New to therapies? Nervous? Try an Indian head massage

I really enjoy the variety that working as a self-employed therapist provides. I am intrigued how each therapy venue, broadly speaking, attracts a certain clientele.

Visitors to Glastonbury are usually very familiar with holistic therapies and healing techniques and will often be teachers and practitioners in their own right, taking a break or retreat, deepening their knowledge on workshops and courses.

The guests I meet in the spa environment generally have full time jobs and regular, busy lives. For them, therapies are an occasional treat or pamper.

 For two out of six ladies today, their massage with me was to be their first therapy experience; something they would not necessarily have chosen for themselves. They were going with the flow of the group and trying out new things as part of a fun filled weekend - they would be taking a line dancing lesson later in the day.

These clients elected to have Indian head massages and I feel that this is a really sensible choice for a first therapy, particularly if the client is nervous or apprehensive about receiving touch.

There is a degree of familiarity to having the head and scalp touched, surely all women have had their hair washed at a salon, a generally pleasant and soothing experience. (Indeed the word ‘shampoo’ is a corruption of the professional term ‘champissage’ which denotes head massage.)

The treatment is generally performed seated with the client retaining most of their clothing, which lessens feelings of vulnerability and exposure. The massage can also be taken without oil*, which ‘newbies’ seem to prefer.

It is gloriously gratifying to feel tensions subside as the treatment begins; the client relaxes progressively and allows me to support the head and neck enabling a thorough and effective massage.

With all due humility I really do hope that those ‘first timers’ at the spa today might be encouraged to book a follow up treatment, and maybe investigate other therapies. In any event I salute their open mindedness and willingness to receive therapeutic touch.

*Application of oil is strongly recommended for therapeutic value, I always offer a choice of oil/no oil and explain the benefits.

www.somersetspa.co.uk Spa breaks in Somerset with a choice of therapies and activities
www.embodyforyou.com/Treatments/ Information about Indian head massage

Adjusting to Springtime, an ayurvedic perspective

We celebrated the Spring Equinox joyfully in Glastonbury last weekend, with ceremony, music, song and dance, marking the point in the annual cycle at which the day and night are of equal length. From now, days are getting longer and next weekend here in the UK we receive a glorious boost of daylight as we turn the clocks back on Sunday morning and officially enter British Summer Time.

You may have felt the renewal of energy that Spring brings, a sense of re-awakening and re-vitalisation. Quite naturally we find ourselves spring cleaning our homes, clearing old growth from the garden, shedding layers of winter clothing, wanting to lose weight, thinking ahead to summer.

We can support the body too at this time of year, through harmonising with seasonal change. From an ayurvedic perspective, spring is associated with kapha dosha, water held in earth. To skilfully adjust, we must stimulate kapha, and counteract the qualities of cold, damp, stillness, accumulation and heaviness. Quite simply we need to warm up, become lighter and more mobile!

Nutritionally, it is all about moving away from rich and heavy foods, reducing oil and adding gentle spices, and bitter, pungent flavours to stimulate digestion. Nature provides: you can find wild spring greens emerging in hedgerows and verges, which tend to be strong and bitter in taste, this reduces kapha. Add to soups, juices and salads. It is important to take expert advice on what to pick, look out for led foraging or hedgerow walks advertised locally.

Movement is the real key to stimulating kapha, vigorous activity of all kinds, energetic bouts of gardening, decluttering and spring cleaning all count! For our yoga, increase the number of sun salutations and up the pace a little. Include more standing poses, twists and inversions and hold these for longer. Prepare for your practice with ujjayi pranayama, which increases inner fire.

The body naturally wants to detoxify at this time of year. Support this with daily dry skin brushing. Using a palm sized natural bristle brush, make light long strokes towards the heart. Any heating essential oils are great to add to your bathing rituals. Try black pepper and ginger. Now is a good time to move from baths (passive, slow, relaxing) to showering (brisk, active). A weekly sauna would be great too for adding heat to the body and releasing waste through the skin.

I also recommend massage at this time of year. Massage will assist the natural detoxification undertaken by the circulatory and lymphatic systems and also helps tone the muscles. Ask your therapist for an energising treatment. This will include percussive movements such as clapping, cupping and drumming, and will leave you feeling alive and awake! Ideally, you would book a series of three to four full body treatments to be taken within a two week period.

Wishing you a vibrant, healthy and happy Spring time!

Therapeutic massage for chronic stress

I work from a lovely spa in the Somerset countryside. Its peaceful, idyllic setting makes it an ideal bolt hole for city dwellers who visit to shrug off urban stress and spend the weekend relaxing in nature’s tranquility.

