In this 25‑28 day interview, Indian‑born IT professional and data‑analytics specialist Maitri Krishnamurthy shares her experience with the Ultimate At‑Home Panchakarma Cleanse guided by Ayurvedic practitioner Salila Sukumaran. Maitri began the cleanse to address chronic constipation, knee pain diagnosed as arthritis, and general digestive discomfort after moving to the United States. She describes the protocol’s core components – daily increasing doses of long pepper, followed by a taper, and later induced elimination steps such as vomiting and castor‑oil‑induced loose motions. The first few days were manageable, but the mid‑week increase in pepper and the elimination phase proved challenging, requiring Salila’s support. Post‑cleanse, Maitri reports a complete gut reset, relief from constipation, reduced knee pain, deeper 7‑8 hour sleep, higher energy, improved focus, and a heightened awareness of dietary choices. She also notes the adoption of Ayurvedic self‑care practices (abhyanga, oil pulling) and a new daily routine that she intends to maintain long‑term. Concluding, she enthusiastically recommends the wholesome, multi‑stage cleanse to others despite its challenges, emphasizing its lasting lifestyle benefits.
Chapters
Hi, Maitri. Welcome. Yeah, thank you so much.
Tell the world who you are, Maitri. What do you do?
Okay, I am Maitri Krishnamurthy. I'm Indian who moved to US in 2019, and I'm an IT professional. I've always been in data analytics, so it pretty much speaks of sitting in front of laptop for a really long time. Yeah, that's been my professional side. And I also love learning music in my free time. I have pets at home. So, you know, I love spending time with them. And also I'm married. Yeah, that's briefly about me.
Wonderful. Maitri, you did the Ultimate At-Home Panchakarma Cleanse with Salila Sukumaran. How was your experience?
It was really good. Uh, it started off being a bit of a challenge because, uh, it's to do with the long pepper, and then, you know, you increase it on a— increase the quantity on a daily basis and then get it down. So my tolerance for pepper had peaked on 4th or 5th day, so that's when, you know, I could really like feel the challenge. Uh, but I was pretty determined to do it because I did have certain health concerns that I wanted to straight away address and then, you know, see what this cleanse can do. Um, so that was one of the challenge. Uh, but overall, like, Salila was there. I mean, you were there to, uh, help me out with the process if I had any questions. Like, you were there to address it and then, you know, provide alternate solutions. So which worked out really well since the overall thing, uh, cleanse took about 25 days, 25 to 28 days. Um, first few days was easy, I could do it myself, but then I definitely needed some support towards the end when it came to, uh, like the other steps in the cleansing protocol, which could be vomiting or like the to lose motion and stuff like that. So, uh, yeah, overall, this was a very new way of cleansing for me. I've done these diets for like 3-day or like 2-day juice fast or 1-day fast, um, but having like a complete wholesome package of, you know, uh, taking long pepper that apparently is very useful for cleansing to like, um, you know, elimination of it. The whole, whole process was like a complete package. Um, yeah, I think that part of it was very impressive, like how the entire package was. And, um, yeah, I'm really glad that I, that I took it out.
Wonderful. What are some changes you notice in your body since the cleanse?
I think the most, uh, important thing is, uh, the problem that I was suffering with was constipation. While I was in this cleanse process, it just felt like the entire reset of my gut. Amazing. And, uh, you know, like, it felt like the elimination was done right, like all the toxins were taken out of my body, and I could literally feel it. So that's one of the really good things. And the second thing, what I would say is Being mindful about my diet, I think what works well, what doesn't work well, uh, reading my body. And, you know, when I consume food that's probably taking longer time to digest or that's leading to constipation, it's really easy to pick them out now because, you know, I've done that like 25 days of being mindful about what I'm putting in, and then now I know, okay, you know, something's working out and something's not working out. Yeah, I think these two are like really big takeaways for me.
Amazing. Amazing. How are you sleeping deeper? Do you have more energy?
Yes, I think I have been sleeping really well and, you know, been like getting minimum of 7 to 8 hours sleep and really good deep sleep also. So yeah, I think there was some kind of reset there too. Um, yeah, which hopefully, like, I will continue doing it several times. Wonderful, wonderful.
Do you find yourself focusing better? Do you find yourself being more mindful in a relationship?
