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Ayurvedic medicine remains the choice of a majority of India's 1.25 billion people. Why, when western pharmacies are available? Ayurvedic medicine and technique has been honed over 3000 years in a massive, continuous kind of empirical experiment.
Following 3 weeks of treatment in India in January I experienced 3 months of almost complete remission from ME. Moderate to mildly symptomatic prior to treatment, post treatment I was able to resume swimming, cycling and gym workouts and go to work 3 days a week.
I say almost complete remission because I still didn't feel able to risk mountaineering, but I had been sometimes bed-bound with ME over 5 years. I will returning to India for a further 3 week session in November and hope second time around with a modified (more intensive) regime which I hope will enable me to get back in the mountains.
If you are too ill or not in a financial position to get to India then you will be able to find a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner in most cities and towns in the West. Ask around to find a good one!
Here is how my Indian doctor approached treatment-
Panchakarma- or simply detox and replenishment of microbiota. I did 5 days of this but some braver souls do 10 days. Diet is restricted to 2 organic rice/veg gruel dishes a day.
In the morning, the patient takes their medicine-panchagavya- a liquid microbiota concoction ( a Western alternative can be found here- http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...n-order-to-alleviate-severe-ibs-symtoms.2200/
The patient is also massaged for an hour with oil
Following either a deep tissue massage on a low table or a slightly gentler massage on a higher table, the patient sits in a steam box for 20 minutes and you can really feel the fluid running out of your skin
Five days of this treatment left me feeling more energetic and fresher but this is only preparation for the focused treatment.
Massage continues and the head is massaged for 1 hour prior to the session of shirodhara-this is a very powerful technique targeting the the central nervous system-the brain. The patient lies flat on his/her back, eyes covered whilst the technician pours heated medicinal oil in a slow rhythm across the forehead-back and forth.
Prior to treatment I was rather non-plussed by the idea, post treatment I found myself profoundly removed from my normal 'head-state'. From then on I would anticipate the day's shirodhara with a slight sense of trepidation.
The photo above is a posed shot, normally the patients eyes are covered and oil runs down the pipe of the oil vessel.
In shirodhara, therapeutic pulses are sent through the brain. I think it was primarily this technique that gave me my first deep, refreshing sleep (N3) in 5 years. The experience of proper sleep was truly wonderful.
Combined with shirodhara was a technique that seemed pretty exotic to me called nasyam, in which the patient snorts freshly extracted juice from medicinal herbs mixed with fresh human breast milk-(probably not available in the West along with panchagavya but there are probably alternatives).
During the entire 3 weeks I also took a variety of liquid/tablet medicines (all in picture albums on the site called Ayurvedic 1,2 and 3)
At the end of the 3 week process I felt completely different-a quantum change in health and well-being (which is why I'm going back for more).
Reflecting on these techniques I think the detox speaks for itself. The panchagavya is really interesting in the light of research into gut microbiome in the West. I have no explanation for the nasyam. The shirodhara I think may be compared to recent therapeutic work using pulsed magnetic therapy.
I have experimented with a wide variety of supplements/drugs/medicines in an attempt to put ME behind me. This Ayurvedic treatment has brought me closest to a solution.
As a final note, I am not an exhibitionist or proud of my body-but I think a photo conveys a lot more than words.
Quick note to moderator, sorry for size of photos, I do not know how to minimize them. Please minimize. Sorry
Following 3 weeks of treatment in India in January I experienced 3 months of almost complete remission from ME. Moderate to mildly symptomatic prior to treatment, post treatment I was able to resume swimming, cycling and gym workouts and go to work 3 days a week.
I say almost complete remission because I still didn't feel able to risk mountaineering, but I had been sometimes bed-bound with ME over 5 years. I will returning to India for a further 3 week session in November and hope second time around with a modified (more intensive) regime which I hope will enable me to get back in the mountains.
If you are too ill or not in a financial position to get to India then you will be able to find a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner in most cities and towns in the West. Ask around to find a good one!
Here is how my Indian doctor approached treatment-
Panchakarma- or simply detox and replenishment of microbiota. I did 5 days of this but some braver souls do 10 days. Diet is restricted to 2 organic rice/veg gruel dishes a day.
In the morning, the patient takes their medicine-panchagavya- a liquid microbiota concoction ( a Western alternative can be found here- http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...n-order-to-alleviate-severe-ibs-symtoms.2200/
The patient is also massaged for an hour with oil
Following either a deep tissue massage on a low table or a slightly gentler massage on a higher table, the patient sits in a steam box for 20 minutes and you can really feel the fluid running out of your skin
Five days of this treatment left me feeling more energetic and fresher but this is only preparation for the focused treatment.
Massage continues and the head is massaged for 1 hour prior to the session of shirodhara-this is a very powerful technique targeting the the central nervous system-the brain. The patient lies flat on his/her back, eyes covered whilst the technician pours heated medicinal oil in a slow rhythm across the forehead-back and forth.
Prior to treatment I was rather non-plussed by the idea, post treatment I found myself profoundly removed from my normal 'head-state'. From then on I would anticipate the day's shirodhara with a slight sense of trepidation.
The photo above is a posed shot, normally the patients eyes are covered and oil runs down the pipe of the oil vessel.
In shirodhara, therapeutic pulses are sent through the brain. I think it was primarily this technique that gave me my first deep, refreshing sleep (N3) in 5 years. The experience of proper sleep was truly wonderful.
Combined with shirodhara was a technique that seemed pretty exotic to me called nasyam, in which the patient snorts freshly extracted juice from medicinal herbs mixed with fresh human breast milk-(probably not available in the West along with panchagavya but there are probably alternatives).
During the entire 3 weeks I also took a variety of liquid/tablet medicines (all in picture albums on the site called Ayurvedic 1,2 and 3)
At the end of the 3 week process I felt completely different-a quantum change in health and well-being (which is why I'm going back for more).
Reflecting on these techniques I think the detox speaks for itself. The panchagavya is really interesting in the light of research into gut microbiome in the West. I have no explanation for the nasyam. The shirodhara I think may be compared to recent therapeutic work using pulsed magnetic therapy.
I have experimented with a wide variety of supplements/drugs/medicines in an attempt to put ME behind me. This Ayurvedic treatment has brought me closest to a solution.
As a final note, I am not an exhibitionist or proud of my body-but I think a photo conveys a lot more than words.
Quick note to moderator, sorry for size of photos, I do not know how to minimize them. Please minimize. Sorry