No time for Ayurveda

I once met a British man at the airport in Mumbai. We were going through security. He was carrying with him a large electronic device that look liked an oscilloscope and so it caught my attention. The last time that I had seen an oscilloscope was in science class in 1992, when I was in grade 9! 

So I asked the gentlemen, “What’s that?”  

He replied, “It’s a breathalyzer.”  

“For what? Detecting alcohol?” I asked curiously.  

“No. It’s for treating sleep apnea. I have a serious case of it,” he said.

So then I asked, “Have you ever considered Ayurveda treatment?”  

He answered curtly, “Yes. I don’t have time for it.”  

And that was that. We went our separate ways. I did not try to convince the man that he had something to gain from Ayurveda. He had clearly made a decision and obviously preferred to carry around a very heavy weight on his shoulders. Literally.

In the world of holistic health, the above sort of encounter is commonplace. 

People are just too busy. We are too busy to give two, three or four weeks of time for our bodies.

Worse yet, most employers only grant their employees two or three weeks of paid leave every year, which means that we either have to take unpaid leave or give-up our holidays for Ayurveda – neither option is particularly attractive. 

But that is the price of health. Health takes time. There are no quick fixes. After all, many of us have suffered from a particular pain, illness, allergy or other discomfort for years – so too, the journey to recovery can take years. And it is often never over. 

The body is like a well-built car: it still needs to be maintained, no matter how well the engineers built it. And just as we change the oil in our cars every few months, likewise we need to change the oil in our bodies every year or so.  

Ayurveda offers a complete system for changing the body’s oil and lubricating its many moving parts. It is called Panchakarma – a time-tested but also difficult and time-consuming process of detoxifying, strengthening and balancing the body. It can be done in as little as two weeks, but it ideally requires three or four weeks. The more time you allow for the process, the better the results. Panchakarma is, without a doubt, a life-changing experience.  

Have you had your oil changed lately? 

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This article was written by Alykhan Alidina, co-founder of Ayurooms. Ayurooms helps people to discover and access India’s best resorts for Ayurveda, yoga, and other forms of holistic health. For more information, please write to: [email protected]