Today is the final day of the 21 day Panchakarma treatment, and I am so glad.
I get to broaden my horizons on the food front and have bananas, apples, and avocado again. I can even have eggs or yogurt if I want, woo hoo!! Oh! And I get to have Mysore dosa and Thali again! Yeess!!!
Week two was smooth sailing, after the initial experience with the nose drops. I did miss the deep-tissue massages, though. Ayurvedic massage just isn’t my preference. I was told that weeks one and two focused more on on stirring up and releasing toxins, while week three was more focused on replenishing nutrients.
In week three, I got to receive the deep tissue massage again, and the complimentary treatment this week was a technique called Basti. It is the most powerful of the five main procedures of Panchakarma. To all my friends with narcolepsy and neurological disorders, basti is supposed to be *the* treatment for those with neurological disorders.
Quite honestly, it’s been a long three weeks and, I can’t say I feel much different from when I started Panchakarma. Many 
people say they have a lot of weight loss from Panchakarma and I haven’t noticed this ‘side benefit’ personally. My roommate did say he thought I had lost weight. I don’t know. Maybe I can find a scale tomorrow.
Perhaps it is because I already had a pretty clean diet to begin with, that I haven’t seen major results from this cleansing procedure/technique. Perhaps it is because I had a few cheat days. I will never know. I do wish I had gone to a facility to have this treatment done, as opposed to an ‘outpatient’ type clinic. Next time I will go to a facility. In the facility they provide meals for you, do your laundry, give you a gentle yoga practice daily, practice pranayama, and keep you on schedule. It would have been good for me to have that structure and to not have to worry about cooking my own meals, sourcing ingredients, doing dishes, traveling, and figuring everything out.
During the Panchakarma I was not allowed to do morning yoga practice. The theory is that the body needs the energy to support the cleanse. I was allowed to do an evening practice, but I didn’t. Aside from taking care of daily duties, like cooking, cleaning and laundry, I just took this time to focus on allowing my body to detox and heal. Some days I was simply tired from the process itself.
Now, I must rebuild my body’s strength so that I can start practicing yoga again and get strong enough to take Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training. I’ve got my work cut out for me. I am nowhere near having the strength I need for Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training right now. It’s time to re-build my strength and my body. Can I do it?!??? Time will tell.
My ego is having a heyday with this one. It can be so intimidating walking into a yoga class with a bunch of hard-core, seasoned ashtangees, when you don’t even know the series and haven’t got the strength to complete it. It can be twice as intimidating, having the memory challenges that I have. I just have to keep telling myself that putting myself out there is better than being the gal sitting on the couch at home, and to hell with what anybody else thinks!
The only way to truly get over my fear is to bask in it until it dissolves, and that means to thrust myself, full-force, in the midst of my fear so that I can experience it fully. Deep breath, “I can do this”.
So, after I get myself to the point that I can do the Sun Salutations five times each, I will be seeking a studio to practice at again. And yes, I will be asking my divine to give me strength and the courage to once again step outside of my comfort zone and do this. Wish me luck!
What have you been putting of lately, out of fear? Are you letting fear of failure keep you from trying something new? You know, often times, when we allow ourselves to fully experience our fear, it will simply disappear. What fear have you been running from? What fear can you thrust yourself into and experience fully?
You were born with divine potential. How can you reach this divine potential if you do not gather the strength and courage to face your fears? Truth is, when you exhibit courage, you inspire others to do the same, and others will follow your lead.
Aristotle, he was a pretty smart dude, and he said, “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others”.
♥ – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – SOULYSTIC SUGGESTION – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – ♥
Do one thing today that scares you. If you don’t feel you have the courage, ask your divine to give you the strength and to carry you through it.
♥ – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -♥
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Love to you!
Jodi
