Dearest investors & friends,
Praying that all of you are in the best of physical and mental health. We all Invest Our Money in Businesses, Invest our Time in Activities and Passions. But as a Fundamental Investor, I believe that the Best Investment we can Make is in our Health & Well Being. This is perhaps, the only Investment which will enable us to enjoy all the other Investments, in times to come.
As I write this article today, I am 36 years old on this Wonderful Mesmerizing Planet Earth. As many of you who follow me closely are aware, I began my Investing Journey in 2007. I came out of my Actively Paying Professional Career 3 years back, in 2019. Most of my Articles and Tweets are mostly on the process of achieving Financial Independence & Early Retirement. But this article is something different.
We all invest our time & money in mostly worldly things. Job, Family, Loans, Vacations, Pleasure, Education. This list goes on & on. We spend some time every day Ensuring that our Body is Fit. This can be Daily Exercise, Walks & Workouts.
When I came out of the rat race in 2019, I always thought that, at least once a year, we should spend some Serious-time Servicing our Bodies. Just like a House or a Vehicle needs Regular Servicing, Oiling, Painting & Washing, Our Body Needs Yearly Service too. Our Body is the only Vehicle which will last with us, as long as we Enjoy this Planet. I had this Serious Thought and Wanted to Do Something in this Direction.
In 2020 & 2021, Covid sprinted across the planet. 2 years, we all became closer to our Bodies. Closer to our Families. The Pandemic had brought about a lot of change on this Planet. In thought and in deed.
This year, 2022, the Love of My Life and I decided that we would explore Ayurveda. As most of You must be Aware, Ayurveda is a Way of Life. It is a Lifestyle. Both at Mind & Body Levels. Normally, most of us think about our well being, when our health is deteriorating. But, We wanted to begin connecting with our bodies early. When our body and mind are in decent shape, we wanted to explore this opportunity. We didn't want to wait for an ailment to strike.
My best half, myself & our son (Prakrit) have a reasonably healthy lifestyle. We sleep well, eat healthily and have a nice routine. I swim every day. My best half dances. We teach. My son plays, learns and explores. We wanted to have this tryst with our bodies as well.
As we started thinking of options, we were very clear that the place & environment was very very key in this process. We had a few things in mind:
1. The Ayurvedic Facility should be Clean, Green & Peaceful.
2. The Ayurvedic Therapists should have Seva Bhava (attitude of Service).
3. The Accommodation Facility should be Clean & Comfortable.
4. The Annakshetra (Bhojana/Prasad/Food Facility) should be Hygienic & Nutritious.
5. The Ayurvedic Doctors should Focus on our Nadi Pariksha & Guide us on the Needful.
6. The Complete Process should be a Divine Prayerful Experience.
As we explored various options, we finally zeroed in on the Sri Sri Tattva Panchakarma (SSTP) Facility on the outskirts of Bangalore. The facility is just near the Sri Sri Art of Living Ashram campus.
Just before coming to SSTP, my wife & I got our comprehensive medical tests done. My insurance covers the same. I am always a believer, that, if we are going to pay insurance premiums for the next 30 years with a provider, it is always best, if the insurance company is aware of our health (good & bad). I know, that many would disagree, but I am of the opinion, that there should never be anything to hide. If we have a problem, then the insurance company, better be aware of the same.
In our tests, with God's grace, all the parameters were ok. But, our Vitamin D levels and B-12 levels were really low. Now, this explained, why the nutrition was not reaching our bones. The body pains now made sense. I never knew that Vitamin D was such an important part of our system.
We came to SSTP for our Nadi Pariksha in the month of March, 2022. Nadi Pariksha is a divine process where the Doctor (after deep prayer), feels our Nadi, and then suggests the blocks in our system. To release these blocks, a particular lifestyle is suggested along with some basic medication. Based on the body, a Panchakarma Treatment is also suggested. This is a gradual process. It needs patience & time. It is not for emergencies.
In our case, our Ayurvedic doctor also suggested that we consult an Allopathy doctor to enhance our Vitamin-D and B-12 levels. This clearly showed the openness & approach. All sciences should move together to general well being. Each science has its place in our well being. No science is above all. All need to work in tandem.
As far as Panchakarma treatment was concerned, for me, the focus was on my back, knees, digestion & basic well being. Behind one of my knees, I had some small Varicose veins issue which also needed attention. This was not a major problem since I exercise my feet every day by swimming & walking regularly. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity to tackle this problem & all our general issues.
In March 2022, we decided to begin this lifestyle and medication for a couple of months and then, take the Panchakarma treatment in the month of May 2022. This would give our bodies a couple of months to get used to the lifestyle & the medication.
In the two months of lifestyle & medication, we saw enormous improvement in our health and well being. We began our Vitamin-D supplementation as well & connecting to Surya for 20 minutes every morning. We were preparing slowly for the Panchakarma treatment.
Before I proceed, let me now take you through the SSTP facility:
1. Main Reception where we get all details
2. Doctor Kuteers where we can consult with the doctors
3. Krishna Kuteer - Panchakarma Treatment Facility
4. Meera Vanam - Beautiful Accommodation Facility equipped with Duty Doctors & Nurse Stations
5. Panchamrut - Bhojana/Food Facility where Food is prepared as per our Diet for the stay. General Food is also available, but mainly Nutritious and Sattvik.
