for one week, before starting the main treatment like Vamana karma or virechana karma.Before giving snehana therapy ayurvedic doctor confirm that patient’s digestive system is working properly In order to digest the ghritam (clarified butter). Usually with snehanam doctors give some digestive medicines also.Sweating therapy is given shortly after snehanam. 

Snehanam (application of oil) and swedanam (sweating) therapy are also used separately for some diseases like arthritis.thats why some people consider that snehana and sweadanam are the whole panchakarma, but it is not so because they are only preliminary practices of panchakarma.

Oil application and sweating therapy are designed to help in bringing the aggravated humors[doshas] in to the digestive tract for elimination. They soften the humors and liquefy them to direct them from the external disease pathway(plasma and blood) to the internal pathway(G.I. tract).So if one stops the treatment here ,where the aggravated doshas are accumulated in their site but not eliminated ,then it will cause distress and disease. Because if these doshas are not eliminated they will be reabsorbed and go back to the tissues where they were before.

For example vata is not eliminated through Enema treatment then it will cause variable appetite, gas, distention, constipation and insomnia. In the same way if pitta is brought out and not eliminated through purgation, then it will cause irritability, fever and hyperacidity.Kapha will cause loss of appetite, tiredness and congestion.              

Under snehanam some special treatments can be taken like shirodhara treatment (pouring oil on the forehead), kati basti (oil treatment on the back), shiro basti (oil treatment on the shiro basti), netra basti (oil treatment on the eyes).All these treatments should be taken under the guidance of qualified doctor.

see below Youtube video on health maintenance