Ayurveda is the world’s longest continually practiced medical science. Developed in India over 6,000 years ago. Ayurveda (which translates as “knowledge of life”) is a natural approach to creating balance and strengthening the body’s natural healing ability. Ayurveda is acknowledged by the World Health Organization and is growing in its global use as one of the most effective systems of natural health.

Twenty years ago, Ayurveda was almost unknown outside of India. Due to centuries of foreign domination, the comprehensive knowledge of Ayurveda in India had become fragmented and lost. Working together with the foremost Ayurveda experts in India, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation program (TM), systematized and restored Ayurveda to its most complete and integrated form, known as Maharishi Ayurveda. The ultimate goal of Maharishi Ayurveda is to promote balanced health by enlivening the inner intelligence of the body and strengthening its natural healing ability.

Ayurveda was the first system of medicine to recognize the concept of individual mind/body types. It holds that everyone is born with their own natural balance which influences all aspects of their life, including body structure, emotional makeup and predisposition to illnesses. Without understanding one’s unique natural balance you may unknowingly create imbalances by following a life-style that puts strain your mind/body system.

Ayurveda holds that disease is primarily the result of imbalances and impurities that accumulate in the body over time. The specialty of Ayurveda is in diagnosing imbalances at an early stage—before symptoms of disease arise—eliminating those imbalances from the body, and teaching each person how to live a healthy, balanced life, according to their unique mind/body makeup.

Over the last 20 years, Ayurvedic spas and treatments have become increasingly popular. Many spas mix Ayurveda treatments with other kinds of massage and new age techniques, creating a pick-and-choose approach to relaxation and wellness. The Raj Ayuveda Health Spa offers only authentic Ayurveda modalities. Because all of our programs are based on one comprehensive system of health care, each step supports every other step to accelerate your experience of increasing vitality and well-being.

All of the programs at The Raj are authenticated by a council of top Ayurveda experts from India, in conjunction with medial doctors, who refer to the original classic texts in verifying every step of every procedure that is then offered to our guests. This maintains the highest level of integrity in all of the treatment programs.

According to Ayurveda, disorders are primarily the result of imbalances and toxins that accumulate in the body over time. Impurities caused by poor diet, weak digestion, stress, environmental toxins, and other factors can build up in our cells, joints, and tissues, inhibiting optimal functioning.

The programs at The Raj are designed to address the root cause of disorders, instead of simply focusing on the relief of specific symptoms. Our Ayurvedic purification treatments help to dislodge impurities from the cells and tissues and flush them from the body. In addition to removing years of accumulated blockages, our therapies help improve metabolism and enliven the inner intelligence of the body, stimulating the body’s remarkable capacity for self-repair.

One of the basic tenets of Ayurveda is that we are all unique. Even if two people share the same disorder, symptoms can differ markedly from one person to another. During your initial consultation, our Ayurvedic experts will use the traditional technique of Pulse Assessment to determine how far you have moved from your ideal state of balance. As our experts gain an understanding of your individual nature, level of imbalance, and specific symptoms, a customized treatment program can be created to address your individual needs.

Our purifying treatments do more than purify: they help nourish the body’s tissues, reduce inflammation, support improved metabolism and remove harmful fat-soluble environmental toxins. It is not surprising that guests leave The Raj feeling revitalized, with many showing an immediate decrease in physical symptoms as well as an increase in well being.

Because The Raj treatments target the root cause of disorders and effect changes in the fundamental functioning of the body, results can last a significant time when one follows the going home instructions upon leaving.

Our Ayurvedic programs are designed to do more than just remove deeply imbedded impurities; they also help improve digestion and metabolism, thus eliminating the creation of future metabolic toxins. A strong digestion allows for the formation of pure nutrient plasma, which can more easily nourish the physiology and enhance the body’s natural purification mechanisms. Many guests find that the results of their stay really blossom a week after they return home, and that their progress continues to grow.

Ultimately the success of your treatment program at The Raj depends on your commitment to change, including following both the pre-visit diet and the recommendations that our experts suggest for you when you return home.

The week or two after Panchakarma is a very critical time. Even though you have stopped enjoying daily massages and therapies, your body continues to function in a purification mode. All of the channels of the body have been opened and impurities are still being pushed out. The kidney and liver are still processing impurities for elimination. Therefore, remaining on a light diet and supporting the body’s purification mode will allow for maximum effects to be experienced.

No two people are alike and no two physiologies are alike. In addition, factors such as stress, diet, environment, the quality of one’s digestion, and the quality of one’s sleep can influence the strength of your immune system and your ability to maintain a healthy balance.

Follow-up consultations can be helpful in adjusting our going-home recommendations as changes occur in your health condition.

Published research on The Raj purification procedures found that fat-soluble toxicants were reduced by about 50% over a 5-day course of treatment. This was the first time it had been shown that a specific purification regimen could significantly reduce levels of lipophilic toxicants in the blood. Lipophilic toxicants are environmental chemicals that are fat-soluble. They have been associated with numerous health concerns, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, reproductive disorders and cancer.

The results of a two-month longitudinal study showed that PCBs and Beta-HCH levels were reduced by 46 percent and 58 percent respectively after 5-days of treatment. Without our treatments, the expected drop in PCBs and Beta-HCH over two months would be only a fraction of one percent. No other method has been scientifically verified to reduce levels of these lipid-soluble toxicants in the human body without causing negative side effects.

“Our findings were quite striking, given that the half-lives of these toxicants are all several years in duration, and that this comprehensive purification procedure removed them in just a few days,” noted Dr. Robert Herron, lead scientist on the study.

How does this work?
Lipophilic toxicants get stored in the fatty tissues in the body, as well as in the lipid layers that surround all our cells. Several steps in our purification procedures use organic, lipophilic materials, such as clarified butter in the pre-treatment phase and/or herbalized oils in the massage and basti treatments. These pure oils help to sequentially loosen and remove lipid-soluble toxicants and carry them to the digestive tract, where they can be eliminated.

The traditional Ayurvedic purification treatments, called “Panchakarma”, are at the heart of The Raj treatment approach. This series of therapies act in a synergistic way to cleanse the entire body, removing deeply embedded toxins and restoring a healthy balance. These treatments have been shown to effectively remove toxins stored in fat, something conventional spa treatments and cleanses are not able to do.

While colonics and normal purification programs can remove water-soluble toxins, only Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments have been shown to remove fat-soluble toxins, such as DDT, PCBs and dioxins —the most dangerous class of environmental toxins.

The Raj is located in America’s heartland, 5 hours west of Chicago, in pastoral countryside surrounded by rolling hills, woods, ponds and fields. The natural silence and distance from the hustle and bustle of city life allows guests to unhook from their busy lives and commitments and switch their focus to their own health and happiness. You are likely to see deer amble past the dining room, hear pheasants crowing in the morning and watch breathtaking sunsets across our pond. Because your room, spa treatments, dining and classes are all contained within The Raj’s main building, all four seasons provide their own delight, from changing colors in the fall, snow-covered pines in the winter, flowering trees in the spring and a luxurious expanse of green in the summer.