THE BEST KEPT SECRETS OF PANCHAKARMA IN KERALA | Salila Ayurveda

How are you doing? How is work?

Work is very busy. I actually attempted the Phase 1 of the cleanse again, Panchakarma. I did the 14 days. Feel the need to do the Phase 2, like, in intuitionally, internally, I didn't feel it, so I just let it be. I said, okay, you know, I'll just do the Phase 1 and then let it be. But maybe again when the season changes next year and starts becoming hot in Dubai again, then I'll utilize the heat to sweat it out again with the Panchakarma. Wonderful.

Yeah, I'm so proud of you that you have stuck on with the program and you're soldiering on in spite of your busy schedule.

Thank you. I think you really equipped me quite well. I mean, I do refer to the recordings every now and then. And all the material that is there, you know, it really helps me sort of keep up. So every time if I have a question, I just, you know, check the recording or all the other material that you've given there. And yeah, you know, I feel confident that to take it on. And then once we did it with you under guidance, it already gave a lot of confidence that, okay, yes, you know, this is something I can manage on my own.

So yeah, so proud of you. This is wonderful.

Thank you.

It always gives me a little spurt of joy when I hear that you've taken it and you've made it your own, like you found your rhythm with it, you found your comfort level with it. Because once we do it, when we do it for the first time, it feels like, oh my God, what am I doing? Is this going to hurt my body? All those questions come up. But once we know that this is a tool that is powerful and it's going to keep giving the gift of health to me, then then there's no going back.

That's lovely.

I'm so happy you're here to talk about Ayurveda Panchakarma Retreat, huh? Would you be interested in going sometime this next year, maybe this year, who knows?

Yeah, so I mean, this was actually again, you know, I think everything is just so much in synchronicity because I did ask you that I will be referring to you again for some recommendations for the retreats. It's not going to happen this year because my leave is not coming through, but Hopefully next year. I'm really keen on attending a retreat actually. So, you know, I said, okay, not this. And today, fortunately, had a day off. I was like, oh, this is even better, you know. So that's why I'm here. I look forward to the session.

Wonderful. Let's also say hello to everybody else. And I love that, you know, your day off is so precious. Your work makes you so busy. And every time I see somebody on a plane, I think of you and I send them little prayer towards you. Wherever you are, I hope you're okay, because it's so stressful that in spite of this, this is your little happy place where you come to. And such an honor.

Namaste.

Who wants to go next? Who wants to introduce themselves? We'll take two more introductions, and then we are— we will start with our session today. So this is being recorded, so it's going to be sent out to— I think we had about like 130 registrations the last I checked, but I guess it's the puja time and all that. But whoever was meant to be in this room is in this room. I'm happy to have you all here. Who wants to go next? Jyoti, Lakshmi, Akshat, Shruti, Maitali. Please unmute yourself, be on video. This is a small group, so don't be shy. I'm literally wearing my mom's clothes. Hi Akshat, how are you?

Hi, I'm fine, how are you?

Doing quite well, good to see you.

Yeah, I'm also glad. I was checking and suddenly found out, okay, today's session is there. Let us attend.

Very nice to have you here, Akshat.

Yeah.

Wonderful. What do you hope to get out of this session?

What I was thinking is, even I did panchakarma for myself. Even though I might not go to the retreat immediately, But I can guide anyone whom I come across how it will be and what to expect and other things. And yes, I love to work for healthcare. That's why.

I know you're very passionate about helping others. Thank you so much for sharing that.

Thank you.

Absolutely. Who wants to go next? Jyoti, Lakshmi, Shruti Ji, unmute yourself. I know you said something in the chat. Ah, sorry, can't turn. Okay, all right, okay. Well, bummer that we don't get to see you, but that's okay. Hopefully in some other venue, some other time. All right, dears, uh, who wants to go next? One more person and then we will begin. Please don't be shy.

Hi, this is Niharika. Sorry, I'm outside and I cannot turn on the video. And, uh, my experience with Ayurveda started last year when I was going through abnormal uterine bleeding and my body was going through high inflammation. So That's the point of time I consulted the Ayurvedic doctors based out of Kalari Kovilam, and in 3 months I could see with medication and lifestyle changes a lot of that symptoms reversing. And that's where I want to understand better about the Panchakarma retreats which are authentic, so that it can help me and also others who are in need of it. And that's the reason why I joined the session. And very grateful for you for organizing this and sharing this information.

Wonderful. Are you hoping to go on another retreat?

I was not on a retreat. I was just on a meditation, and I made lifestyle changes sitting at home. But I would be more than happy to consider the possibility of going to another retreat because I think I need it. Because while it has reduced, I still believe that I need that to experience that, because I was told if it has to completely go, I have to go through Panchakarma to completely revive. So yeah, I would be more than open to experience the retreat.

