Healing: Story of Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital ~ Galle, Sri Lanka

not really at the hospital but still captures the spirit of the scene

Memo: What follows comes from my erstwhile “Healing Journal” – written/compiled on a foggy meandering journey to various countries (Pacifica, Phitsanulok, Cochin, Pokhara, Dikwella/Galle…) visiting all manner of hospitals, clinics and exploring various healing modalities and techniques.

Shared here more-or-less unedited for posterity (whatever that is) and to shed light to those struggling who might come across this riff. Please watch the “Healing Ramble, introduction video for context on this series.

Importantly, this is not meant to be a travelogue or creative writing exercise, just laying out my experience as it came to me. I may include some links to other projects or creations that came out of this, maybe… I’m not there yet.

This entry, from is from Galle Sri Lanka, late 2017 and written in the weeks following. It’s now April 2022, i live in Japan, am stable if far from “normal”.  No comments, sympathy requested or accepted. Carry on. 

Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital
Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital: Sign

Background: Along my healing journey, I received treatment at Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka, a government-run, pay-what-you-can facility.

I attended this hospital for Ayurveda treatments for some weeks during Dec. 2017-Jan 2018 and was treated by a kind practitioner called Ruwan. I also met with a wise Doctor who recommended I do a longer in-patient Panchakarma program here, but… some life situations changed and i didn’t do the program. I saw the rooms and talked to the doctors and while it was very spartan and not cozy, the staff seemed to be very intent on their practice.

Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital: Lobby
Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital: Lobby

Routine: Mr. Prem dropped me off via his Tuk-tuk (he introduced me to the facility in the first place), i then went to a window to announce myself (to everyone’s great surprise!) and then sat in the waiting area. Mr. Ruwan would come back from lunch, i would strip down to underwear and lay down on a wooden table (covered with a vinyl sheet) in a shared room with folks coming and going for massage with loads and loads of oil.

Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital: Treatment room
Dissanayake Ayurvedic Hospital: Treatment room

Note: i wisely wore the same sarong and linen shirt each day as the treatments were very oily.

He identified the pro-lapsed discs in my spine and worked on those areas especially. The treatments were daily (except Sunday) for about an hour.

screengrab from Google Maps showing street view of the hospital

I paid them some cash either directly to the practitioner or into a “donation” box in the lobby area. I wanted to ensure i was demonstrating generosity and gratitude, so i wrote them a letter to bridge the language barrier (the Drs were more skilled at English as i did not possess Sinhala language skills) to ensure I was paying an appropriate amount and behaving according to the customs of the facility. 

Letter to Sri Lanka Ayurveda hospital
Letter to Dissanayake Ayurveda Hospital, Galle (Sri Lanka) pardon typos

The letter is poorly typed but that’s another story.

note: the letter was delivered by trusted friend rather than the postal service

… and then one day instead of going to the hospital, i went far far away. Bye bye Lanka. 

Station Master’s office at train station, somewhere in Sri Lanka