Before deciding for Athreya Ayurveda services, please read every word of this article prepared by Dr. Sreejit for Athreya Ayurveda center
What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda is the oldest documented and researched medical system in the world,
which has been at the forefront of health care on the Indian subcontinent for over three
thousand years. Even the best efforts of the western medical practitioners do not
address in totality the health issues confronted by the modern mankind.
Ayurveda describes the means of prolonging life and the methods of invigorating
it. It is a holistic and natural healing system which is completely devoid of any side
effects(if practiced appropriately) & is capable of taking care of global health needs.
How does Ayurveda benefit you?
Objective of Ayurveda is to cure ailments of a patient and to maintain and promote health of the healthy by:
• curative healthcare- cure for specific diseases &
• preventive healthcare –wellness
Ayurveda aims at finding the root cause of a disease and then eradicating it completely from the patient.
Who should try Ayurveda medical system?
- People whose ailment has been termed a ‘hopeless situation’ by conventional medical system
- Who seek better management of their health issues that are not satisfactorily dealt with in conventional medical system
- Who require body detoxification and mental rejuvenation
- Who desire better immunity from diseases?
- Who wish to delay the effects of ageing process – are the ideal candidates for Ayurveda therapies?
How to arrive to Athreya?
Athreya– a medical resort.it is an authentic Ayurveda medical resort, owned & run by a family of 5 generations of heritage experienced ayurvedic doctors.
It is run in a very organized and professional manner with a personal touch & is recommended to anyone who is looking for an alternative to western medicine. itis set in a natural setting surrounded on one side by paddy fields and is an oasis where you would rejuvenate and regain your health and vigor.
This creates an environment for purifying the body naturally, which eliminates toxic imbalances through panchakarma, enabling natural resistance to diseases and the attainment of good health. Food is healthy and follows the ayurvedic chart of “right food”.
it is highly recommended to anyone seeking an alternative to western medicine and a genuine holistic experience.
- Make your wish list of requirements & expectations
- Receive 7 documents from Athreya.
- Watch the YouTube video of Dr. Sreejith’ s 41 videos on Ayurveda awareness, link is sent as 7th document
- Then set up a skype call to discuss on the social, personal, medical and financial aspects of your stay.
Importance of setting reasonable & achievable expectations.
This is done by skype/ WhatsApp / phone call discussions. This is the most important step before you invest your money, time &faith inathreya.
Many of our prospective clients have experience in Ayurveda. But some do not and hence it’s essential that utmost clarity is attained with a personalized plan for your welfare.
Ayurveda is a vast science with many methodologies of practice and the practice of Ayurveda in terms of implementation of therapies varies sometimes very significantly from north to south, east to west of India and even from zone to zone inside Kerala and even clinic to clinic & strikingly enough from doctors to doctors of the same traditional family. But ultimately all are reasonably effective.
What will Athreya Ayurveda resort do for your welfare?
Take care of your medical health in terms of ayurvedic parameters-well before, during & after the stay at Athreya by preparation, direct attention & follow up guidance respectively.
Cure prospects – prognosis of disease – what results to expect – at Athreya & after?
Ayurveda describes in detail 4 types of prognosis:
1st easily curable;
2nd curable with difficulty;
3rd palliative ie. lifelong bearing and addressing the ailments by attending to it by therapies, food and lifestyle modification;
4thly incurable.
All of the clients who opt for Athreya fall in the 2nd 3rd and 4th category.
The very fact that a client decides to cross the boundaries of his/her native nation is a proof that the client is looking for achieving benefits that are not available (obtained) from/by the best medical care or healing system of their/his/her country.
So, we must acknowledge that your health issues may not be easy to be cured by Ayurveda. So, we realize we need to make enormous efforts for your healing.
Prognosis is decided not just by the disease diagnosis only but also by the chronicity, severity & complications developed by the disease in the individual & presence of co-morbidity.
Health maintenance is like an investment in servicing a car on a yearly basis. This is why thousands of medical tourists visit Kerala for Ayurveda to ‘’recharge‘’ their body and mind.
Who responds to therapies best, how to find best cure response?