Amazing, amazing. So I'm hoping that everybody in this room is here because you're curious about what a Panchakarma retreat is and what entails. And there are some myths The myth is that, um, Panchakarma retreats are very expensive and that it is for only somebody who is loaded with cash. It's not true. I have worked with Panchakarma centers from 2015 onwards, and I work with centers on all budget points. So whether you were low, low, low, um, to the point where you were like ₹5,000 per day was your budget, it's possible to have a panchakarma even in that budget. But of course, having at least ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 per day will get you in the lowest category. When I say ₹5,000 per night, that is usually a doctor having a setup in their home, uh, and probably their domestic help will help you. They may have 1 or 2 staff to support you, but you are with the doctor, you are living in their family home. They will be able to give you something that starts at like ₹5,000 per day, but also depending on medicines, depending on how many oils you need, because all the people that I work with, all the centers that I work with, they're extremely, extremely careful about cleanliness. So there has to be cleaning after every patient, very careful about that what is being used for you is not being used for somebody else. So when you walk into a space and you don't know where you are, they may have some dodgy practices just to save money. For example, if somebody is doing a shirodhara, they're using several liters of oil they may just warm it up and use it on somebody else. So that becomes a problem if there was any kind of health issue related to the scalp, to the skin. You may catch something. When you work with somebody like me who's a trusted person and who recommends you as a client to a center, then none of these kind of shoddy practices are done. Everything is very clear. Everything is, um, SOP, standard operating procedures, are followed, which are the same standard operating procedures that are used in a hospital setting. So you can have a budget of ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 to ₹60,000 Indian rupees a night and have a queen's panchakarma or you can have a ₹5,000 a night and you can stay with the doctor's family and you will be well taken care of. No matter where you go, your Panchakarma, the quality and the standard will not be compromised. That is the benefit you receive by working with somebody like me. And when I send you off for a Panchakarma, I absolutely don't charge because I feel like sending you to a Panchakarma center is a service because I want you to heal. And because I have a certain reach and I have a following, these doctors, these physician-run centers, they don't have to spend a lot on their sales, their marketing. All that takes a lot of money. It takes crores of rupees to build a Panchakarma Center in a place like Kerala because it is very densely populated and Kerala is very expensive. So it takes crores of rupees actually to set up a center. So for them to save a little bit on sales and marketing, it makes their job a little easier. So they give me a little percentage as a referral fee. However, for me, always your well-being is what drives me. I'm not invested in which doctor gets how many patients at the end of a year. It's always you coming to me, you telling me what your requirements are. Based on that, I will place you in the right center. I will give you options if options are available, and then I will place you in the right center. Now all of these centers, um, are sold out 3 to 6 months in advance. So if you're thinking 2025 January, majority of the centers I work with are already sold out because that is high season as well. So we have these centers because they are very prominent and they are very well known, because once you do good work, the word gets out. People get to know that you're doing good work, especially Europe. So Germans, French, Russians, they all book these centers 3 to 6 months in advance. Usually we are a little late to the game because we suddenly have a feeling, I need to go to an Ayurveda center, then we start looking for it, right? But the— these people, they are already well-versed in how the system works, so So they will be booking a year in advance, many of them. Now another myth is that anybody who says they are proficient in Panchakarma, they are proficient in Panchakarma. Everybody who goes to a BAMS degree or an MD degree and they study Panchakarma in their college, it automatically makes them good at offering Panchakarmas. That's not true. An Ayurveda physician has to have at least a decade of practice under a senior physician before they can offer Panchakarma to the general public. So how do we know you are working with somebody who's an expert? Not only does that person have word of mouth, you know who their teacher is. They have prominently displayed, these are my teachers, these are the people from whom I've learned. Then you come to their office and you observe very carefully. They do not have a factory model. You cannot do Panchakarma in a factory model. You cannot have people coming in and going out and like a churn of people in the office. This has to be a small number of people the doctor takes care of. Whether the doctor charges higher amounts and takes care of a small number of people, or whether the doctor charges reasonably but maintains a set number of people, that is the biggest test of whether you're in an authentic place or not. More than 20-25 patients in a day, and that doctor cannot offer good Panchakarma because Panchakarma is like the surgery of allopathy. A surgeon cannot do more than a certain number of surgeries in a day. Before they start to make errors, before they start to get tired, before they start to make judgment problems. Similarly, a physician who offers panchakarma has to have a set number of patients beyond which they will start making very costly mistakes, and those mistakes will be costly for us, the consumers. You will go in to become healthier you will come back weaker, you will come back tired, you will come back your symptoms getting worser. How do we know you are in a good Panchakarma place? By the third day, your energy starts to get higher, you start to feel better, you start to feel stronger. Even if your body is facing some negative reactions, as part of the healing, you keep feeling stronger and stronger. So that means that your panchakarma is doing well. Now, that was the doctor's part. For us, what is the biggest part I have seen is an indicator of success: we are able to trust, we are able to be full of gratitude. When we come into a center and we meet with the doctor, we see all the right signs, we tune into our instincts and we feel good about it, but then we say, yes, I'm ready. Every day we have to surrender in gratitude. The more gratitude we have, the better our body will respond to the treatment. The more negative energy we have the more, like, constantly feeling discomfort, not happy, and this is not good, and the food is not good, and I'm not happy. If we are in that state of a mind, and there are people like that coming to centers with that kind of a mind, and they will not only come and be like the bad apple for themselves, they will also start to recruit other people. So if you're at a center and somebody who is sitting at your table, or you've just met, and they keep on going on and on about all the negative stuff about the place, and the doctor is horrible, and this is bad, and you are there because I sent you, you should just shut your ears, walk away from that place, because this is a person who is going through a healing crisis. They are having their negative expression. Their healing is happening. Negative emotions are coming out. And in that negative frame of mind, everything looks black to them, and they are simply unloading it on you because you're a kind person who just arrived there, and you're friendly, and you're sitting there, and you're like a vessel that is ready to receive. So when you're at a center for healing, you have to be very carefully— shut, shut— you have to be very careful about shutting your doors. About getting up, walking away, about saying, sorry, I don't feel good today, I want to be by myself. Because in a healing center, different kinds of people will come. You look for those who have gratitude, who are happy, who are grateful, who are spiritual. That will be your tribe. The closer you stay to that tribe the better your body will heal. And absolutely, you should ask questions. If you are being recommended by me, you should reach out to me and ask me questions. If you have any doubt, if you're getting nervous about anything, you should talk to the doctor, you should talk to your therapist, you should ask them questions. You should never be quiet and suffer through anything. Any discomfort, you should express it and ask for remedies. Only then you will have a successful Panchakarma experience. All right, so what is Panchakarma? Everybody keeps talking about Panchakarma, right? Who knows what Panchakarma is? Niranjanaji has done somewhat of a Panchakarma. Akshatji has done Panchakarma several times. Who, who else has experience with Panchakarma? Anybody else has experience with Panchakarma? Saranya, did you go for a Panchakarma, dear? I don't know why I feel like maybe you did. Why is nobody on video? Why is it just the 4 of us on video? This is a small group. Everybody should be on video. Aarti, you were on video for just a short while. What happened?

