massage

Its been over a week now, but I had a foot massage at one of the ayurvedic centers here in Kovalam. I scheduled it on a day that I thought I was just really sore from the practice and just needed a good massage to relax the muscles for the next day. I ended up being sore because my immune system was going into hyperdrive as later that day I realized that it was from something I had eaten. I slept the rest of the afternoon, and was very happy to realize I was hungry for dinner that night. I slept through the whole night, and I did miss practice that morning - the only one I have missed so far. By that afternoon I was feeling myself again, so my body took care of it very fast, which I was grateful for.

So the foot massage is not what you are thinking of. I didn't sit in a chair and someone massaged by feet for an hour - which I would not complain about at all, but this is how it went;

After signing in, the therapist comes and greets you. Then we went up to the third floor into the massage room. This building, as most in Kovalam, is made on concrete. There are no trees in this area that are suitable to use for lumber, so everything is either built out of cement, brick or tin. The roofs of many places are palm leaves however. The leaves for the palm tress are the only thing usable for construction material. Each floor of this place is divided into small rooms by bamboo. The bamboo is woven together somehow, to it makes a good partition, but that would be the best way to describe it Once in the room there was a table off to the side, a large mattress on the floor, a small bamboo stool, and a diffuser on a table gently heating the oil. In ayurvedic medicine they use lots of oils and herbs, so the table and mattress on the floor were both made of vinyl so that the oil would not be absorbed by the mattress, and could easily be cleaned.

Once in the room, you remove your clothes and sit on the stool and the therapist asks you several questions about your health. Then he begins by giving you a scalp massage with some kind of oil that is infused heavily with herbs. The massage is not rough, but definitely not gentle. It works the oils into your hair, scalp, and neck. It really felt good even though the pressure was quit hard. This lasted 5 or so minutes. Then you lay down on the mattress on the floor, face down. He then pours, and I mean pours, warm oil all over your body. Legs, arms, and core. Then he holds onto ropes hanging from the ceiling and begins to massage you using his feet. The main reason they do it this way, instead of on a table with their hands, is they work at balancing your energy throughout your entire body, and they are able to run their foot starting from your foot all the way up your leg, body, and arm overhead to your hand, and back down again. So instead of massaging your core (back), leg, then arm, they get everything at once and this helps move the energy all the way through your body.

Its amazing at how well the therapist can feel where your tight spots are just like a therapist using his hands. He will often stop and work the places that you need it the most. I would not consider this massage similar to a Swedish massage, but closer to a very deep tissue massage, as they can use their entire body weight to work the muscles. If you are looking for something simple and relaxing, this is not the massage for you. He also changes the direction of your hands half way through. You start with palms down, and then he changes them to palms up, and it completely changes the way the massage feels.

When he is completed with the back he has you turn over and starts over on the front side. Pours the warm oil all over you and begins the massage. Unlike a Swedish massage, he also massages the abdomen really well. The intention is to keep everything moving, and to help to body flush out the toxins. It is always advisable not to eat at the very least two hours before this kind of massage, and even no liquids, and make sure you make a toilet break before having this done. He does the same thing with your hands, and also with your feet this time. They face out half the time and in the other half. Once the massage is done, he hands you a towel so you can wipe off the excess oil, but you still are very oily as you should be, and allow the oil to absorb into the body, and you smell like a great tasting stir fry! They use sesame oil and herbs for this massage!

I do plan on getting one more massage before I go. Not sure if I'm going to get a foot massage or something else as they do offer several different kinds, we shall see!