Panchakarma or Ayurveda Detoxification
It is a special type of treatment in Ayurveda. It literally means five processes of treatment or five therapies. It is also referred as ayurvedic detoxification i.e. detoxification with ayurveda.
In Ayurveda, treatment is of two types
- Shodhana chikitsa
- Shaman chikitsa
Panchkarma is mainly shodhan chikitsa.
As we know, “impure doshas” is the root cause of disease. In shodhana, impure doshas are removed from the body, this gives relief from disease.
Phanchkarma rub out root cause, so cure of disease is permanent. Person gets rid of possibility of re-occurrence of disease. Hence it is called ‘Apunarbhav chikitsa’ (Panchakarma benefits)
In shaman chikitsa, impurities are suppressed with the help of medicines. But when the doshas get favorable condition, they may become impure again. This creates a chance for re-occurrence of a disease. Hence, shodhan chikitsa (panchakarma) is better than a shaman chikitsa.
As we have stated above, panchakarma is mainly shodhan chikitsa i.e. cleansing process, but not all the subtypes of panchkarma are of this type e.g. anuvasana basti, bruhan nasya. Although panchakarma is the important part of ayurvedic treatment, it is little used in routine practice because of its complexity. It is necessary that, it should be carried out in attendance of an expert / qualified health professional. Otherwise it may lead to many complications.
The process is different with respect to various aspects like
- Ayurvedic body type
- Age
- Digestive strength
- Immunity status
- Extent of dosha imbalance etc.
To know which are the five processes of panchakarma treatment visit page Panchakarma treatment.
Visit Panchkarma therapy process to know various steps performed during actual panchakarma treatment.