Hey, Salila Sukumaran. No, I did not go for one, but I've been looking. I'm Also looking for options in the US as well.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Okay.

Brings us to an interesting point. You cannot do Panchakarma in the US the way you do Panchakarma in Kerala, because when the British colonized India and the knowledge of Panchakarma was lost everywhere, Kerala had held on to it because Kerala was protected by the kings. So the The Vediyas of Kerala, of South Kannada, these regions had protected and kept that knowledge alive. So if you want to have authentic Panchakarma, you have to come here, because somebody in the US will charge you 10 times more and the results will be not even a tenth. When you come here, you can— you spend maybe a fraction of that cost and you get a Panchakarma that is way long-lasting than anything you may do abroad. There is a new center in Germany. Reach out to me if you want, if you're open to going to Germany. There is a proper Ayurveda Panchakarma Center.

Sure, I understand, Salila, because I did get a recent appointment once here a few weeks ago, and since my son has just started school, I mean, I got really sick with cold and cough. So I had to cancel the appointment, and the person who was booking the appointment told the doctor is mad because I canceled the appointment. I was like, I wasn't even sure how to respond to it. It was 48 hours before the period to get canceled too. So I was thinking maybe I should like make the travel plan to India for it. I'm still thinking either this year or next year, but like I was listening to you and you were saying that there might not be any hopes to get any booking this year done, right? Like it must be next year. I should actually plan it for next year.

No, there is a center that has space right now, but, um, in October. However, I don't know if you will be able to travel immediately. This is more work for anyone who is within like a 5-hour, uh, flight distance to Kerala right now. Yeah, so I—

we are planning to travel mostly in December or January to India.

Okay, okay.

Yeah, my situation is also like I have a toddler with me, so I don't know. I'm— I would probably be looking for a center which has family accommodation. Uh, there are other nuances because I will not be able to leave him without me, and he's not going to be able to stay without me at this age. He's just 3, so we will need a setup that is accommodating of those personal needs as well.

Absolutely, yes. I work with several centers. Some of them have very generous facilities for moms. Because a lot of patients are new moms, right? And so they have childcare facility. They will have somebody to watch over the children, you know, the toddler, when you are getting your treatments done, because you will have like 2 to 3 hours of treatments a day and you won't be able to take the baby with you. So somebody will watch, somebody trustworthy will watch. Even I did my first panchakarma when my baby was 3 months 3 years old. So she was watched by family, she was being watched by other people, and they watched her better than I could watch her. You know, they were hugging and kissing and playing with her and singing songs with her. So I did not even have to worry about anything. Yeah, yeah.

I mean, that would be a blessing in our case, definitely.

Yeah, totally. So what is Panchatantra?

Very quickly, I would like to know what experience Panchakarma, but what I feel is it's a detoxification therapy which detoxifies your body and creates conditions for the body to naturally heal itself and rejuvenate it. I've not experienced it, but this is what my understanding is. I'm not sure if it's wrong.

Yeah, absolutely, you got that right. Shalini, you were also saying something. Yeah, I wanted to know where in Germany Uh, I don't know the exact place, but if you reach out, I will. Um, it is very expensive though. It's one of the top centers, so it's like very expensive.

Very expensive.

Okay.

Uh, it's not a reasonable place.

It's somewhere, I think, where like, um, there's one I heard they open in Austria, like in Alps somewhere. Between Germany, like not far from Germany, like pretty much like border. Maybe it is falling into Germany. I'm not sure. So I was wondering if it's that, that, that one you're talking about.

Park MC is the name of the center. Park MC. Park MC.

Park MC.

Google it.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I'm going to reach out. I figure out what was my problem. I think so. And I'm going to reach out to you for a consultation.

All right, it's gonna be coming soon.

So I wanted to make sure you're fine because I know you were not doing well, so I don't want to, you know, stress you with things. When you're done with all your stuff, I want you to work with— for me. You have to take care of me.

I'm all— I'm all better. I'm back, back to normal now.

Okay, so I'm going to— not this weekend, coming week, I'm going to send you all the information And then we take it from there.

Sounds good. Wonderful. It's good to see you all covered in light, glowing like a goddess.

Oh, I just did puja. I'm doing Navaratri fasting, so today is my last day. Tomorrow I break it.

Wonderful.

I feel good.

Beautiful.

Thank you for sharing that. Who else wants to go about the understanding of panchakarma? What is panchakarma?

Clean your body inside out, radiate from inside, and then you'll radiate outside. Totally, totally detoxifying, of course, in the scientific way, but it's increasing your ojas, your energy, and everything vibrating in higher level.

