With a new season on the way, wouldn’t it be great to get rid of built-up toxins and rejuvenate, for robust health, energy, and a mental boost? Ayurveda offers a solution, and it is luxurious and profound. Read on for a comprehensive overview of this time-tested system, and be sure to take the quiz near the end of the article to receive 10 health tips.
For millennia Ayurveda has recommended that several times a year—ideally at the change of the seasons—people receive a three-to-seven-day sequence of massage, heat treatments, oil applications, and internal herbal cleanses called Panchakarma, or the “Karmas” or actions for internal cleansing.
A restoration of the authentic practice of Panchakarma has been a uniquely valuable part of the revival of Ayurveda by TM® Founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Maharishi AyurVeda® approach includes at its core the development of the mind, consciousness, and health through the Transcendental Meditation® (TM) technique.
Called Maharishi PanchakarmaSM, this program revives the consciousness basis of these genuine cleansing treatments within a modern integrative medicine approach. Treatments are offered under the supervision of a licensed physician—M.D. or D.O.—often in consultation with an Ayurvedic physician (Vaidya), and administered by highly trained technicians in a comfortable, spa-like setting.
Maharishi Panchakarma… revives the consciousness basis of these genuine cleansing treatments within a modern integrative medicine approach.
Maharishi Panchakarma Treatments Now Offered at New Maharishi AyurVeda Integrative Health Center at MIU
Maharishi International University (MIU, formerly Maharishi University of Management, MUM) is the first university in the United States offering both accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Maharishi AyurVeda. On October 14, 2019, MIU opened the first university-sponsored Panchakarma clinic in the country at its Fairfield, Iowa, campus, the Maharishi AyurVeda Integrative Health Center. (Editor’s note: This article was originally published before the university changed it’s name; all references have been updated.)
MIU’s teaching and research clinic will complement the world-famous Maharishi AyurVeda Health Center, The Raj, which also offers Maharishi Panchakarma treatments in the Fairfield area.
Maharishi International University (formerly Maharishi University of Management) in Fairfield, Iowa, offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Maharishi AyurVeda
Fairfield, Iowa, is fast becoming the leading destination for Ayurvedic knowledge in America: MIU with its Maharishi AyurVeda degree programs and new Panchakarma clinic; The Raj, America’s premiere Maharishi AyurVeda Health Center; and MAPI, the successful Ayurvedic herbal company, are all within a few miles of each other.
On October 14, 2019, MIU opened the first university-sponsored Panchakarma clinic in the country at its Fairfield, Iowa, campus.
Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf’s Story: Restored Health and a Path to Integrative Medicine
I wouldn’t be an Ayurvedic integrative doctor today if it hadn’t been for my experience with Maharishi Panchakarma treatments. I was in the middle of my medical internship, a grueling endurance test pitting one’s health and well-being against challenging circumstances day after day, night after night.
I needed serious rejuvenation and went to The Raj in Fairfield for three days of herbalized oil massages and gentle cleansing. The treatments were wonderful and relaxing. But it was weeks later, back in my internship, that I realized how successful the treatments had been: I still had good digestion and still felt rejuvenated and refreshed.
It was the total mind-body-spirit health transformation I experienced that convinced me I should learn Maharishi AyurVeda and share it with my patients. I have now been offering Maharishi AyurVeda integrative medicine in my practice for over 32 years, and it has helped 20,000+ patients enjoy truly better health—and I still do Maharishi Panchakarma treatments at least once a year, as an essential anti-aging, health-promoting practice.
It was the total mind-body-spirit health transformation I experienced that convinced me I should learn Maharishi AyurVeda and share it with my patients.
The Maharishi Panchakarma Experience
Maharishi Panchakarma treatments are offered over three to seven days, most often in residence. Treatments are given in silence, to create a profound inner experience for the guest. Technicians, working in gender-separate wings, administer the treatments that many people describe as deeply luxurious and highly relaxing.
For two and a half hours each day, the client enjoys three treatments, with ample time for deep rest and inner peace during their TM sessions:
1. Herbalized, warm-oil massage starts the process of loosening impurities, mobilizing them into the blood stream, and opening the channels of circulation. This long, luxurious massage is administered by two Ayurvedic technicians, who massage your body in complete synchrony, creating a profoundly synergistic effect.
