Its most intensive treatment, Panchakarma, is designed to cleanse toxins, restore digestion, and rejuvenate the body. For Toews, it was his last shot.
Three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two world juniors, and more than 1,000 NHL games into his career, everything was now in doubt.
Long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome had been causing him fatigue, brain fog, and inflammation, so he needed help.
Desperate for solutions in September of 2023, he traveled to India for five weeks of intensive therapy, daily enemas, blood-letting, induced vomiting, special diets, and massages that left tons of bruises.
‘It was very intense. It was an emotional roller-coaster, a physical roller-coaster, it was all the things,’ Toews told GQ
There were also more peaceful moments, such as yoga, meditation, mud baths, and prayer.
‘For me, personally, the whole time has been a really huge shift in my ability to take back my own life. And claim my own energy and my own awareness and my own attitudes.’
– Jonathan Toews
Toews’ Meeting With a Retired Monk in Costa Rica set him off on his Journey
The recovery began after a meeting while on a visit to Costa Rica with a retired monk who recommended Ayurveda.
A self-styled health enthusiast all his life, and with previous issues of the digestive system and immune system, Toews was definitely interested.
By the winter, he was skating again and gaining momentum toward a comeback. The Jets brought him back by signing him to a one-year, $2 million deal with incentives that could bring it to $7 million.
‘When you have a health issue, that’s what healing is, you’re just taking a look at your life and trying to find balance within it all.’
– Jonathan Toews
At his introductory press conference, Toews referred to the comeback as a product of persistence, risk, and an open mind, and fans are eager to watch him dazzle on the ice.