Totally, totally. So, um, pancha means 5, pancha. Karma means rituals. And we talk about ama a lot when we hold our classes, right? That because of inefficient metabolism, because of poor digestion, because of irresponsible diet and lifestyle choices, our body develops blockages in various parts. We develop something called as kapha gunya, which is distortion in space. So our vata, pitta, and kapha energies— the energy of circulation, the energy of metabolism, and the energy that sustains and maintains the structures of our body— these three energies, which are supposed to be dynamic and constantly in motion, constantly complementing each other, they somehow get blocked and their energy becomes weak in some parts of the body. Because of that, there is accumulation of toxins like ama, which are sticky, which block our capillaries, which develop weakness in that area, which develops plaque in that area. So in our nerves, it would be something that will look like that the nerves are not conducting as beautifully as before, so there's more pain in the nerves. So we say there is a Vata imbalance in our, um, metabolism. Our metabolism may go very high where we feel a lot of heat, or it may go very low where different parts of the body feels hot and cold. We know that is a Pitta issue. Our, um, the energy of metabolism is out of balance. We may have residue developing in different parts of the body, like hardening of the blood cells, hardening of the, you know, the amyloid pectins in our brain. We call that Alzheimer's. Plaque on teeth, which we see that we have some kind of bacterial infection, we have a strep throat because of that, right?

So these—

this, it would be a kapha imbalance where things are accumulating in the body and they're not getting cleansed at the right time. We do panchakarma to realign these three energies and to make them healthy once again. What are the panchakarmas? Usually they are vamana, which is a purgation, virechana, which is a purgation of the lower intestines, the smaller intestines, then, uh, Snehapana, which is drinking lots of ghee to help the body absorb medication in a certain manner. And then Vasti, which is enema. And finally, Rakta Mokshana, which is relieving any toxicity in the blood. So these 5 therapies don't have to be applied to every person. Because Panchakarma has become a buzzword and many Westerners come to India saying, I want Panchakarma, I want all 5 things, there are centers where doctors will do all 5 things. They will stick a leech to your body, they'll take— do Rakta Mokshana, they will do things like that in Goa because that's where the tourists are coming and it's a, it's a fad, it's fun. You can take an Instagram post and you can say, hey, look at the leeches hanging on me.

Looks—

gets a lot of, you know, buzz in your community. People are doing that. Absolutely a crime, absolutely a sin to do things like that. A good physician would dig their heels and tell you, this is what your body can handle, this is what I'm going to do as part of your panchakarma, we're not going to do anything more. I have known physicians who have thrown out like billionaires and celebrities and movie stars, when they said, no, no, no, give me the leech, or no, no, no, I want to eat, you know, meat or something like that, and they wanted to do something that was contraindicated, they got thrown out. So good physician will throw you out. For a good physician, a patient is a patient. It's not a celebrity. It's just a body that needs help. And if the patient is not compliant, then it's a bad patient, and they ask the patient to leave. So compliance is important. Second part is when we are doing panchakarma, we are expelling toxins from all parts of our body. So even when we are doing the Ultimate Cleanse with me, which is a guided at-home panchakarma, we are expelling toxins from our body, from our nose, from our ears, from our mouth, from all the orifices. So with that means we are not going to have intimacy with our partner for as long as we are having a Panchakarma because everything is toxic and they will literally catch something if we don't pay attention. So we have to be careful about that. Now when we do Panchakarma, we go through all these phases our period becomes Rakta Mokshana because it is a powerful Rakta Mokshana practice. The reason why women live longer than men is because we have had 35 to 40 Rakta Mokshanas in our life that men did not get. This is why we live long, our body is stronger, our bones are healthier, we are able to go on a, like, a steady— we can, we can have like a steady amount of energy for a longer period of time. Our health span, our lifespan is longer because Mother Nature, Maa Shakti, gave us the gift of Rakta Mokshana every month.

It's—

sorry to interrupt, but I've noticed after my hysterectomy, I loved my periods. I love my periods. I never hear people saying that. Maybe one in my life. I've heard one woman not long ago, but I always love my periods and I felt so good after. And I said, it's a gift God gave me. I feel so good after this. You know, I got a hysterectomy because of my oma and everything was huge. And I noticed my body changed a lot after. Not weight-wise or anything. It was just how I start feeling. Things start happening. It was just like I, I was craving for my periods to come to release these things. Yeah, I don't have any more. Yeah, yeah, I understand what you're saying. It makes sense.

Yeah, yeah, just want to bring it up what you were saying.

It's true.

Uh, I'm sorry for your experience with the hysterectomy, but I know you are a very careful and cautious person, and you took that decision after weighing all the pros and cons.

Yeah, no, but the reason I said— I told you this is because what you're saying, how you release a toxin with your periods, and that's how women, they live longer and everything, and it does make sense.

Just like a perfume. That's all right.

Thank you for sharing, sharing that. You're always such a bright light. You always bring your best. You always share vulnerably. And you—

oh yeah, for me, this is how life is. You're born to share things. I don't want to take anything back with me. Moksha.

Moksha.

That's my goal.