We often receive groups of young women, on a pamper break or hen weekend. Typically they unwind in the sauna and hot tub and have a treatment or two. Almost invariably they present the same symptoms, tension in the shoulders and neck. A half hour massage is usually enough for them to achieve relaxation.

However, when a person is chronically stressed, a single treatment is rarely enough.

Stress, when it manifests, is evidence of the mind-body connection. The body responds to a constant onslaught of thoughts and emotions by tightening, holding on. If the stress inducing situation is longterm such as a high pressure job, unsatisfactory domestic or environmental conditions or a difficult relationship, the stress becomes chronic and the effects start to show up in the body’s systems. A common list of stress related ailments are familiar to most in modern society and includes ulcers (digestive system), insomnia (nervous system), IBS (digestive system) and so on.

Last weekend I massaged three junior doctors, all in their early twenties and living in London. They had finished their final medical exams a fortnight before and were awaiting results. All agreed that it had been a highly stressful time! During consultation, we identified that their stress had been accumulating over a number of years, starting with ’A’ levels and the pressure involved in securing a University place: these talented young women had a history of chronic stress dating back six or seven years!

Whilst they all enjoyed their massages, it became quite clear that post-treatment my clients were still carrying a tremendous amount of tension in their bodies. Under such circumstances I advise a course of therapeutic treatments. A typical program would be one massage per week for four weeks, thereafter fortnightly, eventually monthly. I recommended that they get in touch with a natural health clinic in their local area, where they should find several massage practitioners offering different styles. Having found a therapist they feel comfortable with, pre-booking a number of sessions and paying in advance could well lead to a discount. Over time the body will give away its stress and wellbeing will be restored.

www.somersetspa.co.uks

Massage appointments now available at Shekinashram

I am very pleased to have been accepted as a therapist at the Shekinashram in Glastonbury. The ashram is a spiritual centre situated on Chalice Hill on the lower slopes of the Tor and easily accessible from the town centre, it is a few minutes walk from the High Street. I love working from this most peaceful setting.
Therapies are taken in a snug and cosy wooden cabin within the gardens, which are lovingly tended by staff, helpers and visitors as part of their karma yoga, the yoga of selfless action. Following a treatment you may enjoy herbal tea by donation, or take a sauna for an additional fee. I love working from this most peaceful setting.

Shekinashram offers a full program events and activities for personal and spiritual growth and has b & b accommodation available. Check their website for details.
http://www.shekinashram.org/

If you would like to take a massage at the ashram with me, kindly call 07779 807089

Treatment review: Ayurvedic massage

Here in India, Ayurveda, the Science of Life, represents an unbroken tradition of knowledge and practical application, transmitted by teachers and gurus, often throughout several generations. To take an ayurvedic massage is to receive the benefit of ancient wisdom, so perfectly suited to the most modern of ailments: stress.

I took my massage at a walk-in centre on the main road in Arambol, a thriving yet laid back beach resort in North Goa. These days Goa is peppered with Ayurvedic Centres which have sprung up to serve the tourist economy, staffed largely by Keralans whose home state can quite legitimately be called 'the home of Ayurveda'.
I requested abhyanga sweda, a treatment I have happily recieved many times on previous trips. Essentially, this consists of a thorough oil massage followed by a steam.

Following tradition I was assigned a female therapist, a young, slender Keralan, Sandhya who would shortly be returning south to continue university studies. This was not a spa experience, I was led to a solid wooden couch in a bare room and invited to undress to my briefs. Seated on a plastic chair, I received a thorough head, neck and scalp massage with a heavy application of medicated oil. The same oil was used throughout the treatment, which is characterised by long, flowing repetitive strokes and lashings of oil. This treatment is designed to reduce excess vata, a symptom of overexertion and stress. I should mention that our western sensibilites and etiquette do not apply; the therapist will leave you uncovered throughout the treatment and massage the whole of the bust.

Post-massage I was lead into an adjacent room where the steam unit was being prepared. I can only describe it as something like a quilted jacket crossed with a tent! That is to say one sits inside a structure, often a wooden box where steam is introduced. One is sealed in up to the neck, the head is never steamed as it is undesirable to increase pitta to the head. I stayed here quite contentedly chatting to Sandhya for ten minutes or so until sweat was truly pouring.
I left feeling deeply relaxed and satisfied and will probably take one treatment a week while I am out here.

The treatment lasted about 90 minutes in total and cost Rs 600 (a little under nine pounds sterling).