Kalari Rasayana

The Living Space

Spread over 8 acres of coconut grove land, Kalari Rasayana offers 22 rooms well-equipped with modern amenities and a clinic with 11 treatment rooms. Like at Kalari Kovilakom, the living space at Kalari Rasayana complements the healing process with its nurturing and warm environment and an unobtrusive, quiet adherence to discipline.

Life has an easy flow in the old hamlets of Venad in Kerala – gentle, restorative and in harmony with the streams and rivulets of the backwaters surrounding them.

They sought to catch the air of wellness inherent in this beautiful place and craft it into an experience that helps you unwind and heal. Kalari Rasayana is a place that seeks to meld mind, body and spirit into an uplifting whole. It has 22 simple but thoughtfully appointed suites located upon 8 acres of verdant lakeside green gilded with coconut groves. Our treatments are based upon the purest tenets of Ayurveda and practiced by expert physicians in residence. The cuisine too is part of your therapy and customised for your specific needs.

Location

Kalari Rasayana is located on 8 acres of lush lakeside property in the district of Kollam in Kerala. Serenity, stillness ,beauty and wellness all characterise it in equal measure.

Song of the Lake

An expansive feeling of oneness with the environment, an all pervading sense of openness that envelopes your body and spirit, a gentle throwback to a quieter pace of life where Nature is an ever tangible presence… these are what define the Kalari Rasayana experience. Located in the lap of the Paravur backwaters and surrounded by thick coconut groves and floating mini- islands, Kalari Rasayana or the ‘Song Of the Lake’ is a place that heals by its very tranquility and beauty.

Healing in the lap of Nature

One moment the vibrant garden is bathed in golden sunlight; tiny butterflies feed on bright little yellow blossoms popping out shyly between the grasses and the birds are chirping away in happy abandon and the next moment, the sky darkens, the backwaters right in front is a sea of million pearls as rain drops fall in fierce rhythm and all is still except the sound of water falling on water and the distant echo of an approaching train. Welcome to Kalari Rasayana where one can experience the quiet unfolding of Nature’s play in all its hues and moods and bask in the peaceful rhythm of everyday life.

 Located in the heart of the backwater area of the erstwhile Venad kingdom in Kerala, the place is a veritable abode of peace with the rolling expanse of the Paravur backwaters being the dominant presence. Gazing at its gentle waves, watching the fishermen going about their daily rounds on their boats, hearing the distant roar of the sea beyond the horizon, tracking the trains moving to and fro across the bridge over the backwaters and observing the Kingfishers, the Cormorants, the Mynahs and other birds that habitually visit this place, absorbing the warmth emanating from the staff members and the happy ambience of an open space, all these and more can by themselves calm the nerves fraught by the vagaries of an urban lifestyle. But beyond this, central to the whole experience, is Ayurveda itself, practiced at its authentic and traditional best. In fact, the Ayurvedic treatments are offered here by a team passionately devoted to the cause of the natural way of life, as espoused in the ancient texts. The Ayurvedic therapy as prescribed by the Vaidyas (doctor) includes various treatments suited to individual conditions along with their accompanying detox processes such as ghee intake and massages, besides internal and external medicines. This in combination with Yoga, Meditation and cultural programmes enable the transition to health and vitality. Further, with food being a core factor in Ayurvedic treatment, the kitchen at Kalari Rasayana is managed by a chef fiercely dedicated to the preparation of health-inducing food for the guests using natural and organically grown ingredients. He, along with his team, make sure that the food is high on both taste and medicinal value with no compromise on quality and hygiene. Each meal is in fact tailor-made under the direction of the Vaidyas to suit each guest’s health condition and body type and served with love and care while unobtrusively conforming to the discipline of traditional rituals.

Dining

Food for the Spirit

Again, as food is key to healing, ancient saatvic principles influence our preparations and your diet, which are individually prescribed according to constitution and the nature of treatment.

A Palace for Ayurveda

Ayurveda Treatment Centre and Hospital

Mindfulness, awareness, a therapeutic engagement of the senses and an inward integration of the body, mind and spirit. All these and more aspects of the Ayurvedic healing process are what one gains at Kalari Kovilakom. In an ethos where the best of tradition spills over to all aspects of living and an ambience where history and culture are a throbbing, living presence, Ayurveda in Kalari Kovilakom, offered by the CGH Earth Group and certified and accredited by the NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers), is an experiential definition of the traditional standards and values of this system of healing.

What is Ayurveda?

How do you define something that’s all-pervasive, holistic, and addresses the most fundamental question regarding the individual self at a physical, emotional and spiritual level? This is why defining Ayurveda as just a healing system is tantamount to restricting the scope of what it offers. The crux of Ayurveda is that it prescribes a way of life that goes beyond merely prescribing remedies for ailments. Instead, it distils the essence of our biological, psychological, emotional and spiritual personae and accordingly arrives at a way of life that helps us realize our vitality. This was a path carved out by sage-physicians thousands of years ago which is still being followed.