Oh, that brings us to the topic of this panchakarma. When done correctly with the guidance of somebody like me who also shares with you what practices you can do as you're doing the panchakarma, you can advance in your enlightenment as well. Because as the body is healing, it's just one of the panchakoshas. Right, one pancha kosha is healing, the other koshas are also ready to be healed. So we can intentionally do practices to elevate our soul. For me, my biggest spiritual growth happens during panchakarmas because at that time I just shut everything else and I focus completely on chanting, on God, and my practices, my rituals. So I come out of there like with lots of fresh energy, lots of fresh ideas, new ways of looking at things. So it can be a very powerful spiritually enlightening practice as well. And we talked about the health span and the lifespan. Every human should do panchakarma at least once to experience what it is. You know, I offer a gentler version of it for home. But when we do the, the toughest version under a physician who is like a drill sergeant who's watching all the signs, and who's making sure that we are not slipping even once, the biggest, biggest results come out of that. Just astounding results come out of that. I've had clients who've gone into a panchakarma with like bleeding disorders, unable to gain weight, and come out of it and within months gotten pregnant because the body became stable, body became healthy. I've seen clients go in with Alzheimer's, but you know, disclaimer, disclaimer, that obviously not everything works for everybody. And come out like way, way, way better than, you know, they've set their health back. They like how they were maybe 5 years ago, 6 years ago, they became similar, even though when they came to the center, they were not in good shape, they came in a wheelchair, and they got up and walked. So these kind of miraculous, these are miraculous only because People don't understand how these work. Yeah, um, Sushma ji, I'll come to the questions. One more point I want to share before I open up for Q&A, that is the point of insurance. There are many insurances in India and abroad now that will pay for your full panchakarma or partial panchakarma. Depending on your insurance. If you are using the panchakarma to heal the condition that you have pre-existing, this could also apply for burnout. You could talk to your physician, write a prescription that you are requiring this, you are taking, making this elective procedure because you have XYZ condition The center will write your invoice in such a way, or I will write your invoice in such a way, that it is very clear that these are the conditions for which you had gotten your treatment done. Um, big companies like Google, LinkedIn, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, they are all taking full reimbursement for any health costs like this. So fitness coaching, health coaching, um, alternative health invoices, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda— they will cover all of this. So check with your employer as well. You may be able to use good amount of money towards your panchakarma trip. So if you're flying in from America, let's say you're working for a company like LinkedIn, you can literally— I will invoice you for whatever, $3,000, $5,000. You submit it, you're reimbursed. You only pay for your airfare. So if you're already coming to India to meet with relatives and you tag along this trip as well, there's a good chance that between insurance and your employee, you can shave off a nice amount on top. So no more excuses. That was it from my side. I believe I covered the top. Uh-huh.

Yes, Salila Sukumaran. On this insurance part, right, when I saw your message in the group, I checked with my— I'm from Accenture, So I just checked my insurance policy. It says in case of homeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani treatment, hospitalization expenses are admissible only when the treatment is taken as an inpatient in a government hospital slash medical college hospital.

Yes, these centers are certified hospitals, so you are literally getting an inpatient treatment at a certified.

Is this called as a medical college or a government hospital? Does these centers come under that umbrella?

They are all NABH accredited government hospitals.

Okay.

So they are— they've been doing this since COVID A lot of insurance started to open up and accept this as a regular treatment. So that's great. Accenture is one of the top companies in India. So absolutely. All you need to do is when I connect you to the physician, you tell them that you will be billing it to insurance, so they will make sure that your checkout paperwork is compliant to what your insurance is requiring.

That helps.

Thank you.

Yeah, wonderful. Anybody else has any questions?

I'm gonna check my German insurance.

Yeah, totally check it. I think Germany has a lot of progressive policies about alternative medicine. A lot of clients come to India are able to pay for this through insurance as well.

Yeah, I'm gonna check because I have local insurance. It's not the through company, it's local insurance, so which is very good.— it's not private, but it's still pretty good. I don't need a private one. So, but that I have to check it out if it works or not. But thanks for reminding me, I would have never thought of it, right?

Yeah, we would never have thought of it. If you're from a company like LinkedIn, Amazon, Apple, your whole thing will be paid off. Actually, I have clients who write off their Ultimate Cleanse the, like, the entire thing. The fee I charge them, I invoice them in such a way that they submit it and they get the whole money back.

Interesting, I didn't know that. It's interesting. Well, too bad I don't work for the company, but I'm gonna check the insurance that we have here and what covers.

Maybe. Yeah, yeah, any money is good. $500, $250, everything is good. For several days worth of treatment.

So you go to these centers, the one you're talking about, for example, they check, of course, what your Nadi and everything and what you need and what you don't need.

Absolutely not. Everybody checks Nadi. There is Dashavidha Pariksha. So they, they are trained to do 10 different kinds of diagnostics. They're all well-versed in reading modern medical reports. Some of them, if they are from a traditional family, then they will know how to do the pulse. But most Ayurveda doctors who are coming out of the centers now don't do pulse.

Oh no. Okay.

The very famous doctors, they don't do pulse because it's a lost art. Very few people know how to do pulse.

Oh, that sucks.

Pulse is one way of diagnosing. It gives you data. It's fascinating because they can hold your finger and say, yeah, your bones or your lungs, you know. And whether I have, I have an acupuncturist, I have a Korean healer, they're my friends. And I have Guruji. So what Guruji tells me when he holds my nadi, Same exact thing my Korean healer friend and my acupuncturist will tell me. They will not say the same thing, but they will say your lungs are weak, which was when I was having anxiety. All three of them said my lungs were weak because I was not breathing properly. So when I started to breathe better, they all checked and said, ah, now you're better. So it's fascinating how they can all feel the same thing.

Interesting. Okay, so I'll keep that in mind. But, um, what if For example, my issue— I will talk in the private consultation, but I have asked in previous time my doctors to check for inflammation in my blood and everything. Everything is fine. My iron is always borderline because my body doesn't absorb iron, you know. And of course my vitamin D was extremely low, but I took supplements and everything, so they don't really find anything. But then I have all this stuff going on which we'll talk about. So how do I— what, what do I show if I go to this center, for example? What are they going to look at? Nothing. So how—

practitioner, the definition of, um, poor health is very different from an allopathic practitioner. An allopathic practitioner diagnosis. Ayurveda practitioner, if we are, um, if I'm craving for sweet all the time, it's a problem.

