Healing Touch With Ayurveda Location : Kerala Coined From : ‘Ayur’ (life) and ‘Veda’ (knowledge) Types of Therapy : Curing and Rejuvenating Best Time For Therapy : During the monsoons (June - August)

Healing Touch With Ayurveda - The Naturally Holistic Art of Living

Healing Touch With Ayurveda

Kalari Kovilakom Sree Shankara Vaidya Shala

Kottakkal Vaidya Shala Thiruvananthapuram

Shayadri Centre Munnar

"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct, medicine is of no need"

- Ayurvedic Proverb

Health can be said as the spinal cord of human life. Ayurveda is a holistic approach, taking the body, mind and spirit in unison, including the emotions and psychology, to shape up whatever is in entropy with the forces of nature - the sages of ancient India knew this to be the only solution to the questions of health. But 'ayur' (life) and 'veda' (knowledge) is much more than mere high-priced oil treatments and sex-enhancing settlements, as is believed by many tourists. It is a science that revolves around the unexplored dimensions of do's and dont's of life, a life that derives its essence from one of the world's most ancient systems of medicine.

Try It To Believe It

Welcome to Kerala, the land of spices, to learn and experience Ayurveda, by heart. Kerala, the paradise of varied natural herbal ecosystems, enriched and fine-tuned Ayurveda over the chapters of time. While the pharmacon was enriched by 'Siddha' and 'Marma' systems in southern Kerala, it shaked hands with Kalaripayattu and Kalari Therapy in northern Kerala, resulting in the emergence of a completely new trend, now admired for its special procedures, formulations and applications. Over the pages of history, the western world found a quick channel to invigorate their weary soul, (and why soul, their mind and body too). Kerala with its sprawling greens surely provides the best to re-energise every tourist who want to engage himself into this ancient Indian art of healing. Many of the world-renowned personalities have visited - and still do - Kerala (including Hollywood actress Kate Winslet) and ayurveda has helped them all. Visit Kerala to explore the magic of ayurveda, an art that has to be experienced to believe.

Tracing the Lines of Medicine

The secret of Ayurveda cuddles in the Vedic womb of ancient India. Though the origins of this magical yet natural philosophy of panacea are lost in oblivion and myth, Ayurveda is believed to be written by VedVyasa, the creator of Mahabharata epic, along with the more spiritual insights of self realization into a body of scriptural literature called the Vedas and the Vedic literatures. History has it that, ancient Indian Ayurvedic schools encouraged many enthusiasts who came from numerous countries to learn about this world medicine and the religious scriptures it sprang from. Ayurvedic texts were even translated in Arabic and under physicians such as Avicenna and Razi Sempion - both of whom quoted Indian Ayurvedic texts - flourished Islamic medicine. In 16th Century Europe, Paracelsus, who is eulogized as the father of modem Western medicine, practiced and propagated a system of medicine, strongly resembling the steps of Ayurveda.

The Rejuvenating Panchakarma Treatment

The Magic of Ayurvedic Repository

Tinned foods, soft drinks, water etc. contain toxins that reduce our immunity, resulting in reducing the lifespan of every individual by offering various ailments. People become prone to heart problems, liver disorders, diabetes, respiratory diseases etc., which they get to know only at a critical stage. In today's world, fruits and vegetables, which were once made to nourish our body, too are contaminated with pesticides, chemicals and hormones used for its preservation. Even allopathic medicines (and not to mention tobacco and alcohol) carry reasonable amount of toxins which shoe a long term effect. All these problems have only one solution, Ayurveda.

Unfortunately, Ayurveda doesn't provide a quick-fix solution nor does it offer instant nirvana. The best part of Ayurveda is that it cares for a patient in entirety during treatment. One aspect of Ayurveda embraces the 'Panchkarma' (the art of five) therapy, which is an inch more than a cure for stress and strain. The Sodhana (rejuvenation) therapy involves five phases of de-toxification predated by a few elementary treatments such as 'Snehapanam' (internal treatment through ingestion of herbs) and 'Swedam' (external treatment with hot bundles of herbal mixture). By eliminating the waste products (free radicals) from the body, by vomiting and purgation, it tones up the nerves and improves the circulatory system, thereby bestowing the person with higher levels of vigour and vitality.

Leave Yourself In Safe Hands

The process of healing is quite interesting. You will be made to seat in a wooden basin (taila-droni) and after carrying out some sacred rites, a herbal oil is first applied to the head which is then allowed to flow in a steady stream on the body. Feel the way the warm, medicated oil brushes your body and makes you perspire (kaya-sekha or Pizhichil). Pizhichil is done by two or four trained individuals on healthy persons as a rejuvenatory therapy or on people with chronic musculo-skeletal and neurological disorders. One has to save about 60-90 minutes per day for a period of 3-14 days from the holiday agenda to experience the eternal pleasure of Indian Ayurveda.

For tourists disheartened because of day to day beldam, 'Sirovashi', widely practiced in Kerala, is a fine option. Sirovashi is the term connoted to the process of allowing medicated oils to remain on the head for a prescribed period of time. A bandage will be tied around your head and a cap with an open end, will be placed on it. The prescribed prophylactic preparation, warmed to body temperature, is then poured into the cap until it annexes about three-quarter inch of space above the skull. The treatment is effective in the cure of the loss of tactile sense, facial paralysis, sleeplessness, dryness of nostrils and throat, and severe forms of headache.

The Attractive 'A' Factor

What makes ayurveda most attractive, though fairly expensive, is the fact that it is free from any sort of side effects, if properly undergone, and more importantly it is eco-friendly. It is mainly based on the belief that human body has the ability to heal itself. It is said that diseases are due to improper eating and life style habits, overlooking one's body type, environment and age, and by establishing a balance between inner and outer world body, mind and spirit, most of the day to day ailments can be cured. Travellers should avoid such scrupulous medical centres, particularly in big tourist destinations like Kovalam, who prescribe treatments depending on how much one can pay rather than what one needs. Before agreeing to such treatments, be absolutely sure that such a malady exists and the treatments are truly required. Plan your holiday vacations during the monsoon months (June through August), which are believed to be the ideal time for ayurvedic treatments. The atmosphere remains dust-free and cool, opening the pores of the body to the maximum, making it most receptive to herbal oils and therapy.