2. Heat or oil applications continue the process of dislodging and mobilizing impurities into the blood stream and lower digestion tract in preparation for elimination.
3. Internal cleansing in the form of a mild herbalized-oil enema completes the day’s treatments. This internal cleansing is essential for eliminating the mobilized toxins and impurities.
Maharishi Panchakarma treatments are offered over three to seven days, most often in residence. Treatments are given in silence, to create a profound inner experience for the guest.
Dr. Robert Keith Wallace Explains the Science behind Toxin Accumulation and Its Effect on Chronic Disorders
Did you know that six out of ten adults in the United States have a chronic disease?1 Ayurveda theory holds that many chronic disorders have the same root cause—the accumulation of toxins in tissues and the blocking of the channels of communication and circulation. According to Maharishi AyurVeda, this is the key process that lays the ground for development of chronic disorders.
Modern science, like Ayurveda theory, now understands that most toxins and blocking substances are created through the improper breakdown of food particles in the gut, which causes large, clogging molecules to be absorbed into the bloodstream, circulate, and localize in various tissues, causing chronic conditions. In Ayurveda these improperly digested molecules are called Ama.
Here’s how the process works. Inflammation, the body’s natural response to unknown material, plays a major role in healing. However, when excess quantities of toxins (Ama), circulate and get lodged in tissues, the pain, swelling, and lack of function caused by increased inflammation create and worsen many chronic conditions.
Ayurveda theory holds that many chronic disorders have the same root cause—the accumulation of toxins in tissues and the blocking of the channels of communication and circulation.
Toxin Accumulation in Major Chronic Disorders
Modern medicine is also now beginning to describe this process of toxin accumulation, inflammation, and blockages in circulation as the basis of many chronic conditions:
1. Cardiovascular Disease involves inflammation, the development of plaque, and blockages in the circulatory system.
2. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia are worsened by a classic Ama condition where inflammation and toxic deposits (called amyloid plaques) develop on the nerves, disrupting function and contributing to cognitive decline and memory loss.
3. Arthritis is created and worsened when inflammation and toxic impurities localize in joint tissue.
4. Allergies are an immune response to foreign substances. According to Maharishi AyurVeda, allergies are much worse for people with many toxins and blockages in their system.
Common symptoms such as fatigue, heaviness, and mental dullness are also exacerbated by accumulation of toxicity, inflammation, and blockages in circulation.
Research on Maharishi Panchakarma Treatments
One class of toxic chemicals found in pesticides and plastics has proven to be very disruptive to human physiology and hard to eliminate. These fat-soluble toxins have been correlated to many chronic disorders, including hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive disorders, several types of cancer, and allergies.
A study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine2 found that Maharishi Panchakarma reduced specific fat-soluble toxins by about 50 percent. The expected drop in chemical levels over two months without intervention would be only a fraction of 1 percent.
A study published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine found that Maharishi Panchakarma reduced specific fat-soluble toxins by about 50 percent.
Take the Ama Quiz and Receive 10 Tips for Prevention and Detox
Ama accumulation results in many common symptoms and imbalances even before a chronic disease actually develops. To find out your own levels of Ama accumulation, take the Ama Quiz. Upon submission, you will see your score, an Ayurvedic evaluation of the level of Ama it represents, and 10 Tips for helping prevent and remove Ama accumulation.
The Leading Edge of Natural Health Care
Over 50 years ago, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought the TM program to the West, widely popularizing meditation and its profound health benefits in America and around the world. Over 35 years ago, Maharishi re-enlivened the authentic practice of Ayurveda and returned it to its core Consciousness-BasedSM approach. In the process, he introduced the U.S. health care community to the world’s first and most complete integrative medicine approach.
Pulse diagnosis is a key feature of the Maharishi AyurVeda approach to integrative health
Now Maharishi International University is continuing this groundbreaking tradition by offering the largest bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Ayurveda in America and becoming the first university to establish a complete, authentic Maharishi Panchakarma teaching and research clinic.
Maharishi Panchakarma is the crest-jewel of the Ayurvedic approach and is considered to have the greatest potential to transform health among all the Ayurvedic physical modalities.