It needs to be.

Exactly.

But you were saying if you, you, they know how to read the reports and everything, it's just a plus for them to see that. Ah, okay. So it's not a necessity.

No, no, no, no, not at all. Not at all. Not at all.

That's why I was wondering.

Now, um, the Western clients are becoming, they're getting all kinds of tests done, like the microbiome tests and, uh, you know, they're looking for all kinds of pathogens and this and that. We have a lot of diagnostics now, right? Because some— many people since COVID have had mysterious conditions. There is no answer, right? No answer. The body's just suffering. There's nothing to pinpoint. So they run tests, and then they bring these data. So the doctors are becoming better at looking at it. Yeah, what can we say? We can all just help each other.

And yeah, but it's interesting with— I don't know if it's a virus did it or the vaccination did it. I see people not recuperating. Like, I know this girl, I was teaching yoga. She's in India right now, in Rishikesh. She was coughing for months. She went through all the tests, dry cough, nothing. They can't find nothing. And I already, I think I already told you this lady with all this, Indian lady with full of, you know, bumps everywhere. Like she's scratching full body. And I'm like, I did give your contact. I mean, I try, I keep on reminding her. I said, contact her, she may be able to help you. I think you can, but people have to do it, you know. But so many people I know, so many things happening, and a lot of heart attacks, young people. Yeah, am I scaring somebody there?

Sorry.

We have to have our eyes open. We have to watch out for the signs for ourselves.

Yeah, I mean, I, I had to teach my daughter. She's by herself in Toronto. I'm like, no, these— she's always working hard, she's university and everything. I go, yeah, but you need to be careful. And I'm like, she's like, I know what the signs of heart attack. I go, okay, but don't take things, you know, lightly because you're alone there. And this is happening to young people. I know 17 years old boy and high school boy. How do you get heart attack?

Yeah.

So it was during the daytime. So parents took him right away to hospital. But most of the time they die in the sleep.

Wow. Yeah.

And young people, like, I— my sister knows people I know, and I'm like, whoa, this is scary. Let's live the life.

Yeah, we should all live the life. Every day is precious. Yeah, we should sit in the sun, bask.

We don't have sun very often in Düsseldorf, so I'm trying to take advantage of this, you know.

Every day, every day we should get as much, as much sun, as much positivity.

Yeah.

Very interesting question I have for you because we're talking about the sun. How much vitamin D can you get through the window?

It should be direct. So early morning before 9:00, get it on your skin and after 4:00, get it on your skin.

Yeah, I know I do. We don't have a lot of sun here, but I try my best, which is not enough for me anyways, because mostly it's cloudy here. But I was just wondering if it's wintertime and I'm sitting inside, they— some says yes, you can get some, some says no. I don't know if— what's your feedback on it through the window?

I know about the Ayurvedic way, and the Ayurvedic way is early morning through the— filtered through the leaves is how we should do it.

Okay, then I have a lot of leaves around. Okay.

Yeah, I'll do that.

Tomorrow morning, if the sun is there, I go sit outside.

Yeah. Yeah.

All right.

Any questions? Any more questions? We'll wrap up and then I'll email everybody.

I live in Bangalore.

And then I, my mother has diabetes.

I told you I'm going through the abdominal uterine bleeding. And I would be open to explore that October retreat option. How do I go about it? Like, how do I reach out to you?

I'll send an email to everybody. Just respond to the email. And this is a very beautiful retreat in Alleppey. So it's about an hour and a half drive from Kochi International Airport. As soon as you reach to me, I will connect you to reservations and then they will give you a 5% off. They have a promotion right now, so they have walk-in rates, and anyone who reaches out because of me and tells them that I'm CC'd, so obviously they know, so they will give you a 5% off right away.

And Meno, what is the duration of the Panchakarma? Like, how many days are we supposed to stay?

Panchakarma is usually done for 14 days, but I will also keep an eye on, you know, your email so I don't get lose track of it. Let me just put that down. Panchakarma is usually for 14 days to 21 days, but this promotion you can do for 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, any length of stay. Even it can be something like you do to get a taste of the place, because sometimes what happens is people don't want to commit to a long duration, right? Because they want to come and they want to experience the place, so they'll come for 3 days, 5 days. Experience it, then they'll book and come back again.

Hi, ma'am. Nidhi this side.

Hi, Nidhi.

Am I audible?

Yes, of course you are.

Thank you. Yeah, I just want to know, since very long I want to go to a retreat, but I have a daughter who's 10 years old. So I can't leave her back at home. So I was just wondering if I take the Panchakarma treatment, like, and I just go with my daughter, it's just me and her.

Yeah.

So are there any facilities for the kids?

Oh, facilities for the children will be, they will have babysitters, or, you know, if it's a 10-year-old child, then, you know, it's better to pack activities so the child can play and, okay, do some lessons with them, or you have some like certain, um, activities online that you can do with them. Most of the centers will have daily cooking lessons, they will have a garden walk, they will have yoga in the morning, they'll have meditation. Uh, so you can take, take the little one with you. She's 10 years old, so she can be part of—

yeah, yeah, yoga and meditation she can be with me, but when I'm away for the therapy session. And I don't think she'll be needing any therapy right now because she's too young, but she does have this dental caries issue since long. And dentists and pediatrics, they are— they just give lame excuses that it's the child's lifestyle, the jaw is not expanding as the humans are the way humans evolution happened, the jaws were big, now the jaws are narrow. So I'm unable to find my daughter the cure, actually what is the reason behind.

