Last week I came down with an ear infection. Fixing it took me to India and to Ukraine. But first, I had to go to a specialist in Santa Monica.
He used a microscope to have a look. Then he inserted a vacuum hose and hit the switch. If you can’t deal with medical details, go watch Access Hollywood for a while. This will be over in another four hundred and something words.
What did that vacuum cleaner pull out of my ear? A hockey puck. A donkey. A kitchen sink. That’s what it felt like, anyway. The ear is a great environment for bacteria, fungus and other friends. Unluckily, a few set up shop in mine. Luckily, some anti-fungal powder evicted them.
Too much information? Let’s move on.
Last year in India, my wife Tabby came down with a stomach bug and got weaker and weaker. We traveled up mountain roads to the foothills of the Himalayas, where we located the man who could help us. His name is Dr. Sreenarayanan Cheruvally. We called him Dr. Sree.
A practitioner of the Ayurvedic method, Dr. Sree asked questions about Tabby’s eating and
sleeping habits, her emotional states and personal history. Then he brought on the antibiotics. I liked his combination of East and West: recognizing the healing power of energy, but not messing around either.
Dr. Sree visited Tabby two or three times a day. When Tabby was dehydrated he had the kitchen prepare a drink to restore electrolytes. He arranged for a hotel room on a higher floor so that Tabby had more light and an optimism-inducing view of the Himalayas. (See image above.) I was amazed at this doctor’s gentle, caring attitude.
Because I was dealing with my own malady this week, it seemed appropriate to videoconference with Dr. Sree. He’s in Ukraine now, where he has a year-long contract at Lissod Hospital to treat cancer patients using Ayurveda and also Reiki.
He told me he looks at the doshas, the basic qualities of a person, and tries to bring the person into balance. “We consider water quality, air quality. In winter, for example, we recommend you only drink warm water. We recommend higher food consumption in winter, and more consumption of oil. Each climate, each season affects these doshas,” said Dr. Sree.
Why did he ask how often Tabby dreamed and what time of day she took meals? “We have to find out which of the body components are dominant,” he said. “It is connected to the physical, mental and emotional status of a person. So we have to ask some questions connected with that concept. The higher level is that of pulsation.”
Pulsulation, he explained, is part of the traditional practice of Ayurveda. “It’s a born practice, we cannot study it in a book,” he said. “We are counting the frequencies and the moments of the pulse. And the vibration — internally it’s like a vibration. If you are experienced, if you touch the hand automatically that feeling will come.”
To become an Ayurvedic doctor takes a minimum of five years of study and then the student must work with eminent practitioners who do pulsation therapy. “Only then it is possible to become a healing doctor,” Dr. Sree told me.
Any advice for stressed out Americans? “People go to sleep late and wake late. That’s the opposite of the Ayurvedic principal. And of course, the timing of the food. We take a meal three times a day. A light dinner, heavy lunch is better. But normally, people do the opposite.”
Dr. Sree practices with a combination of East and West. It worked for us in India – and still does. A medical intuitive like Louise Hay or Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz might suggest that my ear gave me trouble because I didn’t want to listen to things that were being said to me. I’m willing to consider that, but I am grateful for that vacuum cleaner. Without it, I don’t think I would have gotten rid of the donkey kicking my eardrum.
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Bob Ellal // Nov 20, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Lee,
From my own experience, I believe a combination of Eastern and Western methods works best. My acupuncturist, who studied for years in Japan, feels the same way. He just had his hip replaced. It had been severely damaged in an auto accident in Japan many years ago. The orthopedic doctors told him he’d never walk again. Six months of intensive acupuncture and he was out of the wheelchair.
But he also recognizes that some things only Western medicine can remedy–like replacing a hip. If only Western doctors would accept the healing modalities of the East as a complement. But then there’s the AMA–and the pharma companies.
Bob
Lee Schneider // Nov 20, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Thanks for commenting, Bob. Luckily there is a growing movement among doctors, and particularly nurses, to have East meet West in medicine. Duke has a center for Spirituality and Health, there’s the Center for Spirituality and Healing, and the Bravewell Collaborative.
Michael McCarthy // Nov 30, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Here’s what the NIH”s National Center on Complementary and Alternative Medicine says about the science behind Ayurvedic medicine:
“Scientific evidence. Most clinical trials (i.e., studies in people) of Ayurvedic approaches have been small, had problems with research designs, lacked appropriate control groups, or had other issues that affected how meaningful the results were. Therefore, scientific evidence for the effectiveness of Ayurvedic practices varies, and more rigorous research is needed to determine which practices are safe and effective.”
Many Ayurvedic preparations include a combination of herbs, minerals and other pharmaceutically active compounds, so it’s often hard to sort out what is doing what.
Of particular concern is that several investigations have found Ayurvedic preparations sold in India and in the West, in shops and online, contain toxic heavy metals, including lead, mercury and arsenic.
Again, here’s what NCCAM says:
“Toxicity. Ayurvedic medications have the potential to be toxic. Many materials used in them have not been thoroughly studied in either Western or Indian research. In the United States, Ayurvedic medications are regulated as dietary supplements. As such, they are not required to meet the safety and efficacy standards for conventional medicines. An NCCAM-funded study published in 2004 found that of 70 Ayurvedic remedies purchased over-the-counter (all manufactured in South Asia), 14 contained lead, mercury, and/or arsenic at levels that could be harmful. Also in 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 12 cases of lead poisoning occurring over a recent 3-year period were linked to the use of Ayurvedic medications.”
LINK: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm#concerns
Best,
Michael
Lee Schneider // Nov 30, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Thanks for this, Michael. Sourcing medications is important and it’s good for people to question where Ayurvedic medicines might be coming from. Ironically or not, our experience in India with Ayurveda involved very pure food and drink – some of the purest we had in India, and also Western-style medications. We on the balance we had a very good experience. Thanks for commenting!