You may find out more about the various Maharishi AyurVeda programs in the United States at www.maharishi-ayurveda.us. We hope you also have a chance to attend MIU’s new Maharishi AyurVeda Integrative Health Center or The Raj in Fairfield, Iowa, in the near future.
Now Maharishi International University is continuing this groundbreaking tradition by offering the largest bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Ayurveda in America and becoming the first university to establish a complete, authentic Maharishi Panchakarma teaching and research clinic.
Where Are Maharishi Panchakarma Treatments Offered?
In Fairfield, Iowa, two Maharishi AyurVeda health centers offer outpatient and residential Panchakarma treatments.
The Raj Maharishi AyurVeda Health Center. The Raj Medical Director, Robert Schneider, M.D.—renowned author and medical researcher—and his predecessors have been overseeing Maharishi Panchakarma programs for 27 years in a French-country-style resort setting on 100 acres of rolling meadows and ponds. The Raj program provides the most extensive range of Maharishi Panchakarma treatments in a luxurious health spa environment. Learn more ►
The Maharishi International University Maharishi AyurVeda Integrative Health Center. Jim Davis, D.O., Medical Director, and his distinguished medical team will be offering Maharishi Panchakarma programs starting on October 14, 2019. These luxurious, rejuvenating treatments will be offered in a state-of-the-art teaching and research environment, where graduate students receive advanced training and degrees in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine (MAVIM). Dr. Davis’ team includes world-renowned Ayurvedic Vaidya Dr. Manohar Palakurthi, who worked closely with Maharishi in restoring the ancient Vedic wisdom to its full purity and effectiveness. Learn more ►
Nancy Lonsdorf, M.D., has been an Ayurvedic practitioner for more than 30 years and is recognized as one of the nation’s most prominent Ayurvedic doctors. She is adjunct faculty at Maharishi International University, and has been the medical director of Maharishi Panchakarma Health Centers for over 18 years, both in Washington D.C. and at The Raj in Fairfield, Iowa.
A frequent speaker on national media, she continues her private practice in integrative medicine and Ayurveda, including wellness consultations in person or by phone. For more information on Dr. Lonsdorf’s practice, visit www.drlonsdorf.com. To schedule an Ayurvedic wellness consultation by phone or teleconference, please contact Dr. Lonsdorf’s office at 641-469-3174 or healthoffice@drlonsdorf.com.
Dr. Lonsdorf is also the best-selling author of many books, including A Woman’s Best Medicine, Ageless Woman, and most recently The Healthy Brain Solution for Women Over Forty: 7 Keys to Staying Sharp—On or Off Hormones.
Robert Keith Wallace, Ph.D., is a pioneering researcher on the physiology of consciousness. His work has inspired hundreds of studies on the benefits of meditation and other mind-body techniques, and his findings have been published in Science, American Journal of Physiology, and Scientific American. After receiving his B.S. in physics and his Ph.D. in physiology from UCLA, he conducted postgraduate research at Harvard University.
Dr. Wallace serves as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Health and Trustee of Maharishi International University (MIU) in Fairfield, Iowa. He helped create the first fully accredited Masters of Science degree in Maharishi AyurVeda and Integrative Medicine in the United States.
Dr. Wallace is the author of several books, including Gut Crisis: How Diet, Probiotics, and Friendly Bacteria Help You Lose Weight and Heal Your Body and Mind. Visit docgut.com to learn more.
Notes
1. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), “About Chronic Diseases,” on Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm. Accessed on: August 27, 2019.
2. John B. Fagan, Ph.D., and Robert E. Herron, Ph.D. “Lipophil-mediated reduction of toxicants in humans: An evaluation of an Ayurvedic detoxification procedure.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, vol. 8, no. 5 (Sept. 2002): 40–51.
At 81 I feel healthy and strong, and though I don’t spend much time on medical campuses of any kind, I am thinking Panchakarma might smooth out a couple of small rough spots in my body. I took the final TM-Sidhis block at MUM in the late 1990s; began TM in 1970; and did TM Teacher Training in La Antilla in 1973.
Congratulations on your excellent health and great longevity! I hope you have a chance to add Maharishi Panchakarma to the wonderful courses and programs you’ve participated in, which have surely enhanced your strength and vitality. Bravo!