Karkidaka Chikitsa at Nerium Ayurveda: Seasonal Healing the Traditional Way

With the earthy odour, cool breeze, and rhythmic beats of pelting water, the long-awaited monsoons have arrived, a welcome change to the scorching heat of the summer. The temperature is finally bearable, yet with the high humidity around, in the state of Kerala. While we curiously await the scrumptious delicacies of the season, the sudden change also makes us susceptible to a host of communicable diseases and morbidities.

What is Karkidaka Chikitsa: –

The traditional ayurvedic treatments are taken during monsoons or Karkidakam, the last month of the Malayalam calendar. Treatments to be taken and medicines to be consumed during the monsoons to help navigate this year with prime of health. It’s primarily aimed at detoxifying, improving digestive fire and vitality/Ojas.

Relevance of Karkidaka Chikitsa: –

It is pertinent to take care of your body when it is at its weakest. As summer comes to an end, the body is weakened by the scorching heat. Digestion is pretty weak during this period, when all you want to do is have fruits and stay indoors. The sudden switch of climate to rains and high humidity, though welcoming, further weakens the digestion and vitality. There is mild aggravation of pitta dosha and a profound increase in vata dosha during this season. This can lead to the accumulation of toxins in the body, precipitating one or more diseases. Also, it is the reason for the aggravation of most degenerative diseases like arthritis. This is the prime time for all communicable and waterborne diseases to spread. The medicines and food partaken during the Karkidaka Chikitsa are primarily to improve your digestive fire or agni, purify your body, and improve vitality or Ojas.

Though this is the season when our body is soft and pliable, it’s also the time when the treatments are more effective. Therefore, treatments and medicines that mitigate vata and pitta are adhered to with special attention to Jataragni and Dhatwagni.  Hence, Ayurveda treatments like Abyanga, Swedana, Podi kizhi, Elakizhi, Vasthi, Nasyam, Dhara, etc., are done during this period. The treatment protocol is decided after taking prakriti and virikiti analysis, considering multiple factors like age, dosa predominance, digestive power, ama, etc.

Customised diet and lifestyle changes are adopted during this month. Delicacy, which came to be popularly known as karkidaka kanji or medicinal kanji, is often adopted as a part of Karkidaka chikitsa. Pancha kola Choornam, fenugreek, shallots, and jeera are some of the ingredients commonly used in the preparation of medicinal kanji.

The Karkidaka Chikitsa is usually a combination full body ayurveda treatment along with panchakarma therapies. This is generally taken as 7 days / 14 days / 21 days / 28 days treatment during this period of the year.