ABOUT PANCHAKARMA

What is Panchakarma ?
Panch - five AND Karma - Action / Treatment

Panchakarma is an integral part of Ayurveda which helps achieve a balanced state of body, mind and consciousness through detoxification and rejuvenation.Panchakarma is a set of therapies designed mainly for cleansing the body of toxins ( आम ). Ayurveda considers that the purification of the body is important before the commencement of any other therapy. Panchakarma procedures are helpful in removing these accumulated harmful toxins from the body and thus preventing the body from getting diseased.

Panchakarma treatments are also useful in enhancing immunity of the body. The anti-ageing (कायाकल्प) therapies are very helpful in nourishing the tissues of the body deeply and improving vigor, vitality & strength. Thus, help in regaining youthfulness & preventing premature ageing.

Panchakarma treatments achieve these goals by five ‘karmas’ (actions) -

• Vaman / वमन
• Virechan / विरेचन
• Basti / बस्ती
• Shirodhara / शिरोधारा
• Nasya / नस्य्

Pre-Treatment / पूर्व कर्म :

This is the first step of panchakarma.Patient has to undergo pre-treatment before administering any of the five karmas of panchakarma i.e. vaman, virechan, basti, shirodhara or nasya. Once patient has undergone pre-treatment, he/she is ready for panchakarma treatment.

• Snehan / स्नेहन / Oleation - It involves application and massaging of herbal oils , ghee or oily substances on the body.
  The fatty substances manage to reach the deeper tissues and thus act as effective medium for the medicinal ingredients to reach to every cell of the body. This loosens up the toxins stuck deep in the cells.


• Swedan / स्वेदन / Fomentation / Herbal steam bath - It involves giving herbal steam bath to the patient thereby generating sweat. Oleation therapies are generally followed by fomentation therapies.
  The tissues made soft by oleation therapies beome more flexible by subsequent fomentation. Deep-rooted toxins loosened by oleation liquefy due to fomentation and hence get easily flushed out of the body.