Shamana

Shamana refers to palliative or pacification therapies - gentler approaches that balance the doshas without aggressive purification. This includes dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, herbs, and practices that gradually restore equilibrium.

Shamana is appropriate when: imbalance is mild to moderate, the patient is too weak for purification, during pregnancy or certain life stages, or as ongoing maintenance after panchakarma. It works by increasing qualities opposite to the imbalanced dosha.

The seven shamana therapies include: kindling digestive fire (dipana), burning ama (pachana), fasting (langhana), creating thirst (trishna), exercise (vyayama), sun exposure (atapa), and wind exposure (maruta). These are gentler than shodhana but require consistent application over time to be effective.