I am at an ayurveda centre ,in Kerala and come here once a year, to rejuvenate my body ,mind and soul. I am not recommending that everyone needs to go to an Ayurveda centre ,to do the same. You could choose your own place, where you think ,it may help you ,to do the same.

My body is getting rejuvenated by massages through herbal oils and pastes and all the toxins in the body ,are getting released through Kashayam ( herbal medicines in liquid form). I am sleeping more peacefully and relax my body, mind and soul.

My mind is in a state of stillness. It is almost like I have hit the Contol+alt+del button ,on my computer. All the stresses and strains of urban life, seem to have been erased from my mind. It appears that my mind is fitted with a brand new hard disc ,with all worries of the past deleted.

My soul appears to be only listening to the song of the birds around me. I am in sync with nature and there is no scope of polluting my body, mind or soul. Everything seems so serene, that I can feel my soul floating around me.

Today many of us work ,in high pressure jobs ( or at least we make ourselves believe so ). The first myth one needs to remove from our minds is that we are indispensable ,wherever we are working and whatever role we play ,in the organisation. There is nobody in the organisation starting from the CEO, who is indispensable.

The second myth we need to break in our minds is that ,we are young and health need not be a concern, at this stage. It may appear like the inbox in a new email set up ,by us. We may think that we can delete unwanted emails in the future ,as there are not many ,as of now. But before we realise ,our email is flooded with junk. Similarly our body assimilates toxins right from our young age and unless we have a systematic mechanism to eliminate them, they accumulate and end up in diseases for us.

One way of detoxifying ourselves periodically ,is to go away from our routine ,to a place where we can rejuvenate our physical, mental, social and emotional health. It is up to us to decide, if it has to be an ayurveda centre, a trek to the mountains, running a marathon and preparing for it or something else.

The third and the most important myth we need to shatter is that ,we can do it in the future. Tomorrow never comes for some of us. We need to realise that ,today will also not last forever ,and will sooner than later, become yesterday. If we do not care for our health, we may become extinct ,even before we realise it.

We can explore what works for us. But, it may be a good idea ,to find a way to synchronise body, mind and soul at least once a year, so that we lead a healthier life.

Let the journey of health discovery ,begin today.

S Ramesh Shankar

9th Jan 2024

I travelled to Bheemeshwari, the banks of Cauvery just about 2 hours drive from Bangalore . I had arrived here with a friend to do some editing work. We wanted a place, where we can be one with nature and we found this one was ideal.

While the river flows across uninterrupted, the birds spread their joy through music and the clouds revolve around the hills. The animals in the forest are living peacefully as we see the peacocks and deer enjoying the silence of the forest.

While, we as humans can take a lot of credit for all the technological advancement, which mankind has benefited from, we are equally responsible for destroying nature by all our acts and deeds.

When you come to a place like this, you realise that there is so much more to learn from nature. A morning walk before the sun rises in the East lets you hear the sounds of nature in its best form. Then as the river flows down the hills and plains you can hear the crocodile crawling across the river and making his presence felt.

One feels as if the world has come to a halt when you be with nature. There is absolute freedom for man and the animals and birds around him. We neither spoil their daily routine nor they come in your way of work. Today, we realise how much we have moved away from nature.

As I write this blog, I can hear the chirping of the birds almost like an orchestra. While we may not understand the language of the birds and the animals, they are rhythmic and make you listen to them and enjoy their tunes.

On the other hand, they also convey to us how much noise we create around us disturbing their daily joy. The best thing I learnt about nature today is to let them be themselves. We should not disturb their daily lives and they will not interrupt ours.

We sometimes feel as if we are the masters of the universe and have a right to live life our way and not allow plants and animals to live life their way. It is this selfish nature of man, which destroys nature.

If we travel to remote villages and hills, we realise that humans continue to live along with nature and respect them as they are and not as we want them to be. Today we travel away from the city to experience nature in its purest forms.

However, if we are willing to learn from our friends and relatives living in hills and villages, we may realise that if we let them be as they are then there may not be a need for us to travel to discover nature.

Life is no different from nature. If we allow people to live the way they want to be, then they may flourish. If we impose our beliefs and our values on others, then they may dissent and even oppose it. Our duty is just to create a culture of openness and authenticity around us. This may be true in our families , organisations and society at large.

Let’s learn to live and let live.

S Ramesh Shankar

16th March 2023

 

Ayurveda is a heritage stream of medicine based on nature. This originated in India and survives as a unique branch of medicine, practised and followed by millions around the world. Its origins go back to Atharva & Rig Veda and got systematised between 6th century BC to 7th century AD also called the Samhita period.

I have believed in this science of medicine and have benefited over the last decade. Both my spouse and me attend an ayurveda centre regularly for detoxification & rejuvenation. This year we are at Poomully Mana, a heritage ayurveda retreat in Kerala.

While many have a belief that Ayurveda is all about massages only, this may be a misnomer. It is a holistic science. Ayurveda literally means the “knowledge of life” as “Ayur is life and “Veda” means “Knowledge”. The belief in Ayurveda is one of universal inter-connectedness, body constitution and life forces.

Ayurveda starts with an internal purification process with a special diet, herbal medicines and massage therapy. So they first prepare the body to get to a stable state and then cleanse the body.This could be supplemented with yoga and meditation.

We spent 11 days this time and it has been a holistic detoxification process. The first eight days they prepare the body to stabilise through special medicated oil massage therapy along with herbal medicines and diet control. Then they detoxify the body with enema and clear off all toxins. You become lighter and fitter by the end of this process. The doctors monitor your progress all through the day and all through your stay.

The serene environment with kingfishers, wood peckers and peacocks around you and the gentle breeze from the trees cleanses your mind and soul too. The chirping of the birds wake you up naturally and the selfless service of the staff make you grounded and humble.

It is important for us to come here with an open mind and surrender ourselves to the caring doctors and staff. As far as possible we should not carry our day to day work pressures here and continue to create more stress in our minds, while we undergo this treatment. I know many of us are playing important roles in organisations or own businesses. However, I believe our health is more important than whatever work we do. We need to remember that health and happiness money cannot buy.

In my view, if we believe in nature, we could believe in Ayurveda. It is the purification process of the body, mind and soul. In order to get the maximum out of such treatments, one should leave our work ecosphere and come here with an open mind and trust the benefits of Ayurveda.

Our ability to disconnect from our daily rituals of work will make this stay worthy of its investment. We need to take control of ourselves and not blame anyone else for not benefiting fully and wholly from this science of nature.

It may be worthwhile to cleanse our mind, body and soul at least once in a year for all the toxins we feed our body right through the year.

Let the journey begin.

S Ramesh Shankar

22nd Feb 2023