6. Vehicles to shuttle us across various facilities (of course, we chose to walk most of the time)
We booked ourselves Twin Sharing Room in the Meera Vanam facility. Such a beauty, this facility was. When we reached the Meera Vanam, we were greeted in the Reception Front office. We had a beautiful room on the 3rd floor overlooking lush greenery and the Vishalakshi Mantap of the Sri Sri Ashram. Immediately, we were added to a Whatsapp group which had my wife, myself & 22 others (Doctors, Guest Relations, Insurance and Treatment Team). This group was mainly for any communication regarding treatments, schedules & any concerns. We were impressed. Each room had its own Whatsapp group. So, we had a personalised team taking care of our needs and concerns.
I visited the Krishna Kuteer facility for my first Panchakarma Treatment. My therapists escorted me to one of the rooms. I had to wear one piece of cloth to cover my private parts. They made me sit down. They first prayed to Lord Dhanavantari & chanted some prayers. They cleaned my feet and applied oil across my body with lots of prayers. I could sense that they were completely into the process, with prayers & humility.
This small process set the beginning of a wonderful experience. Each staff was doing their Seva with lots of prayers and Bhakti. This added a huge difference as they worked through my body. The staff were part of satsangs, prayers & hence, their attitude was simply humbling.
Since, for me, the focus was on my back, knees and digestion, I had the following treatments.
- Uzhichil & Pizhichil - Hot Oil Massage across the body
- Udwarthanam - Hot Oil Massage. Then Hot Herbal Powder is Rubbed across the body from Bottom to Top of the Body (against normal massage). 2 therapists massages. 3rd person assisted in heating the powder and maintaining the right temperature.
- Lepam - Herbal Paste applied on Knees and then Bandaged tightly for 3-4 hours so that Juice Enters my Body
- Jambeera Pinda Sweda (JPS) - Jambeera means Lemon. Potlis are made (small bags) with Lemon and herbs inside, soaked in hot oil and massaged across. The Entire Strength from the Lemon Potlis enter our system. This is done by two therapists, with a third person assisting in heating the potlis and maintaining the right temperature.
- Patra Pinda Sweda (PPS) - In this treatment, Potlis are made with Herbs inside, soaked in hot oil and applied across the body.
- Marma & Osteopathy - Subtle treatments, where the doctors activate the points across our body as we get into deep meditation. This is not a massage. These are meditative techniques where the experience is subjective. I cannot describe my feeling in words. Just that the connection was blissfully medicative.
- Basti - Enema treatment to cleanse the intestines. Felt super light.
- Leech Therapy - To remove impure blood and general well being. Leeches are taken care of and used as another staff in this process. Leeches are also therapists here.
For my wife & me, personally, all these procedures were opportunities to give our body the best, from the best. I had beautiful conversations with the therapists, some of who had spent 15 - 20 years of their lives, serving people. The most experienced hands were working their magic on our general health. With complete devotion.
Our breakfast, lunch & dinner were ready as per our diet recommendations. Pure Sattvik food with wholesome nutrition was provided as part of our stay in SSTP. The diet included ragi, oats, millets, brown rice, jowar/bajra/ragi rotis, steamed veggies and sabzis. We consumed lukewarm water throughout our stay. Herbal Tea and khichdi were regular in our diet.
Duty doctors used to visit us 3 times a day to check our general well being. Nurses used to come to our rooms with kashaya and medication regularly to strengthen our system. Water was refilled regularly. The housekeeping staff cleaned every day. Diet food used to come to our room (in case we didn't go to Panchamrut). It was pure bliss to see the whole system working together, without any issues, seamlessly like a well-oiled machine.
It was so awe-inspiring to see how the doctors, therapists, nurses, housekeeping, cleaning, food and shuttles coordinated. It was simply amazing !!! Only in Seva, this can be achieved.
As we leave this place, stronger, healthier and making a new relationship with our bodies, I realised that this experience comes at a price. As Warren Buffet says - Price is What We Pay. Value is What We Get.
What we Pay, goes into making this Place more Efficient, Supporting the doctors, staff and Ayurveda & Panchakarma. The ashram feeds thousands daily. We were more than happy to pay for the same. We got enormous Value in the 7 days spent here.
Now, friends. Let me give you a perspective:
There are 365 days a year. For these 7 days of Treatment, Stay & Food, we have to Invest ₹250 x 365 days (₹125 per head per day). My wife & myself discussed, that, ₹250 a day for our well being is not such a big price. We can afford it today, and we should make this a yearly affair.
Most of our Insurance Partners cover AYUSH Treatments. So, you may want to explore that as well.
To conclude, I wanted to say that, this was a wonderful experience. I believe that each of us has the right to take care of our bodies. Vehicles undergo yearly maintenance. Why should our bodies be any different?
I hope this article sparks a thought process in each one of us. This article was aimed at you, doing the best for our bodies. Wherever it is, the time to begin is TODAY. You can explore various options at a location near you. We are in Bharatha, the land of Ayurveda.
The best investment we can make is in our body, mind and general well being. Our bodies will stay with us until the end. Let us make every second count !!!
Cheers to Peace, Health & Happiness.
Lots of Prayers,
Fundamental Investor
You can write to me anytime at investorfundamental@gmail.com
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