Panchkarma Therapies – Ancient Ayurveda System

Janu Vasti 

It is a process in which oil is retained in the knee joint by making a ring or dough wall with black gram warm and medicated oils. It helps in strengthening the knee pain and joints.
Knee pain is one of the most common health issues we encounter in the modern era. It disturbs our day to day activities and makes us feel crippled. It is often associated with stiffness, swelling, burning sensation, click sounds and limitation of movements.

Ayurveda offers the best time tested remedies for knee pain related to osteoarthritis and other such painful condition. The knee joint is called “Janu Sandhi” in Sanskrit; hence the name “Janu-Vasti” is given to the procedure done on the knee joints. Janu means joint pain and Vasti means to hold. Among all other therapies known for treating/curing chronic knee or joint pain, Janu Vasti is the most popular. In this treatment, the knee joint is bathed with warm medicated oil or freshly prepared herbal decoction. It provides magical relief from pain, stiffness associated with knee problems and other long lasting benefits.

Kati Vasti

To achieve a balanced state of body, mind and consciousness, Ayurveda prescribes purification therapy. Kativasti is one of the purification therapies. The word “kati” refers to the lower abdomen area and the waist. The process of holding the warm oil in the region that has been affected is known as Vasti. Therefore, Kativasti refers to the process of applying warm ayurvedic oil on the waist and other portions of the spine. As per Ayurveda, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy or wrong diet regimen results in poor metabolism, which produces undigested food toxins. Higher accumulation of toxins into body plays a major role in backache. It is necessary to detoxify your body after regular intervals because with detoxification, you not only get rid of dangerous toxins from the body but also increase the vitality of your body.

Nasya

Nasya is an ayurvedic practice that encourages nasal administration of medicinal herbs, decoctions and oils. Administered of herbally infused oil, nasya helps facilitate the cleaning process.

The nose is the door to consciousness and the pathway to our inner pharmacy. Medications that are administered via nasal passages affect the mind, pranavata, tarpak kapha, sadhak pitta and majja dhatu.

Potli Massage

Potli massage therapy is done using heated herbal pouches also known as potlis that are used to nourish the affected area. Potlis contain a selection of ayurvedic herbs both fresh and dried. They are packed in a muslin cloth and dipped in warm medicated oil or sand and then nourished onto specific points for healing.

There are three types of potli massages:

• For rejuvenation and detoxification
• For pain relief, muscle tension and joint pain
• For stress release and migraine pain

Snehabhyangam

Ayurveda is a science of life which provides curative as well as preventive principles for a healthy and long life. Massage of the body with the help of taila, ghrita in the same direction of the body (Anuloman gati) is called Abhyanga. Abhyanga is considered to be in snehan therapy as a part of pre-therapeutic procedures of panchkarma.

Udhwarthanam

Udhwarthanam is one such procedure that helps your skin stay healthy and glowing with your body getting rid of most of its excessive fat. This incorporates a massage focused on releasing toxins, followed by application of a purifying herbal compound that gets through the skin into the blood stream. Afterwards toxins are sweated out through steam/sweat therapy and then a flower or milk lotion is applied to clean and nourish the body. It is similar to other types of massages except in the direction of massage. Hence, medicated powder is rubbed over the body from bottom to top. The powder is massaged in a circular manner starting from the foot.

Shirodhara

Shiro means “head” and dhara means “dripping” oil as if a thread. The purpose of shirodhara is to calm the nervous system.  It is deeply calming for brain and balances all the imbalances in the body.

Ayurveda works with the individual, so your state of mind and body is always considered before doing shirodhara.  It’s always best to start with at-least one session of snehan before having shirodhara treatment. Shirodhara is body’s natural healing mechanism.