So earlier— Yeah, definitely they will help you with the child's health issues as well because they are equipped to take care of all kinds of health issues, all ages.

Okay, okay, that's great. Lovely talking to you.

Yeah, thank you for joining in and jumping in and asking a question. I'm glad you connected. Also, all of these places are around water bodies, but they have security and they are very, very, very cautious.

I don't know if you know. Yeah, even for like, I always step back because of the safety because I haven't traveled alone. It's always like, I can travel alone, but nowadays, like, it's really risky. You never know what might happen. So if it's a trusted one, and there are so many available on Instagram, this retreat, that retreat, but I always, I have to think n number of times before indulging and going alone.

And you're right to be cautious because of—

yeah.

You can land up in a dodgy place and yes, with more problems than before you started. And the places that I send you, I have been connected with them since 2015. So they treat my clients like VIPs right off the bat because they know that only really good people come through to me. If somebody's connected to me, wants to work with me already, it means that that soul is a higher soul. Ordinary people don't come to me.

Okay.

Okay.

That's the kind of— that's the caliber of people that come to me. Right. So thank you. Yeah. When you are at a retreat, they know you are my client, you are VIP already, they will do extra for you, they'll give you extra, they'll check in with me, they'll tell you how— tell me how you're doing. So yeah, wow.

Yeah, I'm so glad I came across you, your page, and I was added to the WhatsApp group. I wanted to join the Crown Glory, but again, maybe next time I'll join that.

Ah, in 2 more months. I was being too ambitious thinking I'll have it every month or so, but I think my hair did okay after Crowning Glory.

You already had like— even if half of this we can get, so I'll be very delightful.

I need to maintain it. I'm pushing the fun part, fun side of 40 now, so I need to maintain it, otherwise I lose everything. Wake up and one day I'll be bald.

Oh my God, no, I don't think that's gonna happen, but very quickly For somebody traveling to do Panchakarma, your location, how much time would that person need? Like, if I decide to go, should I go for one week, or I should plan it more?

I would say give it maximum time that you can afford, or you have, you know. So if you're coming down here, It's already an 8-hour flight for you from Frankfurt or Berlin, right? Yeah, so it's 8 hours flying and then I would say 10 days minimum, right?

So we'll talk about it when I—

okay, our conversation.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, yeah. Purviji, you're looking at me. I think I can see a question in your head.

Yes, I was— hello, by the way. And yeah, so I just wanted to check. First of all, I, as I think I mentioned to you before also, that I've been through a lot of treatments for around 7 or 8 years. And I've been looking to— I could tell that my body is now like showing signs of all those years of of abuse, medical abuse, I'd say. And I needed some— I, I could understand that I need to cleanse, you know, myself thoroughly from inside, but I never knew of something called Panchakarma. I'd heard of it, but I never knew exactly, you know, what happens and what it entails. Today's session was really helpful that way, you know. At least I, I now understand that this is exactly, you know, what I need. But I am in London right now And maybe next year sometime I'll be traveling, and a couple of months before my travel is fixed, I'll, I'll maybe try to book something with your recommendations, of course. So what I wanted to understand is, would I need to book a session with you before booking something to understand like exactly what, you know, of the 5 karmas, like what are applicable, or would it be diagnosed at the center itself? By the Vedas.

And yeah, the Vedas are the bosses. But when you— let me just share my screen and show you how the process works. So when you reach out to me, I have this plan my trip form on my website. Everybody can see this, right? Everybody can see, right? Okay, so I have created this form because so many people were asking me and it was difficult for me to get all the information correct in the first glance. So once you enter your departure date, your flexibility, number of nights, number of adults, are you traveling with children? Do you want a luxury? Do you want medical? Is it relax and rejuvenate? I have clients who've gone through 6 sessions of chemo. They don't want to do any cleansing anymore. They're like, I just want to relax by the beach. So it could be relax and rejuvenate where people just leave you alone, just give you gentle massages. Plus, do you need airport pickup? Do you need a pre-panchakarma, post-panchakarma stay because you're coming to one of the most beautiful parts of India? So some people will be like excited that, oh, maybe I'll do a 15-day panchakarma and then I can do a 5-day trip just enjoying the forest or something like that. So in that case, what I do is I work with a travel provider. I just pass on your information to them. They take care of you for that. And the per-person budget for the entire trip. So this will give me an idea of where I should place you, because why go to a center— why go to a cheap center if you can afford a really nice panchakarma? You know, if you can afford to live— stay in a place that is like a queen's panchakarma, I would totally go for that every time, right? I experience different levels So I can help you guys know what is offered in each level. But if I had, you know, millions of dollars coming in, no problem, I would go for the Queen's Panchakarma every time. So think carefully when you think of the budget. Based on your budget, I will offer you places. And then what are your health goals? What do you want to achieve from the Panchakarma? Once you give me all this information, This lands in my inbox as an inquiry form, and then I send you a 15-minute meeting invite, and I say, let's get together. And quickly I'll go through the form and I say, I got everything correct, this is what you wanted, these are potentially couple of centers that you will look at, we will go over them, and then you will tell me how you are feeling about it, because Sometimes we look at a place and we have a feeling like, ah, this is my place, this is where I want to go, this is exactly where I want to go. Sometimes it takes a few back and forths. We stay in touch via WhatsApp. Now, if you and I work together, and I do all this for free, okay, let's say you and I go back and forth and I do a lot of connection with the reservations and talking to me, and I give you a lot of responses and answers, and at the end of it you are like, Salila, you know what, I've changed my mind, then I will charge you $89 for the time I spent in taking care of you. So that compensates my time, and that also increases your seriousness about it, because none of us would go do any of this if we had a way out, right?