Out of our experience from over 3 thousand international clients in the past 10 years at Athreya, we generally find that youngsters age group of 20-30, 30-40 & 40-50 years- [before menopause] are able to attain quicker (and lasting) benefits of therapies even up to 2, 3 or 4 years.
But those who are 50 + age with incurable prognosis in western medicine and with complications of disease are found to have effects of therapies lasting only 6 to 8 to 10 months and with the onset of winter they find health deteriorating. We do have clients who have visited us 7 times in last 9 years. Notably enough, persons with lesser body fat & greater muscle bulk, non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, with favorable astrology charts of their horoscope are able to find better cure prospects.
These are inherent factors in them that favor their cure. But against all odds if a patient adheres to following healthy food and life style aspects with regular usage of herbals for 6 months (minimum 3 months) after completion of panchakarma; practicing regular mantras chanting, regular prayers & spiritual practices – he/she too attains great benefits.
Is panchakarma enough? No!!
A very common unrealistic expectation that many clients have and believe is they consider that the panchakarma process/ programme will “fix” everything. This is a big misconception as panchakarma is only half done of the full healing process. “rasayana” is essential and can be done in modified protocol at home after departure.
Rasayana makes functional and structural corrections that happen in next 3 to 6 months after your programme at Athreya. Regretfully most clients refuse this action.
Why results are disappointing?
There are many clients who complain/observe of not fully cured scenario. They are the ones who did not follow the above-mentioned aspects. The 41-minute awareness video helps to relate to these facts.
How does healing happen beyond expectation
Even though classical text books of Ayurveda declare certain type of prognosis, many times we have observed that there are “forces” beyond our comprehension in favor of [and also importantly enough –against] the healing of a patient.
Ayurveda clearly describes that the will of god can be challenged and overcome by the endeavor of the human being. This is the ray of hope for some of you who face the impossible variety of the prognosis and here comes the role and relevance of daivavyapashraya chikitsa (spiritual therapy) – separate details are furnished about it. This section of Ayurveda is not practiced in resorts but it is fairly commonly practiced in Kerala society. It’s very effective but not always effective.
Arrival to Athreya
Only after the full totality of the cure prospects are clear, does it make sense to book in Athreya. also, it is important that the logistics level expectations are verified& also if any special requirements of yours are communicated to us & verified, if we can deliver the same to your satisfaction.
Medical evaluation at Athreya (before arrival to Athreya)
Interview is possible by skype. Investigation reports can be shared by e-mail but inspection and palpation – physical examination happens only in the direct consultation.
Evaluation happens by/on the basis of the medical form details. Evaluation of disease pathology & evaluation of person’s health status/physiology are done. Health evaluation unlike engineering is not always black and white, it could be grey which means someone may not be having evidence or features of aliments but still may not feel well in body and mind. Definition of health by world health organization and Ayurveda are very similar. Health is a state of physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual wellbeing & not just absence of disease. Samadoshashcha, samagnicha.
This is what we shall strive to achieve by our efforts may before, during & after the programme at Athreya.
How much to improve for better health? How messed up is my health? Questions that many clients ask.
Many patients report defined diagnosis and defined list of symptoms & body mind unease status that clients narratevividly.but many do not realize that they were forming inside their body & mind the platform for future ailments or at least quicker ageing process/slower metabolism/ early degeneration (which finally end up being sure disease scenarios at many organ systems of body and mind).
Many “pre-morbid” conditions are detected on inspection and palpation & surprise the patient. Among these few examples are sleep’s quality and depth, nasal polyposis, nasal hypertrophy, early cataract features of iris shadow, exertional dyspnea –breathlessness on moderate exertion, post meal lethargy, sinking stools, urine flow lesser than 20 seconds in one stretch, abdomen fat greater than 35 or 40 inches in ladies & gents respectively, inability to take deep breathing even for 10 seconds in one stretch, excess heat in scalp & abdomen, tenderness and trigger points on scalp or elsewhere, hard abdomen surface, cold touch extremities, falling sleepy with in half hour of any meals intake etc. Are just few of the many indicators that the client is walking towards the “danger zone”. On many occasion a simple blood pressure measurement has revealed an unsuspecting client to find reading as high as 170/110 mm hg just by chance!!
Pathology: this brings us to the point – what is attempted to be corrected at Athreya?
