We just enjoyed a short week of yoga practices. Because of the new moon on Wednesday and the shifting of Sunday’s practice to Saturday, we went from a week of seven practices in a row to a week of just 4 sessions, split by a day off. Not sure which was harder! Anyway, it feels good for it to be Saturday again and a holiday. We also registered at the shala for February, and our new starting time for the next month is 5:30 am. So, we shall be early birds for awhile. Our two roomates from Norway now start at 4:30, so we feel a little grateful we can sleep in a bit.
Since we have been here, we have taken advantage of some Ayurvedic therapy treatments. Kathy has been for two massages, and we are both taking some various natural medicines to balance our systems. Briefly, in Ayurveda you are a mixture of three doshas, or constitutions: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata constitution is comprised of the elements of air and ether, Pitta is comprised of the elements of fire and water, and Kapha is a combination of earth and water.
When these tendencies are not in balance then there could be troubles. Both Kathy and I, and I guess most yoga students, are pretty high in vata tendencies. So we take some herbal medicines before eating, after eating and before bedtime. And every once in a while, something, (read: castor oil), to clean out the entire system. Ahem.
But, the best part is the ayurvedic massages. I signed on for a twenty-one day treatment, so that means twenty-one massages! These massages are definitely not the ones you are thinking about, however! I just finished my second week and have one week more to go. I will tell you about them, but if you are squeamish or prudish or easily embarrassed, you can just skip the whole thing and go to the end of this e-mail. The cost for 21 day treatment is roughly $238 per week, and there are seven 2-hour treatments. A bit costly by Indian standards but a real deal in American moneys.
The massage begins by sitting on a small stool and having your head, scalp, face, neck, and shoulders all rubbed with oil. Sometimes you get your neck stretched upwards, and downwards or to either side. Oh, I forgot to mention- no clothes! You get to wear a string tied around your waist and something like a large napkin tucked into the front and back! (I did say this might be graphic.) This heads-up massage takes about ten minutes. They use palms, thumbs, forearms and hands for all this. Some of it is very reminiscent of thai bodywork, with lots of rubbing and stroking and pressing. Feels really good on your neck, especially.
Then it’s time to lie down on the table. This table is all dark wood, about seven or eight feet long and about two feet wide. There are no sheets. It sorta reminds me of a extremely large turkey basting dish, as it is recessed about 2 inches in from the edges, like a shallow bowl. There are two arms extending from the top for your arms and hands, and a hole at the bottom end of the table that functions like a drain. “For what?” you might ask. Well, let’s just say they use a LOT of oil in these massages! So you need a way to siphon and collect it somewhere, otherwise the table might just fill up with oil! Under your knees, elbows, feet and hands they place large sponges for padding. Your butt will have to suffice for the middle part!
And there are two therapists who will do the massage at the same time. Two women for the ladies and two men for the gentlemen clients. You lie down on your back and the massage continues on your neck and face and shoulders. They can use some deep pressure here on the sides of the neck and the large muscles that support our heavy thought-filled heads! You realize this part is over when they drizzle some cooler oil on your forehead. Then they start to pour nice warm oil on your belly and then down each leg and up each arm. It feels really nice! The two therapists work like a team, sweeping the oil in circles around your belly, up and down your arms and legs. It takes just a little getting used to because you pretty much are lying there naked on a table while they run their hands all over your body! There may be a little adjustment to make, but remember, you are in India and this is the typical order of the day. (Almost everything you do or say, eat or drink, see or think, drive across or walk next to requires a re-thinking.)
When you can relax and close your eyes, the warm oil and the coordinated massage and the sound of breathing begins to melt away the tensions or soreness. These two have definitely worked as a pair for awhile and they seem to be in complete sync. Sometimes you just aren’t sure how many hands are working on you all at the same time. After a bit you roll over, hang on to the two wooden arms above your head, and have warm oils drizzled across your backside and they begin to sweep across your legs and back and shoulders and arms, pressing down with long sweeping strokes. Any tensions left in your body just don’t have a chance!
The massage will last about two hours! Your hair and you will be completely covered with oils, but you will be happily relaxed. Of course there are also specific massage treatments for certain physical issues, which will make the treatment go a bit differently than the simple massage. In my 21 day treatment, the doctor is trying to help me with my low back and leg pains. So, after about one hour of the massage, some other cool things have happened. For the first few days he would use tightly rolled up towels, filled with herbs and very hot. He would pat these hot towel/rolls up and down and all around my back, legs, arms, etc. Every few moments he would heat them up again using a very hot metal plate, so they were always warm. This technique feels pretty good, I think he was trying to tenderize me.
The next few days he switched the treatment. After about an hour of the massage, he began to pour warm water from a small bucket onto me. He might start at the feet and move up the legs and back and shoulders and arms with a single bucket. The very warm water felt really great, imagine it as a sort of hot bath that moves all around your body. With the other hand he would gently massage or rub the water around onto your muscles. I wish I could describe just how nice this part felt, having the warm water poured over you- it’s kinda like when you are taking a hot bath and pull the drain plug and feel the water recede, but in reverse! Anyways, now you know why there is a big drain at the foot end of the table. After the first week, the treatment switched again. Now they are using hot oil instead of water, and it is even more amazing! Warm oil has more weight than water, seems to stay on you longer and feels like silk. The only way I can describe it might be to imagine that you are a big pile of pancakes and someone is pouring warm maple syrup onto them, completely covering them until the syrup runs down the sides of the pancakes, off of the plate and onto the table, then the floor.
It feels magical. We both agree we would never be able to find this type of massage anywhere in America, that’s for sure. Back home it’s mandatory to carefully cover the client with sheets so that nothing but the area being massaged is exposed. Over here, everything you got is all right out there. The really nice thing about this is that the massage feels completely integrated and holistic because the whole body is connected and massaged from head to hands, along the torso, down the legs to the feet and back again. This just isn't possible when there are sheets involved and only parts of the body are being massaged at one time. Now, it’s not that we are promoting exhibitionism, but there is a cultural and legal bias back home that would make these techniques non-existent. I have one week left of my treatments, and the doctor says they will change again starting tomorrow. Hmmm, I can only wonder what that might mean.
When it’s all over, you use towels to wipe off the excess oil. Well, actually, they do most of this part for you. You also get a small daub of choornam powder on the top of your head as the finishing touch. Then a warm glass of water with some herbs infused in it and you are on your way. Back at the apartment, a hot shower is definitely in order! Then take rest.
Well, I think that’s enough for now. If you read this far I am sure there will be more than enough to think about! We shall write again soon, maybe some more about the royal city and its’ people. In the meantime, we hope you are doing well, and remembering to take some time each day to be grateful and smile every once in awhile. Thank you very much for all of your nice e-mails and messages. It really feels a bit like Christmas everytime we are able to connect with you.
Love and peace to you all,
Jeff and Kathy
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