How effective will it be for me to continue my treatments back home and without someone like a Therapist to apply the oils for me?
Ayurveda places great emphasis on the patient’s responsibility to his/her own health. As part of one’s daily routine, the regular application of oil is mandatory for this is one of the best methods to maintain health. Self-application is advised as often as possible and hence you may rest assured that you do not need a therapist to apply oils for you. You can yourself take the required quantity of oil, heat it lightly, and then apply it liberally all over the body with special care given to the affected joints (if any). There is no need to do any hard massage. After applying the oil, you can continue to gently move one’s hands all over the body thus rubbing the oil in; or you can just sit quietly for around 20-45 minutes based on the availability of time. After that the oil may be removed from the body using hot/warm water and from the head using lukewarm water – please do remember that hot water should never be poured on the head as it is bad for the eyes. Thus please do not hesitate to commence self-application of oil on a daily basis for the rest of your life. Also please do educate your near and dear ones about the benefit of this application and insist that they also cultivate this habit as a part of their daily routine as a preventive and promotive measure.
How am I expected to follow the lifestyle, diet and other routines that you tell me are useful for maintaining my health in today’s world where I am a working person and have very little time to spare?
Where there is a will there is a way. Ayurveda talks about self-empowerment leading to self-transformation. This means that the individual has a very important role to play in the healing process. The physician and the medicines help to a certain extent. But if the problem is to be completely rooted out, the patient has to play the dominant role. In pursuit of material gains, we often forget the need to look after our health. We must not forget that without health, the material comforts cannot be truly enjoyed. Hence it is imperative that we be ready to do anything that will help to create and maintain health.
How do I deal with factors like pollution and stress which contribute to my ill-health and over which I have absolutely no control?
External factors have a limited role to play in the health or ill-health of the individual. During heavy rains, if you are properly protected, you will continue to remain dry. Similarly, if you take necessary steps to bolster your immune system and look after your health on a day-to-day basis, then a protective shield is built around you which is impenetrable to all the pollution that surrounds you. This is why you see that though everyone is exposed to the pollution, only some are actually affected – others have a stronger system which is able to sidetrack the effects of the external pollution.
As for stress, this is self-created. Unless one is able to realise one’s priorities and work in accordance with them, stress will continually build up, and will always be a source of concern. We all feel that we can do absolutely nothing about stress since it is the effect of the modern world rather than our own wrongdoings. This is absolutely not true. The world outside has very little to do with the stress that we create inside. We are solely responsible for our stress and hence it is imperative that we take active measures to reduce the stress and tension in our lives. Practices like Yoga, meditation etc. are very effective in releasing stress.
How long will the treatment normally take to show full effect?
This is entirely dependent on the individual patient – the nature of the problem, the chronicity of the problem, the nature of the associated problems, the intensity with which the patient follows all the advice of the physician during and after the treatment for the requisite period, and also the astrological time cycle which is affecting the patient.
Generally it is seen that most patients respond positively within 3 months after completion of the treatment. The extent of cure is dependent on all the above mentioned factors. It takes 3 months or 3 lunar cycles to see the benefit primarily because the body needs time to get accustomed to the intensive cleansing that it has undergone and to get back into its normal rhythm. In one research, it was found that after 2.9 months after this course of treatment, the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a coronary vasodilator, rose a significant 80%. This study was restricted to the study of just this factor. Since the treatment is aimed at total rejuvenation of the entire body, mind and soul, it would be interesting to study the effect of the treatment on a whole range of factors covering all the systems of the body. Thus it is extremely important to continue the internal medicines, external oil application (where advised), and diet and lifestyle restrictions as advised by the physician for the suggested duration to get the maximum benefit.
In some patients, the benefit may not be seen even after three months either due to greater damage having occurred or due to improper diet and movement and not following the physician’s advice. Please do remember that it is your health that it is most important and hence please adher to the instructions given, and wherever and whenever not possible, please take the permission of your physician before violating any instructions.
