Mind and Medicine – Alan

I am completely fascinated by the practice of using the mind as a complement to medicine in the process of healing the body. Here at the clinic I have the opportunity to engage in that practice multiple times throughout the day as I meditate in the morning and during the  treatments.  On our first day Dr. Raju  told us that disease is often the result of karma and mind, and that we should use our minds to dispel the disease!

Today is the beginning of our second week at the clinic and my daily treatments are starting to change. The treatment that is consistent throughout the entire stay is the Abhyanga, which is a therapeutic massage that is the administered by two people using herb infused coconut oil. The two “techs”, in unison, use a series of strokes over the entire body that are meant to release any toxins and waste products that build up in layers of skin and the lymph system. It feels great and I like to help the process along by envisioning the cleansing process in my mind’s eye as they do the massage.

There is another treatment that uses a container (basti) to hold oil on different locations of the body,  the locations change throughout the stay. Currently I am receiving the heart basti which entails making a dough out of chickpea flour and water and then shaping it into a doughnut. The techs then place a doughnut over my heart and navel, smashing the outside of the doughnut so that it forms the “basti” and is sealed to my body. They then fill the basti with a warm-to-hot oil that is infused with herbs for that particular location. It is amazing how the body reacts to these treatments! As soon as the oil is added I can feel the pulsing of blood underneath the skin where the basti is placed. I focus on the blood rushing to that area of the body and washing away any disease.

One of my favorite treatments is the Thakradhara. For this treatment they cover my eyes and send a steady stream of cool water infused with buttermilk and herbs over my forehead. At times they let the stream fall on the middle of my forehead and others they sweep the water back and forth across it. It feels divine and particularly during the sweeping motion I imagine the cool liquid sweeping away any negative thoughts about my health and well-being.

The treatments above are given during the morning and after a long shower to clean off the oil and herbs I come back  and head off to lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and I find it to be delicious. The food here is vegetarian but not vegan. But aside from abstaining from the yogurt drink that is served I have not been omitting any other food due to dairy content. The flavors and spices are great but they use very few chilies so the food is not hot.

After lunch I come back to our room and spend some time reading or writing and then head off to my afternoon treatment. There is usually only one treatment in the afternoon so the time goes by pretty quickly. Currently I am having a shiro(head) basti in the afternoon. This is my least favorite treatment but likely the one I need the most as the end result is a warm pool of infused oil covering my scalp. When it works correctly it is calming and I use the 40 minutes or so of the treatment to think about melting away the lesion that is on my brain. The problem with this treatment is the way they contain the pool on top of my head. They use a a thinner version of the “dough” as a paste along with a plastic rectangle that they wrap around my head and tie it on very tightly! Between the plastic riding down on my ears and the thing being clamped on too tightly it can be a little uncomfortable. I have had two of these so far and the first one went pretty smoothly, the one I had today was too tight and I now have a sore red spot on my forehead. I am sure there is a better way to do this!

Dinner is usually very light. A thin soup, some dahl, rice, and chapatti(bread). The food here at the clinic is really thought of as part of the treatment. Everything is meant to be easily digested and they purposely make the lunchtime meal heartier. While it doesn’t appear I have done much during the day, by 9:30 or 10:00 at night I am tired and ready for bed!

So that is a typical day in the life here at the clinic. Only two more weeks left in India, the time is going by way too quickly.