62 PHOTOS: ONEWORLD
may/june 2017yogajournal.com.auescape
AYURVEDAtoday apart from relax and be treated?
As the wake-up gong sounds at 6am, I
am swimming delicious laps of the pool
under the full moon. After a gentle yoga
session with Tekok, I have my pulses
taken with Dr Ninnu. I sit, eyes closed
breathing in and out while he listens,
looks and feels. He asks me, “Madam,
do you have bloating or something
like this?” “Madam, do you have
constipation?” “Madam, do you have
shoulder and lower back joint pain?”
“Madam, do you have some stress with
your work?” Yes, yes, yes, yes. We will
meet again that day for a consultation.
I sit down to porridge for breakfast
and lovely ginger rose tea ... coffee is
already banned. Back home, by this time
I would already have had two large
coffees. I feel mellow sipping my herbal
tea. The sun is out, and I’m curious
about what today’s treatment brings.
What happens next is astonishing. I
dress in my sarong and gown and am
escorted into a treatment room and
gently directed to a chair where Wati
guides my arms out of my robe. At my
feet is a large copper bowl holding
flower petals floating in warm water.Ratna kneels and gently and wordlessly
takes one foot and then the other into
the water and begins to scrub and
massage my feet with coarse salt grains.
She then squeezes limes over my feet.
The aroma and the sensation is intensely
refreshing. Next, these two Balinese
beauties take incense and a plate of
flowers with a lit lamp wick and perform
puja, a prayer or blessing, circling the
‘offering’ around my body. They assist
me onto the abhyanga massage table, an
ornate solid wood table imported from
India. What follows is a mesmerising,
synchronised flow of oil and hands.
Having the oil trickled on my forehead
is incredible, like all these new or old
thoughts are peeling away from my
forehead on the inside. I feel like a
princess being prepared for her wedding
night.
After the massage I am brought to
the balcony where I sink deep into the
deck chair, sip more delicious tea and
watch kingfisher birds swan dive the
rice fields. I am in a state of divine
contemplation when I have my
consultation with Dr Ninnu. After a long
history-taking and observation, andmany questions (particularly about my
bowel movements), Dr Ninnu declares I
have too much Vata and that I have a
predominantly Pitta constitution. That
means I am a naturally grounded,
pragmatic and energetic ‘can-do’ person
who has burned out and sleeps poorly
because my digestion is screwed up. The
next few days are about calming and
relaxing me, the Purvakarma or
preparation phase of a Panchakarma
treatment. I think I will feel a new
woman with a good night’s sleep. Under
the surface, Dr Aparna tells me,
Purvakarma also remobilises the deep-
seated toxins from the tissues to the gut,
and these toxins are later thrown out
during detox or Panchakarma.
By 6pm I have a slight coffee
withdrawal headache, I’m wearing a
funny headdress and I am starving.
I think the treatment is working. Dr
Aparna gives a talk on Ayurveda and
says the key is preventing the build-up of
Ama or stale energy in the digestive tract
by making sure the Agni, digestive fire, is
strong and you feel hungry before
eating. No snacks, no coffees, just light
delicious meals that now do not contain