Ayurveda Panchakarma

Panchakarma - If you are interested in Ayurveda, sooner or later you will stumble across this term, because in Ayurvedic medicine the Panchakarma retreat plays a central role. If you would also like to know more about what this Ayurvedic form of treatment actually is and what it involves, then you have come to the right place!

We have compiled the most important information on the subject of Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatment for you, so that you can find answers to your questions about the treatments, the procedure and the benefits of Panchakarma therapy.

Panchakarma in Ayurveda refers to the detoxification or cleansing therapy aimed at preventing or treating diseases and restoring the balance between body and soul. The imbalance can be caused, for example, by improper diet, stress, environmental factors or even private problems. The body becomes unsettled and toxins and waste products can be deposited, which also causes the doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha, the basic energetic forces - to become unbalanced. In the long run, this can promote the development of disease.

Translated, Panchakarma means "fivefold action" or "fivefold purification", or "the five actions". This refers to the five procedures of Ayurvedic detoxification, with the help of which the body is cleansed of excess doshas and thus brought back into balance. Below you will learn more about the different treatments and the course of the Panchakarma therapy.

An integral part of any Ayurvedic treatment is the consultation with the Ayurvedic doctor or specialist at the beginning of your stay. Through an intensive examination and various procedures such as pulse diagnosis, the doctor or specialist can accurately determine the state of your doshas and localize imbalances.

Your constitutional type is then determined. For this purpose, your Ayurvedic specialist will have an in-depth conversation with you and will also take a close look at external features such as your skin, hair, fingernails and eyes. Based on all of these observations, the specialist will create an individual treatment plan that is tailored to your exact needs. From the variety of Panchakarma treatments, the most suitable for you will be selected and the diet will also be adapted to your Dosha type. During the course of the retreat, the Ayurvedic specialist will ensure during further consultations that the chosen treatments will also help you.

The subsequent Panchakarma thearpy, with the treatments individualized for you depending on the focus, is divided into three main phases :

The aim of the preparation phase is to activate the doshas and the metabolic waste products(ama) accumulated in the tissues. Ayurvedic herbs and spices as well as internal and external oil treatments are used for this purpose. Here, for example, the ghee described above is used to release the doshas and waste products in the cells. External oil massages are used to eliminate the toxins and waste products that have accumulated in the tissues.

During the main phase of the Panchakarma treatment, the five effective cleansing techniques mentioned above are used. With their help, the previously dissolved excess doshas are directed out of the body. Ayurveda knows these five methods:

1. Vamana - therapeutic vomiting
2. Virechana - laxative therapy
3. Basti/Vasti - intestinal enema
4. Nasya - nasal and sinus treatment
5. Raktamokshana - blood purification therapy

However, in most cases - and especially for European guests- purification is performed only by Virechana or Vasti. Therapeutic vomiting and blood purification are very rarely used.

In the regeneration phase after the treatment, the effects of the Panchakarma therapy can unfold. During this phase your body and mind are further strengthened, for example with the help of herbal preparations, soothing oil massages, steam baths, powder massages and doshagerecht rebuilding diet. Yoga and meditation are also important components of the Paschatkarma phase.