I think focusing better, yes, uh, because, you know, especially like the elimination part of the whole cleanse was a bit intense. Because, like, you know, one day of throwing up and one day of, you know, consuming castor oil for to create, like, induced loose motion. So all this will put you in a mindset of, okay, you know, I feel really fresh both mentally and physically. So, you know, that kind of, you know, shows in all parts of life, right? You know, like, whether be it you know, communication with your closed ones or, you know, work. So it shows up there because your mind is very clear and you're, you know, you're getting to speak mindfully also. So yeah, the challenge is really worth it in the end.
Amazing. Walk us through your before and after.
Okay, so before, I think, you know, when I initially consulted you, Salila Sukumaran, what started off this whole Ayurvedic journey was because I had certain health issues. Uh, the main thing was constipation. Uh, I had— I was struggling with constipation for a while without knowing the reason why is it happening. So one of the things that happened in my life is I moved to U.S. from India, and I was struggling to understand that whether the environment is suiting me or like the kind of foods that I'm taking after coming here. Is that working out well for me? Is something that I lacked the knowledge of understanding myself or my body or my mental state? Yeah, so there were like small issues like this. Plus I had knee pain, uh, which was again like a really big thing because the knee pain came out of nowhere. And then, uh, I was diagnosed with arthritis, uh, and then I didn't know where to go after that. Like, I didn't want to get into a complete um, you know, the physician level of taking pills and, uh, you know, managing my pain through that. But I wanted to figure out if there are natural ways of doing things. Um, so that's when, you know, I happen to know about you. And, um, yeah, and our initial consultation did a good reset of, you know, understanding what kind of, uh, food can I take and you did like an entire assessment of, you know, my life and lifestyle from morning till night, what I do, and is my period on time, and, you know, several other factors that you considered, like, you know, constipation, like what is the, uh, you know, the poop, whatever, like the poop health. So yeah, like everything was considered, and then Yeah, I was already having that, you know, change in lifestyle. I was, you know, doing the suggestions that you made, like abhyanga or oil pulling, and, you know, several other things which was helping me a great deal. And then you suggested the cleanse, which felt very natural to do because I was already getting a lot of benefits out of the changes that you suggested. And then I didn't think twice. I just wanted to do it. Yeah. And then post now, like when I compare 3 months ago to now, being very mindful of what I eat, not that I don't eat food that I like, it's just, you know, the timing of it, the, the amount of it and, you know, understanding like what I can digest well. Yeah, that's been like a really mindful journey. And, uh, you know, the pain has gone down. My knee pain has gone down. Um, yeah, and, uh, it's, it's been a journey with, with respect to that also. And beyond all of this, having like a confidence of, you know, I'm doing 1, 2, 3, and I know why I'm doing that, and also seeing benefits of that and building like a new habit around it. Which is a lifestyle change, you know, wake up, do certain things to put your body at ease, put your mind at ease, and then start off your day. So those routines are really meaningful for me, and I know that's a long-term thing, so I'm gonna carry it on almost forever, I think. So yeah, yeah, these, these changes were really amazing. And cleanse itself has given me a lot of ideas of, you know, how I should cleanse going forward. It's not just doing the crash diets or like juice fast and ending it there, but then there has to be an elimination process of it, which the knowledge of it wasn't there before. But, you know, thank you for sharing this amazing cleanse, which is a wholesome package, and I see why now. And I understand like why it's important to do each of the things in each stage.
Yeah, amazing. I'm all about self-empowering each one of the lovely people who come to me, the amazing souls who come to me. I'm all about teaching you the tools so that you can move forward and then not just take care of your own health, but pass it on to the next generation. Like when you become a mom, these are the skills you're going to teach your children as well. So is so gratifying. If somebody was on the sidelines and thinking about doing this cleanse, what would you tell them?
I would tell them, just do it. I'm sure like anyone would have done like a day of diet or like mono meal or even, you know, juice fast. I feel this cleanse is wholesome. And anyone and everyone should give it a try, even if it's challenging in some ways, uh, but it's, it's, uh, you know, from the advantages that I've seen, I think it's really important, uh, to see for what it is and do it, do the entire cleanse. Yeah, I would say just do it and then, you know, you will know the results in the end. Wonderful, wonderful.
Thank you so much, Maitri.
It's been such a pleasure.
We wish you the very best.
Yeah, thank you, thank you for, uh, introducing me to this amazing amazing Ayurveda. And even though I've heard about Ayurveda in the past since I'm from India, but there are like so many nuances that you taught me, uh, which like I said, I will carry it forward. And then the cleanse, I'm really looking forward to do it like, you know, as often as I can, uh, because ultimately like keeping the body clean, keeping the mind clean is what life is all about, you know. Enjoy it to the max.