Ayurveda places great emphasis on the patient’s responsibility to his/her own health. As part of one’s daily routine, the regular application of oil is mandatory for this is one of the best methods to maintain health. Self-application is advised as often as possible and hence you may rest assured that you do not need a therapist to apply oils for you. You can yourself take the required quantity of oil, heat it lightly, and then apply it liberally all over the body with special care given to the affected joints (if any). There is no need to do any hard massage. After applying the oil, you can continue to gently move one’s hands all over the body thus rubbing the oil in; or you can just sit quietly for around 20-45 minutes based on the availability of time. After that the oil may be removed from the body using hot/warm water and from the head using lukewarm water – please do remember that hot water should never be poured on the head as it is bad for the eyes. Thus please do not hesitate to commence self-application of oil on a daily basis for the rest of your life. Also please do educate your near and dear ones about the benefit of this application and insist that they also cultivate this habit as a part of their daily routine as a preventive and promotive measure.
How am I expected to follow the lifestyle, diet and other routines that you tell me are useful for maintaining my health in today’s world where I am a working person and have very little time to spare?
Where there is a will there is a way. Ayurveda talks about self-empowerment leading to self-transformation. This means that the individual has a very important role to play in the healing process. The physician and the medicines help to a certain extent. But if the problem is to be completely rooted out, the patient has to play the dominant role. In pursuit of material gains, we often forget the need to look after our health. We must not forget that without health, the material comforts cannot be truly enjoyed. Hence it is imperative that we be ready to do anything that will help to create and maintain health.
How do I deal with factors like pollution and stress which contribute to my ill-health and over which I have absolutely no control?
External factors have a limited role to play in the health or ill-health of the individual. During heavy rains, if you are properly protected, you will continue to remain dry. Similarly, if you take necessary steps to bolster your immune system and look after your health on a day-to-day basis, then a protective shield is built around you which is impenetrable to all the pollution that surrounds you. This is why you see that though everyone is exposed to the pollution, only some are actually affected – others have a stronger system which is able to sidetrack the effects of the external pollution.
As for stress, this is self-created. Unless one is able to realise one’s priorities and work in accordance with them, stress will continually build up, and will always be a source of concern. We all feel that we can do absolutely nothing about stress since it is the effect of the modern world rather than our own wrongdoings. This is absolutely not true. The world outside has very little to do with the stress that we create inside. We are solely responsible for our stress and hence it is imperative that we take active measures to reduce the stress and tension in our lives. Practices like Yoga, meditation etc. are very effective in releasing stress.
How long will the treatment normally take to show full effect?
This is entirely dependent on the individual patient – the nature of the problem, the chronicity of the problem, the nature of the associated problems, the intensity with which the patient follows all the advice of the physician during and after the treatment for the requisite period, and also the astrological time cycle which is affecting the patient.
Generally it is seen that most patients respond positively within 3 months after completion of the treatment. The extent of cure is dependent on all the above mentioned factors. It takes 3 months or 3 lunar cycles to see the benefit primarily because the body needs time to get accustomed to the intensive cleansing that it has undergone and to get back into its normal rhythm. In one research, it was found that after 2.9 months after this course of treatment, the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a coronary vasodilator, rose a significant 80%. This study was restricted to the study of just this factor. Since the treatment is aimed at total rejuvenation of the entire body, mind and soul, it would be interesting to study the effect of the treatment on a whole range of factors covering all the systems of the body. Thus it is extremely important to continue the internal medicines, external oil application (where advised), and diet and lifestyle restrictions as advised by the physician for the suggested duration to get the maximum benefit.
In some patients, the benefit may not be seen even after three months either due to greater damage having occurred or due to improper diet and movement and not following the physician’s advice. Please do remember that it is your health that it is most important and hence please adher to the instructions given, and wherever and whenever not possible, please take the permission of your physician before violating any instructions.