Ancient Insights

Ayurveda dates back more than 2000 years originating in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu texts that contain practical information related to almost all aspects of life and is that branch of the Vedas which delves into the essence of right living and healing. Literally meaning the ‘knowledge or Science (‘veda’) of life’ (‘ayur), Ayurveda is an amalgamation of different knowledge systems that combine to offer a right and healthy way of life that is disease free. Some of the underlying principles of Ayurveda were laid down in the oldest known Ayurvedic texts namely ‘Sushruta Samhita’ by Sushruta, ‘Charaka Samhita’ by Charaka and ‘Ashtangahridaya Samhita’ by Vagbhata. These are considered the foundation texts of Ayurveda and what they reveal is an amazing insight into the human body based on pure observation and deep reflections without the aid of any of the tools that are available today. The findings and suggested techniques also reveal penetrating foresight for they seem precursors to many modern medicinal principles in the area of surgery and human anatomy.

Naturally Remedial

Nature is the core of the Ayurvedic healing process. This means little or no dependence on chemicals and their toxic effects. Everything that Ayurveda prescribes is based on a scientific study of Nature: the herbs and their healing properties, the natural seasons and cycles and our own bio-rhythms tuned to them. The foods and medicines that Ayurveda prescribes are rooted in a knowledge base gathered from studying thousands and thousands of plants, medicinal herbs and our body’s response to them based on mutual chemistry.

Why it Works?

Today caught as we are in the compulsions of a stress-inducing lifestyle, health very often connotes the existence or the lack of certain physical and mental conditions or diseases. It very often takes a breakdown in our physical and emotional health to make us seek intervention. But modern medicine, with its approach of dealing with specific ailments that have to do with specific body organs, can exclude the crucial totality and therefore miss the root cause of our condition. What is needed is an inclusive approach to healthy living and healing and this is where Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of healing and living, comes in. In effect, Ayurveda makes us pause to reflect on some crucial questions regarding our daily living habits which are connected to our overall mental and physical health.

How it Works?

We are all part of a Universal Life Force that permeates every living entity on Earth. This is the underlying conviction behind the Ayurvedic approach. But where it goes beyond being an esoteric concept is in the way it integrates this tenet into its therapeutic and healing methods. With Nature being the most visible expression of this Universal Life Force, Ayurveda helps us become aware of our connect to Nature, its elements and cycles which are reflected in our own bodies. By guiding us to acknowledge the existence of these Natural elements in us, Ayurveda helps us tap into the right energies for living well.

Body Types & the Elements

Ayurveda derives its healing philosophy from the fact that our body is composed of all the five elements Panchamahabhoota) in Nature — Ether, Air, Earth, Fire, Water and Earth. These elements and their combination or proportion determine the constitution of our body. They are accordingly clubbed into three ‘humours’ or body types or what Ayurveda calls the Doshas. There are three types of Doshas (Tridoshas) and when joined with the ‘Universal Force’ that resides in each living creature, these Doshas make up the bio-energy of each body. 

Doshas

• Vata: This is composed of air and governs all bodily movements.
• Pitta: Pitta is composed of fire and water and governs heat, metabolism, digestion and other transformation processes of the mind and body.
• Kapha: Kapha is a watery humour that binds the elements in the body.

A large part of our illnesses may be attributed to lack of adequate attention to our body signals caused by an imbalance in the Doshas resulting in accumulation of toxins and blocking of energy points in the body. The curative process in Ayurveda therefore includes removing these blockages and toxins by making us listen to our body signals and accordingly taking corrective steps based on our Dosha.

Curative & Eliminative procedures

So Ayurveda can be classified into Curative and Eliminative procedures according to the body condition caused by the imbalance in the Doshas:

1. Curative or Samana: This is to cure acute diseases and illnesses and includes all or any of these seven methods: Panchana (using digestives or medicinal herbs), Deepana (generating heat by increasing digestive fire) , Kshut (fasting), Thrit (regulating fluid Intake), Vyayama (exercises), Athapa (sun bathing) and Marutha (breathing exercises).
2. Eliminative or Shodhana: This involves a remedial system to cure chronic diseases and long-term ailments through cleansing the body. An important part of this is the Panchakarma, an elimination process. Panchakarma, which literally means five actions, is essentially about purification of the body by eliminating away accumulated toxins and undigested metabolic wastes that clog bod channels leading to diseases. By eliminating these wastes, Panchakarma not only cures specific conditions, but also offers a preventive way of protecting the body from diseases. The five actions of Panchakarma are Vamana (induced vomiting), Virechana (purgation), Kashaya Vasti and Sneha Vasti (two kinds of medicated enemas), Nasya (nasal medication) and Rakta moksha (blood letting).

