Navarakkizhi in Panchakarma

Kerala is especially proud of Navarakkizhi, a Purvakarma therapy, since it is its own contribution to the great system of Ayurveda. It involves the fomentation of the body with a bolus of cooked rice.
Navara is a rice variety known for its medicinal properties and it is cooked in milk, to form a herbal decoction using Kurumthotti. 

Four boluses are made of the cooked rice and are tied up in linen bags. The fomentation begins with the patient sitting straight on the droni with legs stretched. The masseurs on either side perform the fomentation process in an identical manner.
 
The movement of the hands during both fomentation and massage should always be downwards. This therapy is done in seven standard positions.