Back to Dr. Raju’s Clinic!

Hello everyone! I am relaunching this blog that chronicles my time at an Ayurvedic clinic in Hyderabad, India. I originally learned about this clinic when I had melanoma about 15 years ago, and given that I had no other treatment options from western medicine, decided rather quickly that this was the place I wanted to be. Susan joined me for two visits after my first visit in 2011 and also contributed to the blog. I usually wrote about how the treatments were given and the visits we made to local temples. Susan wrote more on the people side of our adventure. To read about the earlier trips, they are available in the blog archive.

Today is my fourth full day at the clinic after arriving Friday evening, 9/18. Looking back to the last time I came to the clinic…could it really be 2013? August of 2013 was my last post on this blog, so I am thinking that must be true!

A lot has changed in our lives over the past 13 years. Our children are now young adults and are pursing/beginning to pursue their careers. Susan has been building her business and creating new coaching models to help her clients be better leaders. For me, I kicked melanoma and helped build the operational side of the CRSP business, including an index product in addition to its historical database products. Ultimately, the CRSP LLC was sold to Morningstar in February of this year, and I retired in June. I see this visit to the clinic as a good transition into retirement after a stressful work environment over the past couple of years.

This will be a five-week stay for Panchakarma, not my longest stay… but close. After just a couple of days, I already feel like I’m getting back into the flow of things  at the clinic.  For those who don’t remember, the first thing we do each day is see Dr. Raju so he can take our pulse. He uses this information to decide what treatments to recommend or to make any changes to existing treatments. After that, it is a short walk to the business center where the technicians are waiting to start your treatment for the day. Not much has changed with the business center itself, but the treatment rooms are nicer than I remember, and as always, the technicians are very good and kind. I am surprised at how familiar it all feels after such a long time. The aroma of the herbs and the oils are amazing, and the abhyanga massage is very relaxing. There are multiple treatments in the morning and then usually just one in the afternoon. 

In addition to the Panchakarma, I am also using this time to set up what I intend to be my ongoing morning routine in retired life. Rather than getting up and immediately jumping on my computer or phone, I am taking time to meditate and do yoga.  Looking forward to making this a habit!

I will post every few days or at least once a week.  If you have questions about the cleanse, please put them in the comments below and I will address them. 

I am feeling so fortunate to return to this very special place.  I always felt that my remission from stage 4 melanoma was due to a combination of my treatments here, which tremendously slowed down the spread of the disease, and the opportunity to have great health care at home.  I was a recipient of the first immunotherapy for melanoma. 

I will post some photos in upcoming blogs, so readers can get a sense of the clinic.  Thank you for your interest in following my trip.