A WeLife journalist travelled to India to see for herself how Ayurveda in India is really practised, in a genuine clinical centre rather than a spa, and asked me to guide her as an expert before she left. Her report, "Inside an Ayurvedic centre in India", tells that experience first-hand. Here I gather what I contributed to that conversation and expand on what did not fit in the article: why Ayurveda is medicine and not aesthetics, what sets it apart from a beauty treatment, and how it feels when you stop consuming it as a quick product.
Why WeLife travelled to India
Like most people, the journalist's idea of Ayurveda was fairly stereotyped: warm oils, clay masks, an aesthetic halfway between a spa and a spiritual retreat. We happened to be in India on the same days, and when she told me what she understood by Ayurveda, I told her what I truly believe: that is only the tip of the iceberg of a medicine with thousands of years of history. Seeing that difference on the ground, in a clinical rather than a touristic centre, was the whole point of the trip.
What Ayurveda in India really is
Ayurveda is one of the oldest medical systems in the world and, at the same time, one of the fastest growing. In India it is studied at university, as a specialisation within the health sciences, and it is used to regulate stress, digestion and hormones, and to support inflammation, chronic pain and metabolic conditions. None of that fits inside the word "spa". The distinction matters, because spas reproduce the aesthetic of Ayurveda but not its rigour. In a real centre there is a medical consultation, a diagnosis and follow-up, and treatments are chosen according to each person's state, not from a fixed menu.
It all begins at the wrist: pulse diagnosis
One of the central tools of Ayurveda is pulse reading, Nadi Pariksha. It is not a symbolic gesture: through the pulse, a trained practitioner assesses the state of the tissues and systems of the body. In the report, the journalist experienced a surprisingly precise pulse diagnosis of a respiratory issue she had been carrying. I explain how it works, and what it can and cannot tell you, in Ayurvedic pulse diagnosis.
Panchakarma: the real detox, not the weekend kind
The word "detox" is thrown around lightly, and Ayurveda is the opposite of a shortcut. Panchakarma is the great Ayurvedic purification process, and done properly it takes between fourteen and twenty-one days, always under supervision. It is not a uniform package: the therapies are selected according to each person's state, age and capacity to eliminate, and the intensity is adjusted day by day. If you are fatigued, it slows down; if you are strong, it moves forward. No weekend miracles.
The therapies: warm oil, with clinical purpose
Many of the therapies people associate with a spa have, in their medical context, a specific purpose. Abhyanga, a full-body massage with generous warm oil tailored to your constitution, is used to calm the nervous system, improve circulation and nourish the skin. Shirodhara, the continuous stream of warm oil over the forehead, is used above all for Vata-type imbalances such as insomnia, stress or headaches. The same technique that is a luxury in a hotel is, in a clinical centre, a tool with an indication.
Eating according to your dosha
In an Ayurvedic centre the kitchen is part of the treatment. Each person eats according to their dosha, their functional biotype, because the aim is not a generic diet but restoring your own balance. Vata, Pitta and Kapha describe different constitutions, and what nourishes one can unbalance another. If you do not know yours, it is the first practical step to understanding why something suits you that does not suit someone else.
Before any treatment, it all starts with knowing your constitution. Take my free dosha test to discover your biotype and where to begin.
What did not fit in the report: nervous system and emotion
There is a part of Ayurveda that a travel report can barely touch: its work with the nervous system and with emotion. When you apply oil to the body you are not only caring for the skin; you calm the nervous system and reduce stress. And Ayurveda does not mask symptoms, it looks for the root, examining digestion, sleep, emotions and lifestyle. That is the lens I hold in my work with emotional healing, especially after a loss: I write about the real physiology of heartbreak in Ayurveda after a breakup and in my book She Chose Healing. Body and emotion do not run separately, and that, for me, is the heart of this medicine.
Live Ayurveda, do not consume it
Perhaps the greatest Western mistake is trying to turn Ayurveda into a quick consumer product. What the WeLife journalist saw on the ground, and what I defend from my own training, point to the same thing: Ayurveda is not something you do over a weekend, it is something you live. A body of knowledge based on centuries of observation that, precisely for that reason, feels surprisingly current. If you want to approach it rigorously and adapted to your case, we can look at it together in an online Ayurveda consultation.
With expert contribution to WeLife, "Entramos en un centro ayurvedico en la India" (Paka Diaz, 4 April 2026), where Elsa Ramos Elias was consulted as an Ayurveda expert. This article gathers her contribution and is informational; it does not replace consultation with a health professional.