You know it's saying something when within the 1st 5 minutes of checking into a guesthouse the owner says, "shandi shandi," or "relax" "chill out." Hmm... I guess I was a little worked up after surviving a 15-hour train ride as a single white female in India going from Vellore (Tamil Nadu) to Varkala (Kerala), a beautiful place which is known for its spectacular cliffs and nice beaches:
Well, what other way to do that than do a 21-day Ayurvedic treatment? Yup! Welcome to the"Science of Life" or Ayurveda that seeks to protect life and longevity. The idea is that we have an intrinsic order and balance, 3 doshas in our bodies: Vata (wind or air), pitta (fire) and kapha (water/earth). Supposedly, if either of those are severely out of balance, that leads to disease. So almost until the last day, I thought the whole purpose was to have them even out, but the ayurvedic doctor says that they will never even out.... it's basically just trying to restore them. So after looking at how many times I blink, how I talk, the way I walk, my mannerisms, my blood pressure, body type, the ayurvedic doctor determined I was mainly kapha, then pitta, and less vata. Based on those things, and also that I am relatively healthy without ailments, we did more or less a "Rejuvenation" package. People really seek this treatment anywhere from helping with arthritic pains to slimming, and I think that you have a specific ailment, they really do cater towards with treatment programs via medicines and/or oils. Fortunately, I don't have any of that.... yet.
Here is the resort, Krisnthatheeram, where I did my treatments and where I ate:
What most people think of Ayurvedic treatments, they think oil, oil, and more oils. And yes, they sure use a lot of oils. The last time I was in India I did 2 single Ayurvedic treatments. The 1st time it was super oily, awkward, and uncomfortable. I didn't like it at all. I decided to do another one because I figured it was probably just that treatment center which happened to be in a gym. Nope, the 2nd one was equally as oily, awkward, and uncomfortable. Why did I decide to do 21 days of it? Basically, they say, and I see it is now true, that the only time you will really benefit from it is if you do at least 2-3 weeks. Being that I had nothing really else to do these 3 weeks before xmas and I actually had some friends here that I met on the Arctic Circle trip that were also doing it, I thought it would be a nice way to treat myself.... from all the hard work of this sabbatical travel life :-)
I started with "external" cleansing... the body is prepared for 5ish days before the "internal" cleansing begins with an ayurvedic diet, oil massages and herbal steam baths.
Then comes the "internal" cleansing or "panchakarma" - internal purification. This can be done through a variety of ways, "vaman" or vomiting (really. And no, I didn't do that), "virechan" or purgation (drinking medicated butter. Yes, not the most pleasant of them all),
"vasti" or enemas (purgation through the rear-end), "nasya" or elimination of toxins through the nose, and finally "raktamoksa" which is detox of blood (leeches and other things which I DID NOT need or DID NOT do!). I had that to do that drinking purgation of "ghee," medicated liquid butter for 3 days. I survived. Then one day I took this little black pill to encourage "loose motions" and have lentils and literally rice with water all day,
then to top that off (I guess I have a dry colon, not to give too much information!) I had that "ghee" "vasti" cleansing. Ew, I know. But hey, when you do something, you got to do it all the way, huh? I have to say, I do feel "lighter" and detoxed!
So yes, between the 3 ayurvedic meals a day and 2 hour treatments, time passed quickly! Treatments was everything from them hanging on a rope and massaging me with their feet,
(Above is my therapist Biji, who literally hung onto that rope to massage me with her feet, ha ha).
to "shirodhara" or medicated oil dripped onto the forehead...
to that medicated "ghee" in my eyes, ears, and nose. And when I say I think I've had every aspect of my body, I'm not lying, from my ears to my cheeks to toes to..... yes, everything. Again, something to get used to.
Also, an important component of Ayurveda is diet, and for 3 weeks I ONLY ate vegetarian foods, no-spice, no eggs, lots of fruits and salads, and lots of curries:
Besides that, I spent the remaining time on the beach reading (I think I ended up reading 6 books!),
taking walks, doing window shopping or real shopping (hehe, things are too cheap here!),
hanging with friends I've met, lounging on the hammock,
having afternoon fruit shakes or tea, and going swimming. Tough life, I know. The 1st week I didn't feel much difference, but now I do feel my skin is clear, soft, and shiny, my hair is softer, and I think I even lost a few well-needed extra pounds (3.5 kg's!) I gained from all the meat eating in Serbia.... and carb eating in Ghana, etc.
As you see, life has slowed down a lot for me, so I was majorly entertained by the fisherman action. I never realized how much work it is, and it was really interesting to see them... and hear them. I have some cool videos of them shouting at each other but for now hopefully the pictures will do:
"Nakrathundi and Jayantha: Nakrathundi was a servant of an Asura King Narakasura. She is a demoness. She went of Devaloka the abode of Devas to capture maidens to give the king Narakasura. On the way she saw Jayantha the son of Indra. She fell in love with Jayantha and wanted to marry him. To fulfill her desire she assumed the form of a beautiful girl and asked him to marry her. He drove her away. She got angry and assumed her real form. There was a fight between them. In the flight Jayantha cuts off her nose, ears and part of her body...." and some other stuff added to that that made somewhat sense. Here are some pics from the performance:
So yes, the drama was actually done without speaking and using facial and hand gestures which were... fairly easy to understand. I really liked it, something different and again, I was just flabbergasted on the make-up and costume dressing that goes into it!
(The above is them putting this ointment in the eyes that literally make the eyes turn red. It actually looked like it hurt, although he claimed it didn't. They also made a joke that often Indian students will get this to put in their eyes and claim they have red eye to get out of class. Those Indians, always up to something!!).
Now.... it is almost Xmas time, and I probably wouldn't have known it if I wasn't getting emails asking me where I will be for Xmas. Here there is no xmas music, no gawdy green and red ornaments, no trees, nothing. There is a part of me that enjoys being away from it all, BUT I have to admit I do kinda miss catchy xmas tunes. I will be spending the next month in Sri Lanka... mostly in Tangalle to meet some friends I met the last time I was here and then may do some mini travels from there. Now beings the R&R phase of my travels... beach, beach, and more beach!!! And sunsets, sunsets and more sunsets (I'm obsessed, I know!)
Sooo... I'm sending off 2010 happy, relaxed, rejuvenated and energized, a few pounds lighter,
and want to wish you all MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! I welcome 2011 with open arms!