Nobody walks out of Athreya’s healing programme fully symptom free or fully healthy. Most people find 40 to 70% relief of their health issue than on arrival but for some only -10 to 25 % relief is found.
What are Doshas?
it is very important to realize that there are three Doshas – vata, pitta and kaphaas per Ayurveda theory & practice. Apart from being physically appreciated & also indirectly appreciated by their effect, these entities called Doshas are basically compartmentalization’s of the various functions of body & mind, even though sattva rajas tamas are mind related. Just as physiologically they perform their functions, they go ‘’wrong’’ towards body by pathology that is disease process.
Interestingly enough, even the western medicine acknowledges that human body can go only through these disease pathways- common mechanisms. Degenerative, inflammatory/infective, neoplastic that vata, pitta, Kapha represent respectively.
Is every client at Athreya receiving same therapies? Some clients ask so.
The answer is partly yes & partly no. The pathologies or disease in a human are neoplastic (relatable to Kapha), inflammatory/infective (relatable to pitta), degenerative (relatable to vata). There are easily understandable examples.
When Kapha is deranged/ vitiated/ corrupted, the symptoms may vary from stuffed nose, productive cough with white (not yellow or green) sputum, high cholesterol, blocked blood vessels in heart, tumors and malignancies to psychiatric conditions like depression.
The disturbance of pitta can produce acne in face, boils, acidity, gastric or duodenal ulcer, cough with yellow or green (not white) sputum, gangrene, bleeding disorders of malignant nature, psychiatric conditions like the maniac stage.
Similarly, when vata is affected, it manifest dry foot / cracked feet, sleeplessness, erratic hunger, severe deformity of joints by osteoarthritis, brain atrophy, memory loss&pyschiatiric conditions like phobia & severe anxiety.
Basically pitta, kaph and vata [if deranged] can have their dangerous negative impacts at any level and any organ system of body or even mind.
What does Athreya attempt to do for your health?
This makes us comment that, at Athreya, an intensive therapeutic regiment is attempted to every client in the following segments. Athreya attempts to cure and prevent ailments by the healing programme detecting pre-morbid conditions & resolving them.
a. Metabolism correction with focus on gastro intestinal system
b. Blood “purification” (please recollect the “bad” blood pictures of the awareness video)
c. Body rejuvenation/anti degeneration
Metabolism correction implies “Ama” – endotoxins removal and hence these three segments (a, b, c) qualify to be counter measures to the deranged Kapha, pitta (rakta), vata respectively. This is happening at the physical level. Regarding the mind level, extra efforts, other than the normal panchakarma, may be surely required. May be not –rarely.
When will oil massage be done?
Many clients are disappointed in the initial days because they consider a herbal oil massage as the only and best remedy for their ailments and this is a big misconception that is prevalent in internet, unfortunately misguiding patients.
It is our medical responsibility to convey to you that on most occasions, oil massages are not done in the first week for most clients [not all] based on the clinical principles of Ayurveda. How does one expect to be polishing shoes without cleaning them enough?
What are the ‘’toxins’’?
Few examples of verifiable/measurable “toxins” are high blood sugar level, high cholesterol level, high sgpt (serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase), high creatinine, high ie (immunoglobulin e), low hemoglobin, high eosinophils, very high hemoglobin like 16 or 17, hyper acidity etc. The list is so long but distinguished…
Even excessive sub cutaneous oedema (extra stagnant fluid over the skin surface) and even deeper in the viscera come in this heading. Anything/ any situation that is against the health welfare of body is considered as “toxins” by us.
What are benefits of panchakarma (the process of eliminating toxins)?
The bottom line is all the panchakarma therapies have very deeper, far reaching implications in:
– Curing ailments
– Eradicating pre-morbid conditions
– Maintaining tissue vitality& youthfulness
– Enhance immunity from disease
– In the long run in preventing ailments.
Tentative treatment plan for most of the clients here
Let us imagine you went to a muddy field with shoes on. After reaching home you realize that shoes are dirty and that they cannot be used / are not fit enough for immediate usage due to mud coating over shoe. Imagine that the shoes represent the human body, the mud represents the toxins or the physical/emotional stress and the water to clean the shoe surface represents the therapies. This helps one realize that the body is to be attended constantly in treatment of cleaning/detox and only after that, the polish/rejuvenation is to be done.
