Kozhikode - 2018

The majority of the time I spent in India was at Greens Ayurveda in Kozhikode, an Ayurvedic hospital and Panchakarma treatment facility. The facility is also a school/educational center for practitioners and aspiring students of Ayurveda. You can take courses on Ayurvedic theory and also practical training in bodywork, Panchakarma, cooking, etc. Or you can simply go to take treatments for your own health and wellness needs. Or you can do both, which is what I did. This first picture pretty much sums me up for most of my stay at Greens; no make-up and a hot, sweaty mess from the 100 degree Kerala heat. Working with snehana (olelation) therapies on patients and also taking nasya (nasal) therapy myself. A great thing about traveling in India was not wearing makeup for a month and getting to be au naturel.

Greens Ayurveda is set up with treatment rooms and consultation rooms adjacent to accommodations (as you can see in the photo). On the rooftop there is a kitchen which serves 3 meals a day on a communal style table for students and patients alike. Here is an example of the light vegetarian fare and they also did special diets for those ongoing Panchakarma treatment. I loved the way this facility was set up. The doctors and therapists were so knowledgeable and it’s clear they go above and beyond for their students and patients. They were so kind and hospitable and even surprised me with a cake on my birthday!

This is a hospital that is a true healing environment and I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in undergoing Panchakarma treatment in India. As practitioner, this was also a very enriching experience. I learned so much from Dr. Lineesha Kc and Sajeesh Alayadan and a special thank you to Dr. Asghar and all the other staff at Greens. I highly recommend coming here to any of my practitioner friends in the US or anyone else interested in expanding their understanding of Ayurveda. I grew so much as a practitioner from my time spent here at Greens Ayurveda and gained friendships that I will always cherish.

I spent the rest of my birthday at Muzhapilangad Beach in Thalassery – a drive in beach. The spot where I spent my finest hour as a tuk tuk driver (getting stuck in the sand) lol. This is Kerala’s only drive in beach, but it wasn’t super congested – plenty of natural beauty for a beach stroll and some coconut sippin’. People live off the water in coastal Kerala, so plenty of fishing boats. I also have a close affinity for raptors and there are many kites in Kerala. Mostly the Brahminy kite (red-backed sea eagle) which isn’t native to the US. While I was testing out my new camera lens, I actually caught it in mid air chasing a sparrow. There was also some sort of Communist monument at this beach, which I dubbed “Communist rock”, but it probably has a different name - I just couldn’t find it. It was surprising to me to find out that there is a strong Communist presence in Kerala. It’s actually one of the main political parties there, so it’s not uncommon to see Communist flags and iconography of Che Guevara all over the place.