Weight-loss is an issue that most people deal with at some point in their lives. Everyone wants to look good, feel fit and sport a well-sculpted physique. But, achieving that is by no means easy. Food habits, lifestyle, mental health, exercise, and even heredity plays a crucial role in achieving that coveted physique. Today, since most people are overweight, they adopt all possible methods to shed those extra pounds. Some have even turned to Ayurveda to lose weight and with considerable success too.
What Causes Obesity?
Obesity is the result of the imbalance in Vata toxin. Consuming high-fat foods or fried foods, combined with imbalanced food habits and irregular appetite causes obesity. Unhealthy lifestyle, lack of physical activity and hypertension also contribute to obesity. Excessive body fat accumulates in various parts of the body and increases the overall body weight. The most important cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between the calories consumed and calories expended which leads to the accumulation of fat. Various Panchakarma modalities like Basti, Virechana and Pāna are found to be significantly effective in treating obesity.
What Is Panchakarma?
Panchakarma is considered as an effective weight loss treatment since it helps in eliminating the excess body fat and combats obesity. The Panchakarma process helps people to get rid of excess body weight and regain the inner strength of the body. It flushes out the toxins from the body and clears the blockages that cause weight gain. Panchakarma is Ayurveda’s primary purification and detoxification treatment.
Panchakarma consists of five therapeutic treatments designed to eliminate toxins from the body. The five therapies are Vamana, Virechana, Nasya, Basti and Raktamoskshana. The ideal duration of the Panchakarma treatment is 14 days, of which six days are for preparation, one day for purging and seven days to build a healthy lifestyle phase. When the body is purified, automatically the other functions perform at an optimal level. Metabolism is regulated and assimilation power of the digestive system improves. This results in a healthy eating habit and helps in keeping the weight under control.
Diabetes and obesity are interlinked. Panchakarma plays an important role in preventing and managing diabetes as these are purification procedures, which remove the stagnated, vitiated Doshas out of the body in a natural process.1
Is An Expert’s Intervention Required?
Panchakarma requires pre-procedure therapy and sequential interventions under the careful supervision of qualified vaidyas (expert practitioners) to ensure that the toxins are removed and doshas are balanced. The process differs and is usually customized for each person, since each person’s body composition is also different. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. The process is highly personalized and should not be offered as a ‘package’. In fact, if incorrectly treated, these procedures might even cause harm.2 A mere six-day Panchakarma-based intervention is reported to have resulted in statistically significant changes in plasma levels. In Ayurveda, aushadha (medicine) consists of not just drugs, but includes swasthvritta, aahara, vihara, dinacharya, ritucharya, pathya apathya, rasayana, and panchakarma.3
Panchakarma is a tried and tested technique to control obesity and prevent health conditions that arise due to obesity. However, one must consult an expert and receive treatment under supervision. Also, remember that the Ayurvedic center that offers these services is recognized and comprises qualified staff. Because of the sudden surge in seeking Ayurvedic treatments, many such unreliable centers have mushroomed all over the world. So, it is imperative that you do a research and identify the genuine Ayurvedic centers before you enroll.
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