6b) Ayur Veda and the Raj Health Spa
The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Multiple Sclerosis
Guests often ask, "Can MS respond to the natural approaches of Maharishi Ayurveda?" Our Ayurveda Health Experts at The Raj have witnessed significant improvements in guests with MS symptoms, including cases of long-term remission. During our twenty years of operation we have observed again and again that MS symptoms respond well to changes in diet and lifestyle, stress reduction and especially to the natural, traditional rejuvenation therapies of Ayurveda, called Panchakarma.
The Raj Natural Treatment Approach to Multiple Sclerosis
Cleansing therapies: Maharishi RejuvenationSM Therapy
Your daily three-hour treatment program of herbalized oil massage, specialized treatments and mild internal cleansing is the cornerstone of your in-residence treatments at The Raj. The combination of these three treatments received every day for 5 to 21 days creates the ideal internal physical environment for healing.
Our natural treatment program provides a deeply soothing and balancing effect to the entire nervous system. The motion of massage enhances circulation and helps cleanse the areas of toxins and impurities that could be contributing to the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Our oils are infused with up to 50 herbs, to cleanse and nourish the tissues thereby hastening tissue development and repair. These special oils are available only as part of the in-residence program.
Diet, Nutrition and Digestion
Multiple Sclerosis can be aggravated through improper diet. Consultations with The Raj Ayurveda Health Consultants will help you understand which foods can create toxins that can cause inflammation and lead to nerve sheath demyelination. In addition you'll receive individualized recommendations to improve digestion and enhance assimilation of important nutrients. Our experience has shown that proper nutrition can go a long way towards reducing MS symptoms and preventing relapses.
Lifestyle and Daily Routine
One of the most important factors for balancing Vata and maintaining stability in the nervous system is to have a lifestyle that does not disturb natural bodily rhythms. When we eat, sleep and exercise in constantly fluctuating and disturbing patterns, the body loses its natural balancing cycles and cannot cleanse or heal itself as effectively. Improper lifestyle aggravates the Vata imbalance at the basis of Multiple Sclerosis and disrupts the body's natural cleansing cycles. Our Ayurveda Health Consultants will review your daily routine and provide the information you need to create a healthy daily routine to increase balance and support your body's natural healing mechanisms.
Exercise and Flexibility Education
Maharishi Ayurveda considers proper stretching and flexibility exercises to have a positive effect on the body's healing response. During your in-residence stay at The Raj, we offer daily Yoga classes and teach you a simple but profound set of postures that will help you maintain a healthy flexibility. Our in-residence courses give you knowledge you can continue to apply after you leave The Raj to maintain your progress in alleviating the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
Ayurveda Herbs
During your consultation, our Ayurveda Health Consultants will select the appropriate herbal formulas for aiding the healing process, strengthening digestion and helping the body purify itself of toxins. Traditional Ayurveda theory says that herbs are most effective after a person completes an internal cleansing program. Once you finish your program at The Raj you are ready to gain maximum benefits from your herbal program.
Stress Management
Many individuals experience a worsening of multiple sclerosis symptoms brought about by heightened stress, anxiety and mental fatigue. This is due to hormonal changes and other biochemical responses to stress that can aggravate the nervous system, create pain and depress the immune response. The Raj makes available to our guests qualified teachers of the Transcendental Meditation program, a simple mental technique known for removing the stress component of pain, insomnia and other symptoms of chronic disorders. The TM technique has a wealth of scientific research verifying its effect on reducing many of the mental and stress factors influencing multiple sclerosis. Research shows it creates virtually the opposite physiological response to stress and helps the body recover more quickly from stressful stimuli.
Understanding the Root Causes of MS
While modern medicine understands that the disease is a slow progression of patches of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord, it is less clear as to what triggers this process in the first place. From the Maharishi Ayurveda perspective a number of imbalances play a major role in MS and must be addressed in order to reverse the condition.
Imbalance and deterioration of nervous system strength and stability
According to Ayurveda, the functioning mode in the body called Vata controls the overall level of balance and activation of the nervous system. MS is a classic Vata imbalance.. This Vata imbalance is responsible for many conditions and symptoms some of which are often associated with MS, including: Insomnia, pain, headaches, constipation, anxiety, worry and fear, fatigue, dry or rough skin, poor digestion, loss of weight and heightened sensitivity.
The buildup of toxins and impurities in tissues
The buildup of plaque around affected nerves with accompanying inflammation that is seen in MS is a classic example of impurities accumulating in tissues and disrupting delicate tissue biochemistry. Cleansing the tissues of impurities and resetting the physiology to keep impurities from being created in the first place is a fundamental approach of Maharishi Ayurveda.
Compromised immune response and depressed healing and resistance ability
Modern medical theories postulate infection by a latent virus as a possible cause of MS and often use immune function enhancing therapy to strengthening the body's natural immune response. The rejuvenation treatments at The Raj are known to enliven the natural healing ability of the body.
Physical and mental stress
Experiences of high mental and physical stress often are associated with a relapse of the condition and worsening of symptoms of MS. The Ayurveda approach to managing MS includes stress reduction therapies to reversing the body's response to stress.
