Aaron Rodgers Cleansed Himself Through Panchakarma. What Is That?

During his regular Tuesday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show this week, Aaron Rodgers told the host he had just finished a 12-day cleanse. After going through that, it prompted the reigning NFL MVP to write an Instagram post expressing his gratitude to everyone in his life. Just what did this cleanse entail? Well, it's called Panchakarma and, after some brief research, boy is it something.

According to these here Internets, Panchakarma is "a method of cleansing the body of all the unwanted waste after lubricating it." There are five steps in the process and they are as follows:

Vaman -- forced vomiting
Virechan -- forced diarrhea
Basti -- medicated enema
Nasya -- nasal administration of substances
Raktamokshana -- blood letting

The details are even crazier.

Vaman employs administration of certain emetic drugs that induce a severe spell of vomiting to clean the upper gut. One has to constantly supply fluids as else there could be dehydration. The procedure is best suited for diseases related to kapha dosha. E.g Bronchial asthma

Virechan concentrates on the lower part of the gut and uses purgatives to clean the bowel. When excess pitta (acid) is secreted and accumulated in the gallbladder, liver, small intestine. It helps root out fever, diabetes, asthma, skin disorders, joint disorders, digestive disorders, constipation, hyperacidity, vitiligo, psoriasis, and headaches.

Basti is considered as the mother of all Panchakarma treatments as it cleanses the accumulated toxins from all the three doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, through the colon. Medicated oil or ghee and an herbal decoction are given as enema to clean the colon and improve peristalsis. This procedure is usually applied for eight to 30 days, based on the medical aspects. It is beneficial in conditions like colitis, convalescence, cervical spondylosis, irritable bowel syndrome constipation, digestive disorders, backache & sciatica, obesity, piles, and infertility.

Nasya involves administration of medicated oil through the nose to cleanse the accumulated kapha toxins from the head and neck region. It benefits in diseases above the collarbone.

Raktamokshana is procedure of blood cleansing and is advised in very rare conditions. It is not a part of the general Panchakarma. It is a therapy advocated by Ayurveda for curing conditions like heart failure and varicose veins.

You can read even more about Panchakarma here.

So yeah, Aaron Rodgers basically vomited and crapped out all his "toxins" while getting enemas, having oil shot up his nose, and engaging in bloodletting.

Sounds like a nice, relaxing offseason.