Dr. Syamala Devi, Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, monitors the steady stream of herbalised warm oil falling on the forehead of client Phillippa Sauteral. This profoundly calms the mind and induces good sleep. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
STIMULATING THE olfactory senses, soft music, oil applied to the face, a mere dot of a special powder to the forehead. Phillippa Sauteral lies flat on her back; she's in the office of Dr. Syamala Devi, Ayurvedic medicine practitioner.
Dr. Devi places a band of soft, white cotton fabric around Phillippa's forehead, just above her eyes. Hanging from the ceiling, above Phillippa's head, is a brass vessel; inside the vessel is a coconut shell; the hole in the shell is aligned with the hole in the vessel. Now, Dr. Devi is pouring warm oil into the vessel, a constant, steady trickle of the warm oil, regulated by a thread to the exterior of the vessel, lands on Phillippa's forehead. The soft, white cotton fabric protects her eyes. This oil treatment will continue for 45 minutes.
"I am generally seeking well-being," said Phillippa, before she went to lie down. She had not tried this Ayurvedic therapy before but she had heard so much about it, and it fits into her quest for peace and relaxation.
The therapy is called Shirodhara. The continuous pouring of warm herbalised oils calms the mind.
"This therapy is for mind and relaxation and if you have different kinds of headaches; and it induces good sleep," said Dr. Devi, without looking away from the stream of oil landing on Phillippa's forehead.
Different oils are usually used, depending on the constitution of the body, but usually, sesame oil is used.
It was just under two years ago that Dr. Devi came to Jamaica, following her husband on a job assignment, and set up a Kingston-based Ayurvedic practice. Ayurveda, she said, is ancient Indian medicine, the science of life and longevity, using natural methods to manage common health concerns. Shirodhara is just one of the many therapies.
"Indian herbs are different than Chinese herbs. This is Ayurvedic system of medicine which is 5,000 years old, it came to us from the gods to the earth, from the heaven to earth, when they brought the herbs, we were using them to treat illnesses, " said Dr. Devi.
In Ayurveda, there are three humors in the bodies - vata, pitta and kapha. Dr. Devi also said that the world is composed of five elements and each humor is composed of two elements
vata is composed of air and space
pitta is composed fire and earth
kapha is composed of earth and water
"A person is healthy if three humors are in a balanced state along with the balance state of body, mind and soul. Any imbalance in these results in imperfect health and disease. We balance them by giving them natural diet (some of the diets are like vata-balancing food, pitta-balancing food, kapha-balancing foods), if necessary we give them some herbs to balance the particular dosha (the humor)," said Dr. Devi.
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