Canadian Guy Vachon, 55, had quite a long list of health issues he wanted to tackle with the help of an Ayurvedic Panchakarma. 12 years ago, he was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and was on high doses of insulin. Guy had also been suffering from hypertension and hypercholesteremia for 8 years, and lately from restless leg syndrome.

Guy had undergone hip replacement surgery, lumbar discectomy and a meniscal surgery a few years back. He had a stiff neck and lower back associated with pain, and a frozen shoulder. He weighed 117 kilos—he is a tall man—when he arrived for his 26-day Panchakarma at Oneworld Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic Assessment: Identifying Dosha Imbalances

According to Ayurveda, Guy had a Kapha and Vata imbalance, which in turn had affected his metabolism. The conditions he was suffering from were classified as lifestyle disorders and the first thing the doctors did was to completely change his diet and educate him on the required lifestyle changes.

Customized Ayurvedic Approach

Guy was put on a special Ayurvedic diabetic diet and prescribed herbal medicines specifically to take care of his main complaints. He was instructed to do Dinacharya—the Ayurveda daily routine—which includes waking up at 6am, scraping the tongue to get rid of digestive waste and oil pulling before he took his morning anti-diabetic and anti-obesity herbal concoctions and herbal pills. Along with these herbs he was given bitter gourd daily as its juice contains active substances with anti-diabetic properties and helps lower blood triglyceride levels.

Yoga and Meditation: Addressing Mind and Body

Guy practised 2.5 hours of yoga every day and had additional personal yoga sessions to address his health issues. He was taught special weight loss and metabolism boosting yoga postures, and meditation techniques as Ayurveda believes that healing starts with the mind. Guy was amazed at how much his body changed and adapted in such a short time, and he started enjoying physical exercise again.

Guy’s Panchakarma Journey

The first steps were to get the deep-seated toxins moving through preparatory treatments like dry powder massage (Udwartana). This treatment mobilises and dissolves fat, revamps fat metabolism, helps dissolve endotoxins and corrects metabolism. The special ingredients used in Guy’s powder massages included zizyphus jujube, horse gram, fenugreek, flax seeds, acorus, black lentil, and turmeric stimulated circulation—mobilising the morbid Kapha and Vata doshas as well as opening up the blocked and minute channels.

Other preparatory treatments performed included Jambeera Pinda Sweda, Churna Pinda Sweda and Kashaya Dhara. Along with preparing Guy for his detox, these treatments also helped heal his pains and stiffness.

In light of Guy’s many health issues, several detox treatments were chosen:

• Vasti (enema) with herbs with active Kapha and Vata-balancing properties to rid the body from the unwanted tissues and endotoxins. The aim was to detoxify the cells and to flush out the liquefied morbid doshas.
• Nasya to heal cervical spondylosis and the frozen shoulder.
• Virechana (purgation). Researches prove that Virechana is effective in the management of the metabolic syndrome to decrease the faecal fat content, fasting blood glucose, serum triglyceride, and fatty changes in liver, heart, and kidney.

Guy’s Transformation

Guy was under the strict supervision of the doctors during his whole Panchakarma, his treatments and medicines were adjusted according to the progress he was making.

At the end of his Panchakarma, the doctors were satisfied and so was Guy! He was a very happy, changed and healthy man. Guy felt balanced, active and alive, and it showed. He had lost 12 kilos, the stiffness and pain in his neck, shoulders, lower back and knee joints decreased significantly. Guy’s blood glucose levels were stable, so he was able to taper his insulin dosage of 110 units down to 10-20 units! His low-density lipids were halved and other factors had come down considerably as well.

Through the Panchakarma Guy now recognises that his health is his responsibility and he holds the key to feeling well. To maintain the good results, Guy was given ample lifestyle and diet advice to take home.

What a wonderful healing story this is and another success story for Oneworld Ayurveda! Our biggest goal is to help our guests heal and bring about wellbeing and happiness.