Why is my therapy ‘’same as someone’s with different ailments”?
Even though there is a general plan of therapies that “appears” as the same therapy for all clients, there are distinct variations in the dosage, selection, format, intensity, repetition of herbals utilized and also the formulations of the same.
Which are the therapy protocols will go through? External level & internal level
Most people go through the following tentative protocol:
Plan of external level therapies
1stphase consists of herbal water rinsing/ dry powder massage to start with & then
The 2nd phase is the oil massage and steam that lubricates the body to the very finest level
& 3rd phase – deeper regeneration therapies of rice poultice massage.
Plan of internal level therapies
The internal level must be also cleaned, segment after segment, and this cleaning is necessary for most of the clients. Therefore, the upper gastro area of the body will be cleaned by sadyovamana (medicinal emesis), the middle gastro area will be cleaned by Virechana (purgation) and the lower gastro area will be cleaned by vasti (medicinal enema). There is also nasya, the therapy consisting in application of herbs through the nasal route.
Raktamokshana therapy (bloodletting), has different methods of implementations and is performed in specific clinical conditions.
It is important to also convey that these therapies not only have a local effect but a greater systemic effect in the body.
What are benefits of internal cleansing?
Example: sadyovamana (medicinal emesis) does not only relieve or eradicate hyper acidity, it relieves & cures acute respiratory distress, severe allergic rhinitis / whole body itching due to allergy and the list is long…
Similarly Virechana(purgation) reduces the serum bilirubin level (jaundice) from the values as high as 32 to the normal value 1.1.it helps the level of sgpt, to drastically fall down to normal, from the values as high as 5000.it also ensures weeping, painful, oozing skin conditions to get better with profound relief after or sometimes by the 2ndor 3rd day.
Similarly, enema or vasti [though appears to reach only till the edge of small intestine] – is the frontline therapy for a wide range of complicated systemic ailments like rheumatoid arthritis. It is also excellent in bringing down serum creatinine levels in one week’s time in kidney failure causes, lowering blood sugar level, in cases of very low hemoglobin levels like 7 gm%, in myeloid dysplastic syndrome & the list continues…
Does every client get ‘’the same ‘’ set of sequence of therapies?
So it is this pattern of/protocol of/sequence of implementation of therapies that prompts/confusesour clients to consider “everybody gets the same treatments”.
But it is important to note that the specific herbal ingredients, varied dosages, different frequency of implementation of these procedures create the distinct, striking & profound difference to makes us assertively comment that we are implementing therapies differently from patient to patient.
The difference is created by the selecting of herbs, dosage, number of repeated therapies & many other deeper technical aspects of our programme which are sometimes confusing the internet reader.
a simple example is that in sadyovamana we are using salty water, sweet liquor ice decoction or even milk, based on the clinical condition.
Similarly, for sadyovirechana, we may opt for either of the following – milk and castor oil / castor oil + decoction+ distilled liquid /tablets or honey plus herbal powder /herbal jam, etc.
Enema can be done by using decoctions of different formulas, milk or even oil. It appears as “same” procedure but its effects on the body are very, very different.
Similar is the case of Shirodhara (the procedure of pouring liquid to the forehead). According to the patient’s condition, we select herbal water, oil, milk or herbal butter milk for performing Shirodhara. Any enquiries are very welcome regarding the therapies clarification.
How reliable is the internet info?
Even though many write ups are reliable in the internet pertaining to Ayurveda, our clients are requested not to confuse and corrupt their unbiased viewpoints, by internet information which are not always genuine, reliable, authentic or backed by clinical experiences.
Why am i subjected to the ‘’boring ‘’herbal water bath? What does herbal water bath achieve for me?
Skin has 7 layers (3+4) 3 epidermis & 4 dermis and toxins need to be expelled through skin and from inside the “koshta” (deeper gastro intestinal system &more) that implicates not just abdomen cavity but also the thoracic cavity.
This brings us to the Dhanyamladhara (therapy of herbal water rinsing) and udvarthana (dry powder massage), which perform skin level (even deeper level) cleaning, as they wash off the toxins.
