August 13, 2013:
· Day One: Ayurveda
Massages for One and All
Before
arriving in Kerala, I had mentioned to Tom that Kerala was renowned for
Ayurveda treatments. I also mentioned
that I was curious to learn more about the treatments. Ayurveda is an ancient form of healing in
India. It is purely herbal based with
medications and oils made from the roots, sap, or even the bark of a tree; from
spices; and even precious metals administered in powdered form. The treatments are used for beautification,
as well as for pain relief.
Being
a totally sweet guy, Tom decided to treat Emily and I to the ayurveda treatment
of our choosing. Emily chose the “Royal
Facial” (aka “Mukha Kanthi Lepanam”), and I chose the “Rejuvenation Therapy
with the facial” (or “Rasayana Uzhicil”).
The Ayurveda doctor met with us and explained that the Royal Facial was conducive
to all skin types and that is extremely nourishing because two facial masques
are applied during the treatment, leaving skin looking radiant and fresh. The doctor explained that the rejuvenation
therapy would be most appropriate for me given the nature of my injuries
stemming from the accident. The
treatment would consist of 3 parts: (1) seated massage; (2) general body
massage; and (3) a steam bath. Emily and
I followed our Ayurveda therapists eagerly.
Unfortunately, we had no idea what we were in for…
Emily
and I entered our respective rooms, which were adjacent to one another.
“Remove
all of your clothes,” my therapist instructed me.
“All?”
I asked.
“Yes,
all, and then please sit on this stool.”
I
was embarrassed but did as I was told, silently thanking God that Emily opted
for the facial and not the massage!
As I
sat on the stool, the therapist covered me in slimy, yellow oil – including my
hair. Ew… Well, one thing is for sure: yellow is
definitely not my color!
After
the oiling, the therapist instructed me to lie face down on the bed. I stood up, yellow slime oozing from my every
pore, I moved slowly to the table and lie down careful not to slip and slide
right off onto the floor.
Just
then the door opened, and two more therapists entered my room. My room was becoming a regular party room –
who knew! Huh…. What was happening?
The
two new therapists were positioned on either side of my bed. While the third therapist dipped a pouch – filled
with milk powder and other herbs and spices – into a warm liquid. She then applied the extremely hot pouch to my
body while gently squeezing the pouch.
The other two therapists massaged my body in unison. It was actually pretty amazing. No one spoke yet a perfectly synchronized
dance was taking place above me, as one therapist’s movements directly
paralleled another’s. This portion of
the treatment lasted about 20 minutes, and was simply lovely despite my innate and
mounting anxiety about what additional surprise might still lie ahead.
After
the triple massage concluded, my initial therapist wrapped me in a thin white,
fairly see-through towel and led me to what appeared to be a refrigerator
box. She opened the box, helped me to
carefully climb the steps inside the box, shut the door tightly, latched it,
and turned on the heat. She then wrapped
a towel around my head, making me appear nearly headless (to use a reference
from Harry Potter). I was in the
equivalent of a heated magician’s box with only my “severed” head emerging from
the top. I giggled to myself as I
thought – well, if Tom could only see me now.
Or if anyone could see me now…
After
sweating profusely, I was released from the coffin and led to a bathroom with a
shower where I was eager to wash all of the ooey, gooey oil off my body. Oh, but there’s no showering solo. They bathe you. Yup, that’s right. They bathe you. They stand there while you shower, helping
you scrub all those hard to reach areas… and those not so hard to reach areas!
Well,
I could not wait to get out of the aruyvedic clinic, eager to debrief with
Emily.
What
I didn’t know at the time was that we “all” shared this unique “aruyvedic”
treatment experience. Emily was not
actually given the “royal facial”. Nope,
she got the same massage that I did. And
I thought I was flabbergasted -- poor Emily must have been stunned and
thoroughly confused by facials in India.
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