Health through herbs

AN ANCIENT system of medicine, developed over 5,000 years, Ayurveda is all about healing, the natural way. It is, as its very name suggests, a unique blend of life and knowledge. The approach to treatment is holistic, involving body, mind and spirit.

With a pleasant climate, conducive to the cultivation of herbs, Kerala is the home of Ayurveda. Indeed, for the Keralite, Ayurveda is a way of life.

It is not surprising then that more than 7,000 practitioners, several hospitals and clinics flourish here.

Founded in 1945 by the late K.G.K. Panicker, renowned Ayurvedacharya, the Kerala Ayurveda Pharmacy Ltd. (KAPL), has successfully integrated the traditional with the state-of-the-art and is poised to take Ayurveda into the future. The pharmacy's herbarium at Aluva, on the banks of the Periyar, and its herbal farm at Thalli, near Hosur in Tamil Nadu, raise a wealth of rare herbs used in various Ayurvedic formulations.

The KAPL does not stop with finding solutions to medical problems but also takes them to the people. Its "Ayurclinics", situated in major towns, have qualified physicians and therapists who treat a host of diseases ranging from osteoarthritis, spondylitis, ulcer, sinusitis and skin diseases to low back pain.

Kashayams, arishtams, lehyams, ghrithams, chooranams... the medicines are as impressive as they are potent. Specialised treatments such as Dhara, Panchakarma, synchronised massage, herbal steam bath, Njavarakizhi, Elakizhi, Choorna Swedam, Sirovasthi and the like assure relief from ailments caused by a hectic pace of life.

A health resort - Ayurgram - in Whitefield, Bangalore and a treatment centre at the Kappad Beach Resort, near Kozhikode in Kerala symbolise how KAPL has kept pace with the times. While the health resorts and clinics cater for patients requiring short- term care, those with ailments which take longer to treat can stay at Amrutham, KAPL's facility at Aluva. In Chennai, the KAPL runs Ayurclinics at the Kumaran Hospital on Poonamallee High Road (Phone: 6414189), at Fifth Avenue, Anna Nagar (Phone: 6214903), at L.B. Road, Thiruvanmiyur (Phone: 4903999). and at T. Nagar (Phone: 8142541)

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