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| Ghee, aka clarified butter, elixir of the gods |
According to to Patanjali (whose yoga sutras are key tenets of the practice), Sharath noted, there are two different kinds of diseases, those that can be cured by Yoga and those diseases that can be cured by Ayurveda. Ayurveda, the traditional medicine native to India, has preventative as well as curative value. It’s also hard to ignore while visiting the subcontinent.
Several friends gave glowing reviews about their experiences doing Panchakarma at Dixit Clinic here in Mysore. Curious, I signed on for the 7-day cleansing treatment based on Ayurveda to ring out 2011 and in 2012.
Panchakarma (Sanskrit for ‘5 actions’) is basically a de-tox program, Indian style, relying on several Ayurvedic therapies, including oleation, massage, steaming and purging (there’s more invasive treatment available pending your condition. I asked the doctor to kindly not make me throw up and was grateful that wouldn’t be needed). But this has meant no caffeine and a lot of medicated ghee (clarified butter). For nearly every day of this last week of the year, I’ve been taken a rickshaw post-yoga practice to the clinic for ghee drinking, lunch and treatments (my regime augmented by some special treatments for my knees).
Fun, eh?
Despite having to down an intimidatingly large dose of ghee yesterday and the prospect of staying quiet on New Year’s Eve, I’ve enjoyed the experience thus far.
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| Lord Dhanvantari, the physician of the gods |
In addition to the the health benefits, it’s provided a mini-retreat to rest, review and look ahead to the new year. Here’s to clarity in 2012, in butter and otherwise!
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
