”The panchakarma experience with Dr. Ajita Patel and her team quite literally saved my life. The deliciously prepared, nourishing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, the daily treatments, the kind staff,
and the invaluable tools and information I acquired at the Sanctuary nursed my mind and body back to health and hope. I reached out to Dr. Patel after suffering from unexplained low iron without anemia, debilitating fatigue, joint and muscle pain, indigestion, regular headaches (particularly with menstruation) and general daily malaise. After coping with this for about a year and half, the pain and discomfort (and sadness) about my physical state and lack of energy started to affect my will to live and my mental health. It was debilitating. I am 40 years old. Most days I could not get out of bed for more than a few hours. I was exhausted after short, simple tasks. I missed out on many opportunities to play with my kids, connect with loved ones, and pursue daily responsibilities. I put all of my life goals on hold because I was too exhausted to pursue any of them.

Dr. Patel met me at the lowest point in my life and approached me with not only compassion and a listening ear, but also with positivity, hope, and a thoughtful plan to revitalize my whole self: mind,
body, and spirit. During the panchakarma, I received five days of intensive care from morning until late afternoon. I ate breakfast at the Sanctuary daily, which in my case that meant the most incredible, fresh, and filling green juice with more vegetables in five days than I have likely eaten in the past year; including things like opo squash, turmeric, ginger, amla, cumin, black salt, and much more. I also ate lunch at the Sanctuary; a variety of largely portioned, nourishing, vibrant, filling, and flavorful warm meals. I was sent home with a nourishing personalized dinner each day.
Daily, I received a shirodara, two-person oil massage, two-person scrub, and a steam treatment. Massage, oil, exfoliation, and steam treatments are well-documented to have a powerful effect on
circulation and lymphatic drainage, purging the body of metabolic waste and releasing endorphins, but there is also so much more to it on the cellular level. Each day of the treatment you can feel the
lightness, the movement, and the refreshment in your body. Dr. Patel, Miranda, and Patricia took incredible care of me. While each component of the panchakarma deeply impacted me, I was most struck by the marma (energy) therapy and the heart basti treatment. Both these treatments uprooted some deep-seated emotional issues that had not been resolved, even after five years of regular cognitive behavioral therapy with a licensed psychotherapist. Miranda is a powerful healer. During (and after) her marma therapy treatment, I released a lot of old emotions that had been stored in my body. Miranda is not only incredible at what she does, but treated me with the utmost patience, grace, and kindness. On the last day, I received a heart basti from Dr. Patel. This basti experience further illuminated and addressed those old emotions which I had held onto for so long. Dr. Patel encouraged me to journal everything that was coming up for me and that was an incredibly
powerful experience. I continue to be in awe of power of those two healing modalities. And I’m grateful for this newfound practice of journaling to reconnect with myself. A priceless tool to process thoughts, feelings, and inspirations as they arise. In addition to all of the treatments, the life hacks, the delicious food, and the recipes, I also received personalized herbal tea, a daily enema toolkit, and daily spiritual and informative conversations. Dr. Patel also worked with me several days on pranayama breathing techniques, meditation, and light yoga. She helped me to devise a sustainable, realistic, and doable practice for breathing, meditation, and yoga that will now become a lifelong, routine part of my day. As most of us know, the power of breathing and meditation/mindfulness are well-documented in Ayurvedic and Allopathic medical texts and countless literature, and I am so grateful to have learned them under the care of such an experienced and gifted
guide as Dr. Patel. Dr. Patel is a sage among us; authentically preserving and sharing the powerful wisdom collected by meticulous scientists in India thousands of years ago. We are lucky to have such a gem in Orange County, CA. I finished the panchakarma program four days ago. I feel like I have been resuscitated. I feel lighter, calmer, more vibrant and alive, and most importantly, hopeful and equipped with tools to keep me on track. I look forward to seeing the impacts unfold as time goes on. From the panchakarma, I have countless recipes, tracking tools, accountability systems, and recordings that have already transformed not only my daily routine but also the routines and healthy practices of my two young children, ages 5 and 7, and my husband. One notable change I’d like to mention. Each month (for the past year or two) during my menstrual cycle, I would experience extreme insomnia and headaches (often migraines). These symptoms would often precede my cycle for days and warn me that my menses was on its way. I just learned to deal with those symptoms and thought they were here to stay. This month, I was surprised when my cycle showed up on its own, unaccompanied by these uncomfortable symptoms. This alone is priceless. I am so grateful for the deeper level healing I was able to experience at the Sanctuary and look forward to continuing on this path. If you have the time and the ability, it is worthwhile to invest in yourself in this way. I am forever grateful to Dr. Patel, Miranda, Patricia, and the kind staff at the Sanctuary. Ayurveda is an incredibly sophisticated ancient science and due to the nature of western medical research, allopathic medical science has only recently observed, documented, and promoted the healing
potential of basic ayurvedic principles; for example, the powerful effect of spices and herbs like turmeric and ashwaganda and the role of gut (and specifically colon health) on the immune function and mental health, just to name a few. Ayurveda, on the other hand, has operated with this (and much more) knowledge for thousands of years. It is the reason I specifically sought out Ayurvedic treatment. And have now discovered it is an incredibly powerful tool to utilize alongside Allopathic tools. Given that I had exhausted many of the traditional allopathic treatments for fatigue and chronic pain, I knew I needed to nurture my body at a level not available in traditional medicine. That is why I specifically sought out the panchakarma experience at the Sanctuary. And I am grateful I did.

Stephanie SPanchakarma