And so we prepare…

The first part of the panchakarma process prepares the body for its complete cleanse. It involves following a strict panchakarma diet, two treatments per day and as must rest as possible.

I begin to understand the shape of the day at Kairali. At 5am, music is played across the site for an hour - an extended and not altogether unpleasant wake up call. Yoga begins at 6.30am, an hour of quite gentle stretching. Breakfast is at 8am - for those on panchakarma this consists of a bowl of “porridge” (rice gruel) with a little chutney side dish. The first treatment begins at 10am, followed by yoga Nidra at 11.15am. There’s an optional lecture on Ayurveda at midday followed by lunch - a thin soup, red rice, a small portion of vegan curry, an egg cup of chopped beans or lentils. At 3pm its back to the Ayurvedic hospital for another treatment. Then there’s some free time until 6.30pm meditation (during which the bedrooms are smoked to keep away mosquitos and drive out bad energy) , dinner - a thin soup, a millet dosa, another small portion of vegan curry and an egg cup of boiled veg- and bed.

The routine is steady and structured. My mood, however, is not, as I struggle to come to terms with the deliberately bland food. I find myself experiencing flashes of hot anger, bouts of despondency, periods of intense frustration. I do not think I am good company. We start to chat to other guests here and discover that very many are “returners”, some of whom have been here multiple times (I meet a new friend from Jordan who has been 9 times since 2022!) and there’s some reassurance there that perhaps the process (we keep reminding ourselves “it’s a process…”) must at some stage feel worth the effort.

We each receive a tailored treatment plan from our respective doctors (there are four on site) and my friends and I compare notes. We engage AI to understand what’s involved in the treatments and we try, unsuccessfully, to persuade the doctors it’d be easier for us all if our programme plans were more in synch - Dr A was having none of it; each programme is tailored to the individual and I was reminded that panchakarma is a discipline (those words echo around my head as I fall asleep).

The treatments offered during his phase of the process are designed to reduce inflammation and water retention in the body and are carried out in the on-site Ayurveda hospital. Arriving at the hospital that first morning it was quickly clear that this is no ordinary hospital - more like a spa in set up with a large shower area and a series of treatment rooms. The therapists are universally lovely, warm and welcoming , holding hands to guide, a gentle touch to the back as they usher us along to the shower rooms. Once there, we receive a pair of tie on paper pants and a coloured sarong, which we change into before completing the look with some industrial style flip flops.

We’re shown to the treatment rooms. The first surprise is that as well as the therapist who’s guided me there, another therparist is waiting with a smile of welcome in the room. At the centre of the room is a high massage table, made of dark wood - with no mattress, pillow or other soft part. I’m invited to take my seat in wooden chair and the first therapist fills her hands with oil and places them on my head for a blessing. This is followed by a vigorous (there’s lots of vigour) Indian head massage, and ear massage and then, with an instruction to lower my sarong, a massage of the neck, shoulders and upper back. It’s then time to move from the chair to the massage table. The sarong is removed and it’s time for a facial massage, lying on the table in my scant paper pants. The other therapist takes over now, with assured hands making firm strokes. She then asks me to open my eyes for Naysam, nasal drops. Three drops each of a different oil are added to each nostril for me to inhale, something that feels unfamiliar but not uncomfortable.

The body massage is next and its - intense? I think is the best word. Me, practically naked on the bed and the two therapists each working either side of my body in amazing synchronicity, sweeping oil over my body in strong brush like movements. And two things about the oil itself - they use tons of it, it must be a least a litre per treatment, and it’s smell is evocative of cooking oil. After a couple of days and with a rather queasy tummy, I long for the aroma of lavender!

Post massage I’m led to the steam chamber - a wooden box structure in which you sit on a stool, head out of a hole in the top of the box, for 5 minutes. I always enjoy warmth so I like this bit. And then its time for the showers, for which we’re given a green powder that mixes with water to create a creamy substance which serves as a body and face wash, and some shampoo to do its thing on our oily hair.

The next day the treatments involve a pounding with poultices filled with a detoxifying herbal powder and a very interesting experience of two people pouring herbal tea over my body for half an hour. Both are prefaced with more oil massage and always there are two therapist involved.

And so we move through our first days at Kairali, one treatment at a time, and still feeling that 14 days is a really long time!

Thanks heavens for my friends!