After
two weeks of dieting and taking Ayurvedic herbs, I am ready for some hands on
therapy. I arrange a Rasayana day spa
appointment. Getting the appointment is
the hardest part. Apparently, Ayurvedic medicine, like other forms of
alternative medicine, is quite popular in Asheville. The first appointment I can arrange is two
weeks away. Finally, the day arrives. Much to my delight, the Ayurvedic center is
now located in North Asheville. As I pull up in my car, I appreciatively note
the center is in a turn of the century home in an eclectic area of town. I like it when my preconceived notions are
realized. This is much better than the yuppie
section of town where it previously sat. I arrive at 12:30 p.m. on the dot. Despite my goal of relaxation, I hope I am
not forced to wait - I am playing hooky from work, and I don’t want to be gone
too long. I toss my pager in the front
console of my car and beseech it to remain silent for the next two hours. I also turn off my phone. Receiving pages and calls from the hospital will
not help me relax.
I sink into a comfortable couch in the front room. The smell of incense wafts through the
building. A sign alerts me that a
session is in progress. After only a few
minutes, the Ayurvedic doctor beckons me to follow him upstairs. The Ayurvedic office is located in the front
room of the house on the second floor.
There is a massage table in the center of the room and Indian art on the
walls. I also see the shelves of crushed
herbs made the trip, as well as the three foot high elephant Buddha. He asks how I feel and if I have been
following the dietary prescription he suggested. I say that I have. I mention that the herbs are not so tasty. He says their smell and texture are part of
the therapy. He is not opposed to my
adding lemon juice to the mixture of hot water and herbs, as I have been doing,
but says I should also experience the herbs on their own (no way in hell, I
think to myself). He then introduces me
to his female assistant, and we get down to business. They step out of the room while I fully
undress and cover myself with a warm cover while lying on the massage table.
Upon their return, gentle music is turned on - piano
playing, followed by various reed instruments - quite soothing. Over the next hour, I experience the Abhyanga
(warm herbal oil massage). The two
practitioners work in unison - one starting on my head and face and the other
on my feet. I am very squeamish about
anyone touching the bottoms of my feet.
Usually, the experience is anything but relaxing. Amazingly, I tolerate it and even like it. Perhaps having one person kneading my scalp
while the soles of my feet are massaged provides the necessary tactile
distraction. He even massages my
ears. He places mint drops (or something
similar) in my nose to open my sinuses. The
next hour is decadent: two sets of hands
rubbing me from stem to stern, front and back with warm herbal oil. I have never received such attention. I later read the oil is a liquid form of fat
that is well absorbed through the skin. Purportedly,
it enters my circulation and binds to toxins which are eliminated through
normal processes. This form of
detoxification sure beats the heck out of the UltraSimple Diet I did last
month. The hour rapidly passes. When it is over, I reluctantly move on to the
next stage of my day spa package, the Basha Swedana, or herbal steam bath.
The doctor leads me, still fully disrobed except for a
small hand towel, to a single person sauna in the corner of the room. The front of the steam bath swings open to
reveal a small bench. The door is closed,
and my whole body is enveloped, except for an opening for my head. Slowly, steam emanates from the floor of the
chamber. It feels nice and warm. I wish I had one of these at home. It is a bit strange though: while my body is bathed in steam, my head is
out in the room just hanging out. It
reminds me of the Halloween gag of the talking head poking through a table as if
it is the main course for dinner.
Meanwhile, the Ayurvedic doctor and his helper are milling around the
room setting up for the next stage of my experience. It gives me a chance to ask some questions. I ask “Where do you get the jars of powdered herbs?”
and “Have you traveled to India?” He replies
some of the herbs are purchased from U.S. based companies, while he acquires
others through his sources in India (my fears are realized . . . Indian herbs .
. . toxic metals - I try not to show my concern). He has spent time in India, and his mentors
are native Indians who trained him here in the United States.
I
then ask about the other Ayurvedic methods of cleansing I read about -
bleeding, emetics, and laxatives. He
says he uses all of these methods, but primarily for special cases. He explains that in India, leeches are often
used, but here in the U.S., he just encourages patients to donate blood and
follow this with a diet of cleansing herbs.
He says that dermatologic conditions respond particularly well to
bleeding while emetics, or herbs that induce vomiting, are useful for treating
conditions such as gastric reflux disease. He also uses laxatives. The goal of all of these therapies is to help
remove toxins, or alma, from one’s system. He mostly focuses on dietary
changes, herbal meds, and day spa treatments, such as I have been receiving. It appears I have been receiving “Panchakarma
– lite.” This is fine with me, but it is
fascinating that the more “alternative” aspects of Ayurvedic medicine are fully
embraced locally. After about twenty
minutes in the steam bath, I am ready for my final treatment of the day, a
Shirodhara.
Shirodhara involves slowly pouring liquid over one’s head
- shiro (head) and dhara (flow). I
return to the massage table, and the assistant dims the lights and places a
small wet towel over my eyes. The
soothing music is resumed, and over the next 30 minutes, warm sesame seed oil
is slowly poured over my forehead. The
oil is released from a suspended pot that resembles a honeypot with a nozzle on
the bottom. The oil runs over my
forehead and then oozes through my hair and is collected in a basin below my
head and recycled. The doctor says most people find it very relaxing and are
able to enter a meditative state. He is
not kidding. Here I am, lying naked on a
table with only a thin sheet covering me while a stranger pours oil over my
head, and I actually fall asleep - unprecedented. Eventually, the music stops, and I wake up. I sit up, wrap myself in the sheet, and walk
to a shower. I look in the mirror, and I
appear ready to audition for the movie Grease.
After a quick shower, I pay my bill, a cool $199, but
well worth it, and I drive back to work.
Fortunately, the rest of the afternoon is not too taxing. I don’t think I could have handled it if it
had been really busy. I have completed
my Rasayana Day Spa. This spa treatment combined
with one more week of herbs, and my special diet and my self-determined
panchakarma will be complete.
Next week - Ayurveda - Is there evidence to back it up?
