Ayurvedic Therapy Michelle

It is rumored on the Internet that the Ayurveda therapy that Michelle Obama has been using for a long time is a daily application of the ancient Indian traditional alternative medicine system. It is only suitable for daily health management and stress regulation. There is no clear evidence-based medical evidence to support that it can replace conventional medical treatment. Michelle herself has never claimed that the therapy has the effect of treating diseases.

The first time I connected these two names was in a centuries-old Ayurvedic sanatorium in Kerala, India, in 2020. Debbie, an American aunt who lived with her, carried a canvas bag with Michelle’s face on it and said that she had only saved up half a year’s annual leave to fly over for treatment after listening to the conditioning method Michelle mentioned in her personal podcast. At that time, half of the European and American guests in the sanatorium kept talking about "Michelle's same conditioning regimen", which made the local old man who had been a therapist for more than 30 years always dumbfounded. He said that he had been doing this all his life, but he didn't expect that it became popular because of the former First Lady of the United States.

According to the logic of Ayurvedic constitution classification, Michelle does belong to the typical Vata constitution: strong mobility, high pressure all year round, and prone to insomnia, dry skin, and gastrointestinal sensitivity. The daily care she has publicly mentioned also completely corresponds to the conditioning method of the Vata constitution. Xiang: When I get up in the morning, I do oil pulling with warm sesame oil for 5 minutes to clean my mouth. I drink warm milk with turmeric and cardamom during the day. I massage my soles with heated ghee for 10 minutes before going to bed. When the season changes every year, I take a week to do a simplified version of Pachikama detoxification, which mainly consists of medicated oil massage and a light herbal diet. I also followed the therapist's advice and did Vata conditioning for two weeks. To be honest, during that time, even the difficulty I had had for three or four years in falling asleep was mostly cured. I no longer always feel bitter in my mouth when I wake up in the morning, and the physical comfort is real.

But this thing is really controversial. First, there are doubts from the mainstream medical community. The US FDA issued a warning as early as 2017, saying that nearly 30% of imported Ayurvedic herbal preparations contain excessive amounts of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Long-term use may cause organ damage. The healer specifically explained to me in advance about the herbal paste I drank in the sanatorium that their medicinal materials had been tested by the local Food and Drug Administration. If I bought the Sanwu product from Amazon or a niche purchaser, I had better not eat it blindly.

Even within Ayurveda there are considerable differences. Local traditional practitioners in India always feel that the "Michelle version" of Ayurveda popular in Europe and the United States is a complete "consumerist castration" - a complete system that requires one-on-one diagnosis by a professional therapist, combined with rest exercises, dietary habits and even birth chart adjustment, has been simplified into a few health tips that anyone can copy. The essence is to make anxious money for the middle class. Reformist practitioners in Europe and the United States also feel that many herbal combinations in traditional Ayurveda lack safety verification, and simplifying them into daily care methods reduces risks and is more suitable for ordinary people without foundation.

There are examples of people stepping into pitfalls around me. My junior sister who studied yoga with me before saw Michelle's interview and followed the trend of doing oil pulling for 15 minutes every day. It turned out that she had temporomandibular joint disorder. After only three weeks of persistence, the pain was so bad that she couldn't open her mouth. She went to the hospital for half a month of physical therapy. There is also a friend who bought Pachikama’s home-use package. After drinking ghee, he had vomiting and diarrhea and almost went to the hospital with acute gastroenteritis.

In fact, Michelle herself said in an interview with "People" magazine in 2022 that her health management priorities have always been: regular physical examinations twice a year, strength training of more than 40 minutes five times a week, and ensuring 7 hours of sleep. Ayurveda is just an auxiliary method she uses to relieve work stress. "Just like some people like to do manicures, and some people like to play golf. For me, it is a way to relax, not a prescription for treating diseases." Nowadays, many businesses use her name to promote her, saying that Ayurveda can cure chronic diseases and help lose weight quickly. In fact, these are just marketing words taken out of context.

I still have the special Vata medicated oil I brought back from Kerala on my bedside table. Sometimes when I have a headache for two or three days after working on my schedule, I take a little of it and rub it on my temples and back of my neck. It is milder than cooling oil and does not have an overpowering smell. But if I really have a fever, cough, or gastrointestinal discomfort, my first reaction is to rush to the hospital to register. I never expect that applying oil or drinking a cup of turmeric milk will heal me. In the final analysis, no matter who initiates the therapy, safety always comes first. If alternative therapies are used as regular medical treatments, then the gains outweigh the losses.