This therapy is ‘boring ‘for many clients even though there is no other therapy that achieves what it does. At least three days of it are needed for best results of the cure programme. the least number of days we have performed in any client is 3 days and the most is nonstop 21 days based on specific conditions.
Three therapies done to almost all clients
Almost invariably every one of us is in the danger of accumulating abnormally high visceral fat which is nearly sure (not always though) to be exhibited as abdomen fat/increased waist line. A print out on the aspects of visceral fat is handed over on arrival.
Similar is the matter of psychological stress, brain over-activity of personal and professional nature, carrying an emotional baggage of chronic/short term, deep level emotional or psychological stress in professional & personal life situations.
These two aspects prompt us to enforce the abdomen massage, Shirodhara therapy & massage of neck and shoulder to be done in almost every client here from the very beginning.
What are the gastro level cleansings of the first 5 days?
It is also noteworthy that the process of herbal vomiting (sadyovamana), purgation(sadyovirechana), and enema(vasti) ensure expulsion of toxins generated by unwanted Kapha, pitta &vata.
What to expect in the first 5 days at Athreya? body and mind responses to therapies
Our clients, people from 88 different nations, have reported to us the following responses in first 3 to 5 days’ time: headache, tiredness, lethargy, disorientation, restlessness, anxiety, fragility, irritability, heaviness of the body and head, sluggishness, excess of sleeping, overwhelming, frequent passing of stool and urine, bloated abdomen and weird dreams.
The above responses are found in the majority of patients. Few of the patients report of loss of hunger, dizziness, burning urination, cramps in legs and skin rashes.
Please note that all these are indicative that that the healing process has already started or the body has started to respond. All these symptoms disappear after the 5th day.
Protecting your aura field, is it worth doing? Yes!
Please ensure to protect your aura field in the first three and last three days of your stay. If you wish to do it, doctor will guide you only on your request. Dreams and mind dose become very overwhelming for many. Many unpleasant, old memories or life events could come back regurgitating.it is better to “observe” them than to “indulge” with them.
Towards the 5th days 3 major cleansing happens, most clients destabilized and time for evaluation of progress of clients starts/benefits of therapies gets started to be evaluated.
Benefits or delayed benefits from therapies. what if diseases do not respond at all to panchakarma?
Ayurvedic medicines can start acting in favor of the patient as quick as in few second’s duration that is before one minute time, to as delayed (not denied) as over two months, to show any changes that are appreciable.
Most patients with chronic ailments report “shift” towards positive feedback by 3rd or 4th day or after six doses of medicines. This has been observed by me in over 100000 patients in the last 10 years handling health issues of local, state level, national level & international level clients that i have come across and this is the collective experience of a selective group of doctors.
Occasionally there is a flare up of the symptoms temporarily before they start to get cured-this is mostly seen in dermatological and psychiatric conditions.
Controversial/ unbelievable / but undeniable experience’s. Sceptics of alternate healing capabilities may ignore the lines below
We have had many clients who do not show any changes/improvements even after one week of therapies implementation in clinical precision & being text book correct manner. These situations are frustrating to doctor and patient alike.
At this point, we recommend checking the energy plane of the chakras by a healer lady in the town who appears to have clairvoyant like abilities does perform very well. Majority of patients respond to energy healing methods of pranichealing but a minority has failed too and the reality dawns that it may be a situation of “energy channels block” or of para psychological or past life regression therapy deserving ailment. Similar is the scope of para surgical therapies of Ayurveda.
It has been observed by me in over 300 patients [as of July 2016] that once the ‘’chakra energy ‘’ becomes better, and then patients report that “positive shift” & ease that “something” starts to respond in them. Not only psychological but many physical ailments. [fbs 312 ppbs 416 – resistant to insulin] rheumatoid arthritis not responding even to morphine are few conditions I have faced where all the 7 chakras of the patient are negative/ anti-clockwise in appearance in the dousing method that is practised all over the world. I have found people feeling better even by removing some gifts, rings necklace, chains that they wearing a long time. List of these experiences is long but distinguished & patients do find it difficult to relate and it sometimes challenges my integrity and sanity – both of which I submit to god to decide and enlighten the suspecting suffering soul.