The Vaidya and the Therapists

An Ayurvedic doctor is called a Vaidya and is central to the whole healing process. The Vaidyas who are part of CGH Earth Ayurveda are closely tuned to the healing philosophy of Ayurveda and also to the Group’s core values.

Personalised Caring

Every therapy has a personal touch at Kalari. Our treatments are individually developed for you by our doctors, often combined with yoga and other complementary methods to bring about deep-seated and lasting healing from within.

The therapists engaged in offering massages and other treatments as part of the process of healing, further play a vital role by being able to exude Positive energy. They are able to achieve this through effective training and practice of Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art form from Kerala, which effectively brings healing energy and flexibility to the body. The therapists/masseurs offering Ayurvedic treatments at CGH Earth use Kalaripayattu to increase their own energetic potential and recharge themselves with positive energy.

Treatments

The Ayurvedic treatments offered by CGH Earth Ayurveda follow the eliminative process of Ayurveda called Shodana. They are offered at both its healthcare facilities in Kerala, India. Kalari Kovilakom (certified and accredited by NABH-National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare providers) and Kalari Rasayana (the newer property which is awaiting its accreditation). These treatments offered at CGH Earth Ayurveda adhere to the strict tenets of the old school of Ayurveda. A patient is made to understand the complete procedure of the treatment and they are expected to follow through strictly to for the best results from the treatment. In keeping with our principles, we take only residents of 14 years and above.

Anti-stress

Manashanthi Chikitsa Treatment (duration- 14 -28 days)
Literally meaning mental peace, this anti-stress treatment aims at helping you combat the symptoms of stress, insomnia, lack of concentration, fatigue and headaches that are part of today’s hectic lifestyles and help in improving your mental health. The treatment course for Manashanti chikitsa/treatment follows the 3 stages, Poorvakarma- preparatory phase, Shodana – cleansing or eliminating phase and finally Samana which is the corrective and rejuvenation phase.

During the first stage, the body is prepared for removing toxins through Snehanam- internal and external oleation, followed by Swedanam -therapeutic sweating. Once the body is prepared, the doctor will determine the cleansing or panchakrma treatment based on each individual’s body constitution and medical condition. These two stages of treatment will ensure that the imbalances in the doshas (body constitution) are stabilized. The third and final stage of treatment is Samana or Paschatkarma where the body is slowly brought out of the intense cleansing and elimination stage by giving corrective medicines and moderate therapeutic treatments, appropriate diet and yoga aasanas to correct and rejuvenate the body.

Weight Management

Sthoulyaghna Chikitsa Treatment (duration – 21 to 28 days)
This Ayurvedic treatment for weight management works by increasing metabolism, which will help in utilizing the fat and increasing the body’s vitality so that less fat is accumulated in the body. It is essentially about purification of the body by eliminating excess cellulite deposits and preventing the body from disease.

Treatment for healthy aging

Rasayana Chikitsa Treatment (duration – 21 to 28 days)
Rasayana Chikitsa is the treatment for rejuvenation and regeneration of tissues, mental well-being, intellect and boosting of immune system. Rasayana treatments are done for those who have low immune system and lack vitality. There are two reasons for this treatment: one is to help diseased person get back to normalcy and the other is help a normal person enjoy enhanced vitality, immunity and intellect. This treatment starts with a two-week process of cleansing to eliminate toxins. It is only after this that the rejuvenation treatments start along with the specific medicines and diet. The aim is to arrest the degeneration of body cells and increase immunity. In fact, the treatment helps to keep individuals free from diseases even at an advanced age. During the first stage, the body is prepared for removing toxins through Snehanam, which involves making the body unctuous or oily internally and externally, and through Swedanam which means therapeutic sweating. Afterward Shodhana or elimination is done by appropriate Panchakarma techniques. By making the patient undergo these treatments, his doshas (body constitution) and its imbalances are stabilized before the rejuvenation process is started. During the rejuvenation stage treatments are given to improve vitality.

Specific Ailments & Conditions

For patients who have more than one issue to address, the Vaidyas will decide the appropriate treatment protocol. For conditions which are not listed here, please contact our Vaidya to know the healing prospects. We do Panchakarma procedures only in those patients who are fit for that particular Panchakarma procedure as per the guidelines dictated by classical Ayurvedic text books (Ashtangasangraha, Charaka samhitha and Susrutha Samhitha) Bedridden, wheelchair bound and critically ill patients cannot be treated here.

Please note: For further information, regarding the process for each of these treatments, please contact one of our Travel Specialists.