We spent the afternoon today visiting an Ayurveda (or Arya Vaidya...however you want to spell it apparently) Research Center and Hospital. Unfortunately for our group, after all the wonder and excitement that the Shanti Ashram had to offer, poor Ayurveda paled in comparison, though the two places really shouldn't be compared as they are entirely different. This hospital holds 120 inpatient beds, but sees over 7,200 clients on an outpatient basis.
Ayurveda is a way of life. It is based on prevention, strict diet, yoga, treatment/curative, equilibrium of the doshas, herbal medications, oils, animal products (milk, honey, butter, etc.), massage, martial arts, divinity, and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately we weren't really able to get a firm grasp on what Ayurveda REALLY is all about. It felt like psychology class where the professor goes on and on forever and asks if there are any questions and you just want to say, "yeah, so what is it?" What I do know is that it originated in many different states in India in the 18th century and is actually quite common due to its holistic approach. Also, since this particular institution is dedicated to research, they are even finding scientific fact to back up their ancient practices.
Just to give you a little taste I'll describe one of the treatments we saw. Basically, for 90 minutes a day for about 14 days, very warm oil is continuously poured all over your naked body by a minimum of 6 different people. Also, a pot of this warm oil is being continuously poured onto your forehead in an oscillating motion so as to cover your whole forehead. If you're a woman, yes that means the oil gets all up in your hair. Needless to say, we were all a little skeptical. Not quite as skeptical as we were toward the fruitarian weirdo, but still...a little odd. At least they are doing a lot of research. Though after multiple attempts we couldn't get anyone to give us real statistics on the effectiveness of the therapies on reducing symptoms. They do publish actual research articles in Ayurveda Medical Journals which they provided to us. Still though, the Shanti Ashram overshadowed the Ayurveda which was kind of a bummer because I was looking forward to learning about it with an open mind. Oh, well, another time.
After returning home the rest of the students got to have their dinners at faculty houses so Becca and I went out to dinner and then came home to do laundry while the others were out. The machine is very odd and I'm a little worried because the water is almost black so I think one of my pants had a lot of dye in it or something and now all my white shirts are gray...But at least they'll be clean I suppose. Now I get to hang them up on a real clothesline! We have no dryer. I'm kind of excited, I've never used a clothesline before haha.
Well tomorrow is officially our last day in Coimbatore before we start our 2 weeks of travel and boy am I SO excited to travel. After talking to some students from Jaipur and Delhi we've come to realize that this city is kind of old school, super traditional and old fashioned so it will be nice to be in cities where the people are more modern...well as modern as you can be when you allow cows to wander the streets like people. I don't know how I'll keep up with my blog though with all the excitement! I'll do my best! I'll have more to tell tomorrow as we visit a Yoga center and local weaving unit. Good night! Xoxoxo
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