My Experience with Ayurvedic Treatments.
Copyright (c) 2005 Olena.
In the fall of 2004 I traveled to Mysore, India, to study Ashtanga yoga. Every day for the whole month, I was waking up at 6 a.m. to practice yoga under guruji, Sri Patthabi Jois. Consequently, when the day came to go to the Indus Valley Ayurvedic Center for a series of treatments, including full body massage, I was ready to take a break. I arrived to the center, which is located on the outskirts of Mysore, in the early morning. As the car let out my traveling companion and I, I looked around to see several log cabins under the straw roofs hiding in the sea of green: green grass, green trees. It was quite a contrast from grey downtown area croweded with vendors, congested with a constant flow of honking rickshaws and people, people everywhere.
Immediately upon my arrival, I was directed to see a doctor, although I was perfectly healthy. Instead of asking the usual questions I was asked about my eating and sleeping habits, my reaction to stress, and preferences. Based on my answers and body constitution, the doctor determined my dosha*. To bring my dosha into balance, I was prescribed Abhyanga, the herbal oil massage. To receive my first treatment a young lady dressed in a blue and white uniform picked me up at my room door. She escorted me to one of the cabins. When I walked in I was amazed to see real wooden tables, brass buckets and other tools. There was a second young lady awaiting me inside the cabin. First, I was seated in a chair, while two young ladies, the ayurvedic specialists stood beside me, hands in Namaste, or prayer position, to sing a mantra.
What impressed me the most about massage was the fact that my body was soaked in warm oil, layers after layers of it washed all over my body. (In Ayurveda**, there are different herbal oils used for each dosha. You can check with an ayurvedic specialist to determine which massage oil is best for you.) Two ayurvedic message specialists worked in a unison, their movements precise and synchronized. Although, the ayruvedic massage is more gentle in nature than what we are used to in the West. Products used by a certified ayurvedic specialist are all natural. In fact, during my facial I kept smelling the most appatizing aromas and had to restrain myself from tasting the ingredients.
The most memorable ayurvedic treatment was an oil drip, which could be also performed using warmed buttermilk. Being a practioner of yoga, I practice meditation, but nothing can draw you deeper into the subconscious than Shirodhara or drip, lasting for up to 40 minutes. As each drop hits your forehead, thoughts dessapate and the mind becomes empty. Towards the end of the treatment, I experienced a true realization of idea behind shavasana (or corpse pose) practiced in yoga at the end of asana practice. As I lay there fully awake, stimulated by a constant and slow drip of oil, my mind and body disappeared. I was totally present and connected to the sensations of my body, yet my mind was void, calmed by the rythimic drip of warmed oil. As I slowly rolled to one side and stood up, my hair was soaked in oil and under the table there was a small bucket filled with oil. To wash the oil off my hair I was given paste that after being mixed with water turns into mud.
I don't know if you have experienced in an adult age what I am about to tell here, but this was the highlight of my experience at the center. I was seated on a chair, wrapped in a towel. A shining brass bucket filled with warm water was sitting on the floor next to me. One of the women worked the paste into my hair, and then to wash it off she scooped the water with a brass bowl and poured it onto my hair. After drying my hair with a towel, my head was cleared and my hair had a natural glow.
During the dry and cold winter month, of the three doshas, Vata*** dosha is more likely to be agitated. Therefore, it is recommended for the people, regardless of their dominant dosha type, to go for hot oil massage at least once a month in order to maintain balance. The massage is also beneficial to soothe nervous and endocrine systems, cleanse the body, tone muscles, and rejuvenate the skin.
*Dosha determines each person's constitution, behaviour, and emotions. In turn, ayurveda takes into account person's primary dosha to prescribe a diet, exercise program and lifestyle conducive to bringing the dosha into a state of balance, thus promoting mental, emotional and physical optimal health.
**Ayurveda is a nature-based Indian system of healing, and is believed to be five thousand years old. Its goal is to bring into balance three doshas that govern all of the bodily functions.
***Vata is responsible for quality sleep, supple skin, proper elimination of wastes, and movement in both body and mind. If your skin feels dry, or you worry and seem to lose weight, you probably need to balance your Vata dosha by eating warm and oily foods, stay in warm temperatures or go to a spa for a massage with oil.
