Panchakarma at Ayurveda Centre
- ANHC, Goa - India
Introduction to Panchakarma
The litrary meaning of word 'pancha' means five, and karma means therapeutics.
Five types of theraputies which are mainly used for purification or
elimination of body impurities are called panchakarma. Purification
or elimination is a natural instinct of the body. Our body has its
own wisdom for cleaning out the impurities, which are produced by
physiological functions. However there are certain situations when
this situation becomes impaired, and does not perform its functions
properly. We have to re-establish this natural mechanism. Otherwise
all the impurities start to accumulate in the body which damage the
functions of organs which is a first stage of disease, and finally
whole system becomes susceptible to severe illness. Panchakarma is
a purification program for eliminating all impurities from the body
and cleaning the systems-which help to prevent forthcoming disease.
Body cells which are functioning for twenty-four hours to produce
energy, naturally known to clean their waste products. But the blocked
system are not able to send off the waste materials. Doshas-vata-pitta
and kapha always tend to travel from their basic location in intestines
to the tissues and gets sticked there when channels are blocked. Panchakarma
eliminates the doshas, cleanse the blockage and improves transportation
by which dosha come back to their original places to perform normal
functions.
What is panchakarma? Panchakarma is five types
of therapeutics which is mainly eliminative in action. They are as
follows:
- Vaman use of emetics
- Virechan use of purgatives
- Basti medicinal enematas
- Nasya nasal administrations
- Rakta mokshanam blood letting
Pre-therapeutics.
- Snehan oleation therapy
- Swedana fomentation therapy
Post therapeutics
- The method of dietetic to restore
digestive fire
- Pacifying treatment
- Promotive type of treatment.
Scientific Approach to Panchakarma - Ayurvedic
Purification Procedure
It has now been scientifically shown that a natural purification
treatment can successfully eliminate environmentally toxic substances
such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB's) and pesticides from the
body, without damaging side effects.
A study at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy
at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa in collaboration
with a special laboratory at Colorado University demonstrated that
classical Panchakarma treatment eliminated up to 50% of the detectable
toxins in the blood.
Chemicals injure health
The world's largest facility for substance identification, the Chemical
Abstracts Service in Columbus, Ohio, USA, currently has more than
13 million artificial substances registered. At least 100,000 of
these industrial commodities combine into a chemical “soup”
which we constantly absorb through food, air and our skin. Experts
calculate that in Germany 30% of the population suffer from environmentally
induced diseases.
Most of the toady's environmental toxins are lipophils that accumulate
in the fatty tissues of the body. These fat-soluble toxins are associated
with a range of diseases such as hormone disruption, immune system
suppression, allergies, diseases of the liver and skin, various
types of cancer, neurological illness, reproductive disorders and
deformities.
The study
The study consisted of two parts: a cross-sectional comparison and
a longitudinal pre- and post- treatment. It was designed to examine
the level of contamination by toxins in the population and the effectiveness
of Panchakarma treatment in eliminating these poisons.
Panchakarma Treatment
Several modalities in the Ayurveda detoxification procedure use
non-toxic, lipophilic materials, such as clarified butter in the
oleation phase and herbalized sesame oil in the massage and enema
treatments. These traditional methods are believed to sequentially
loosen and remove lipid soluble toxicants from their deposited sites
and stimulate their elimination.
The cross-sectional study
88 subjects, age 45 years and older, participated in the cross-sectional
study: 48 had previously undergone the detoxification procedure
an average of 18 times and 40 had not. Blood samples from both groups
were sent to the Analytical Laboratory in the Department of Environmental
Health at Colorado State University that was blind to the
treatment status of the subjects.
PCBs and Pesticides Found in Blood Samples
Blood samples from both cross-sectional groups were assayed for
17 lipophilic toxicants, including 9 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
congeners and 8 pesticides and metabolites, such as DDE, a by-product
of DDT. The specific PCBs and pesticides that were studied had either
been previously linked to major health problems or had been of high
concern for their potential toxicity.
The results showed that blood levels of PCBs and several pesticides
were significantly lower in the detoxification group than in the
controls.
The longitudinal study
In the longitudinal study, blood samples from 15 subjects who participated
in the Vedic Approach to Health Ayurvedic detoxification procedure
were assayed, pre- and post-treatment, by Colombia State University
Analytical Laboratory.
The results of the two-month longitudinal study showed that PCBs
and Beta-HCH levels were reduced by 46 percent and 58 percent respectively
in the MVAH detoxification group. Without this intervention, the
expected drop in PCBs and Beta-HCH over two months would be only
a fraction of one percent. Previously, no method had been scientifically
verified to reduce levels of these lipid-soluble toxicants in the
human body without causing negative side effects.
Assessment
The study came to two conclusions:
1) An alarming finding of the study was that PCB and DDE levels
appear to be unexpectedly high in the general population, and may
actually be increasing. This is surprising since these toxicants
were banned decades ago in many countries. However they have not
disappeared from the environment since they have half-lives several
years in duration. Also they are still entering the food chain through
imports.
2) Within days Panchakarma treatment eliminated a large proportion
of these fat-soluble toxins from the body. Without this intervention,
the expected drop would be only a fraction of one percent.
Study Shows Banned PCBs and Agrochemicals in Blood Reduced 50 Percent
By Centuries-Old Detoxification Procedure.
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