This is—

we all do all this only because it's up to here now, and we are suffering, and we don't want to suffer anymore, right? So that was the entire process. Once you decide a place, I connect you to reservation. You work with reservation. Everything is done directly with the facility. They will CC me on the communication. They will keep me posted. They will let me know when you're coming, when you're leaving, how it was. The doctor will give me a report on you. So that I know that everything that needed to be done for you was done for you. And if there were any service lapses, it happens, right? If there was something you were not happy about, you immediately let me know and I will talk to the doctor on your behalf. Because sometimes we are sitting in front of a doctor, they're very sweet, they're very kind, and we just want to be nice. And we just, we say yes, yes, yes. But then we go back to our room and we are like, no, no, no. And then you call me up and say, Salila, this isn't working for me, help me, I need to think of this differently, or I need this help, I don't think the doctor is getting it. So then I call up the doctor and I say, look, Purvi really wants to have chana bhatura for breakfast, can we talk about this? You know, something like that. Yeah, so what I mean to say is that You are held throughout the process till you are done with the process. And when you're done with the process and you're really happy, then I take an interview of you and I post it on my YouTube so that others can get inspired by it.

Salila Sukumaran, I'm inquiring, your contacts are only in Kerala or other cities in India as well? Like, what all cities, uh, Do you have contacts?

I used to have a couple of places, but after COVID, everything shut down. The quality went down very badly. Kerala too, when I started off, I had about 15 centers. Now I have only about 5. Recently, I was on a tour of southern Kerala meeting different centers. So I'm going to first talk to them. I'm going to vet them. Only then will I suggest that somebody goes and stays there. So that I— that work I need to do probably the week, week after. I'm going to start traveling, visiting centers, talking to doctors, going and staying in the facility, asking lots of questions from the kitchen staff to the gardeners to the guards. I ask lots of questions. I also have a background in hospitality. So I can step into a place and smell the place, and I will know what's going on here. Is it good vibration? Are the staff paid well? If the staff are bickering and unhappy, they're not going to be able to heal. I don't work with people like that. I only send you to places where everything is calm, staff is happy, everybody's taken care of. So it's all positive vibration and good karma. This is important for me.

Very nice.

And so currently your contacts are in Kerala only? Uh, what about Pune?

Only in Kerala?

Okay.

Yeah, thank you so much, Salila Sukumaran.

Yeah, any other questions, dear?

Shruti Ji.

So I want to understand that, uh, this treatment is only for like 3 days, 5 days, or is something like they advise you some medicine to follow up? After the treatment? Like, for example, I keep on getting migraine once a month, and you know, there is no proper treatment for it, and I want to go for Panchakarma for this. So is it like, will I be completely okay after that treatment, or would I need something, some medicine to— for, uh, after that?

You know, no body, no physician can guarantee that everything will be cured 100%, but Migraines, I would say, is one of the easiest things they fix. People come out with really amazing, you know, results for migraines, migraines, musculoskeletal issues, arthritic issues, all diabetes, lifestyle disorders. These are all like the— they are very well versed in taking care of this. When you, when you check out, they will give you prescription. And you purchase that on your own, and they don't charge you, they don't mark it up. Even at the topmost center, you pay the market rate for it. So whatever you'll buy in a pharmacy is what you will pay. They will give you medicines for up to 3 months, so you'll, you'll come home with all that. And in some centers like Amal Tamara, the one that I am, uh, you know, holding this promotion that I want to give you guys the discount coupon, they will, um, they will have a free consultation before you go. Once you reach there, you will have your consultation with the physician. After you're done, after you return home, they will have another follow-up consultation. So they're that professional when it comes to taking care of you.

Something we need— needed these days. I mean, doctors are not exactly doing doing the work we thought they should be doing. So thank you for sharing all about it.

Thank you. It's such a pleasure for me to support all of you in these different ways. All right, my dears, any other questions before we say bye?

Uh, Salila, I have a question. So when you're going to send us an email with some information Will you be sending the list of companies' insurance or their company policy that will be supporting Panchakarma or other treatments?

I don't have that information because there are so many insurance companies all over the world, right? But what I can do is when you check with your insurance and if they have a clause, they tell you clearly that they will they will pay for alternative wellness, then what I can do is when you are in talks, when we— I connect you to a center, I can let them know that partially billing will be done to the insurance or completely billing will be done to the insurance. So we will ask them to give us the invoice at checkout in such a way that it is insurance compliant, no matter which insurance. You're using.

Okay, so because my insurance does say that it covers, uh, like even if I have visit Ayurvedic doctors here also, and I did go for an appointment here, I mean, I went for a couple, uh, I mean, it does cover it partially, like I have, I still have to pay a certain amount, but it covers partially, but it didn't say that, um, Panchakarma treatment will be covered. Even here they were asking me to pay it out of pocket, like the hospital, like the clinics here. So that's why I wasn't very sure that like insurance here is covering from for India, right? What exactly should I ask my insurance for? Like, should I tell them that I'm going for this kind of treatment out of the country and will you be still covering?

Tell them you're going for medical treatment, inpatient medical treatment.

Treatment. Okay. Okay. I'll, I'll reach out to my insurance company. Thank you so much, Salila.

Absolutely. All right, my dears, any other questions before we say bye?

All right.

Such a pleasure to have all of you. Thank you for showing up for yourself. Always a joy to talk with you. Thank you.

Namaste.

Good Navratras. Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.