So today I had my first ever massage. Might I suggest that if you’ve never had a massage, getting an Ayurvedic massage in Kerala is not the best way to start. Out of the stupor of an hour long nap, I was awakened by a phone call to my room saying “Please come now for your massage.”
On arrival, I was asked a very important question. “Are you on your menstrual cycle?” If I had been, the massage would not have occurred. I would have been too impure to receive any form of healing. One of my friends, who was on her cycle, was told that when her “condition” improved, she could have a massage. After this not so subtle question broke the ice, a warm older woman grabbed my hand and said “My daughter, come.”
I followed her lead as we prayed to the idol in the room. With hands pressed together, I waited until she finished praying. Then she led me into a room where I removed my jewelry and clothes, all of my clothes. I wasn’t prepared for all of that. Then, she put a loin cloth on me….literally a string and a piece of fabric. There I was naked and sitting on a stool as she rubbed oil into my head. Then she put me on this large table and chanted as she poured warm oil all over me. I felt like I was in a bad Ricky Martin music video.
The massage motion she used wasn’t really a kneading motion but a swoop. She chanted as she massaged and I prayed that this would be over soon. The massage was followed by a steam bath and then another bath to get rid of all the oil. Then I followed that up by another shower back at my hotel room. I can still smell the oil whenever I think about the massage.
I am still digesting the massage. Its traditional purpose is as a form of healing, of healthcare. People who are sick might receive such a massage from an Ayurvedic specialist. I couldn’t help but question women’s healthcare. The female masseuse had to be called in for us ladies to receive a massage and she drove five hours. It seems healthcare, even an Ayurvedic massage, might be a man’s world too in India.
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