PANCHA KARMA IN KANNUR, YEAR 2

My friend Anamda receives a blessing and an offering
of turmeric from the
"priest" at this 500-year old Kovu (temple).

Although I doubted I would ever return to Kannur, here I am, reporting on my second pancha karma experience. In fact, the trip would turn out to bring much more than a great cleanse, swimming in the ocean and shopping. Mind you, the gold jewelry stores display incredible quantity, creativity and splendor.

In front of my room with my group and new friends Renith, Lascita,
Devya and Subash. Thanks for the photo, Krishna.

Friendships

The first thing that struck me were the smiles of recognition on everyone’s faces as the members of my group reconnected with the people we met last year at the Anjali Ayurvedic Centre and at the Shoreline Beach Hotel. Those connections were to deepen and shift from acquaintances to real friendship. We even had the privilege of being invited to some of their homes, and to join them in spiritual ceremonies as this was the time of the yearly festival of Thayam. Over time, we would learn about their family lives, dreams, challenges and the complexity of their culture and belief systems.

Learning

Many healing herbs are offered
during religious ceremonies.

In addition to receiving pancha karma treatments every day for 21 days, the trip included two training segments. The first one, on Transmutation with Bhuvaneswari, took us ever more deeply into the mystery of who we are and the personality aspects that cut us off from our natural self, the all-knower. You may wish to read her article about it at http://bhuvaneswari.ca.previewdns.com/life-persona-and-personalities. The other, with Dr. Rajesh Deven, focused on ayurvedic herbs and their preparation and uses. We covered topics such as cholesterol, PMS and fertility issues, varicose veins, coughs and fevers, skin problems, help for smokers who want to kick the habit, and many more.

The body needs to go at its own pace

Once again, I was confronted with the fact that in the pancha karma process--as in any medical procedure--the body needs to go at its own pace. I needed to surrender my expectations of my doshas reaching perfect balance within 3 weeks, of loosing weight, avoiding discomfort and… accepting vastis (enemas). In fact, I have to admit that vastis were useful and not as uncomfortable as expected because the body was prepared by the previous treatments.

I also learned from personal experience that some rashes can be aggravated by the application of oil. My knowledge/experience-based ego rebelled! Although the mechanics of this still escape me, it definitely felt like putting oil on fire while creating leaking blisters. Even the medical staff was puzzled that milk baths and shirodaras were ineffective. After changing the ingredients to baths with herb teas, cooling diet and herbal supplements, the rash finally decreased.

Food was delicious and plenty, served fresh every day,
with some ingredients from the owner's garden!

Oddly enough, by the end of our trip, the most common comment we received was that we all had lost weight. This was despite being fed delicious meals with coconut milk, rice, curries, lladas, uttapums, payasams and other Kerala specialties. Mind you, sweating in the 35+C sunny and humid temperature likely contributed to the weight loss.

The dolphin’s wisdom

The beach: sunny, warm and
powerful; the dolphin is already gone!

In hindsight, I realize that by  letting go of control, judgements, guarantees, and by relaxing about not knowing my life expands. It becomes richer and more fulfilling. Among all the goodbyes received, an unexpected one came from a playful dolphin, the first I saw during the month, who gave us a joyful display for a good five minutes. What a gift! It seemed to tell us: “Come back and have fun with us again next year!”