After a second shower, I have officially finished my first round of ayurveda, and never before have I been so relieved to be done with any journalistic assignment. ![]() I never truly relaxed during it - Soffer told me that takes some practice - and by the time the water stopped 25 minutes later, I am one oily foot out the door. Between the proximity to my eyes and the odd sensation, my nerves are going haywire, but eventually they calm. I consider myself very lucky that Soffer has selected coconut water for mine (hot oil is another common option, and I don't think I could have taken more oil at this point). It's called shirodhara and is said to work wonders on the nervous system. (I arrived at 1 p.m.), but I agree to the last treatment, a jug that drips a steady stream of liquid directly onto the center of your forehead for around 25 minutes. ![]() This goes on for about an hour, after which I am wrapped in a clean sheet while they (thankfully) change the sheets on the bed. Unlike a massage, there is no pressure they're simply rubbing it in, and pouring more and more oil until the sheet I am laying on is drenched and I am laying in a hot, oily pool. The oil has a rich, earthy scent that is unpleasant but not intolerable, and it's a few degrees warmer than what would be considered comfortable. Breasts, butt, thighs - it's all being oiled, with each woman doing mirror movements on either side of my body the entire time. Then, in unison, they pour and massage more oil over my entire body. The first woman (there are always two working on me) fashions a small towel into a loincloth of sorts, places it on my nether regions, and begins by drenching my hair and scalp with the hot oil. I'm deemed a Pitta and my treatment will include cooling herbs, milk, and brown rice to help "calm my insides," which will, in turn, help my redness and hives.įirst up is a vat of oil cooked the night before with a blend of herbs to help the health concerns I reported when I made the appointment: stress, trouble sleeping, and more stress. Vata people tend to have trouble gaining weight and are often cold and stressed Pittas neither gain nor lose weight easily, can have high blood pressure, and are highly reactive emotionally and Kaphas have trouble losing weight and are generally more laid-back. She tells me that a Vata's pulse jumps like a frog, a Pitta's swims like a swan, and a Kapha's slithers like a snake. Later, I learn that she's holding my pulse to determine which of three doshas - broad categories that describe your body's humor, or temperament - I most closely align with. She gives me a look of disbelief and goes to finish preparing my treatments in the kitchen. She continues to press, but I assure her my joints are fine. I tell her I get hives and dry skin on occasion but have no joint issues. With one hand firmly on my wrist, she asks me a series of questions about my health, zeroing in on queries about my skin and joints. Once on the table, I'm covered with a sheet, and Soffer enters the room to take my pulse. I quickly learn this is no luxury massage: No lights will be dimmed, no terry cloth robe will be provided, and I need to get over my fear of being buck naked in front of strangers - or I will not be healed today. There are steps up to table, and crystals artfully positioned underneath it. ![]() Once inside the master bedroom, I am told to undress and lie on a table draped with a white sheet. THE WOMEN BEGIN TO BLOT AND WIPE THE MILK OVER MY ENTIRE BODY. Of course, like fashion, food, and popular culture, what’s old almost always becomes new again, which is exactly why I am nibbling on the recommended pre-treatment lunch of dhal, steamed rice, and vegetables with women who have just come out of morning treatments, and those waiting to go into the afternoon ones. Of all the things my lunchmate told me during the hour I waited for my treatment, the most necessary to share is this: "The more I learn about ayurveda, the more I realize I don't know anything - and I know a lot!" she told me.
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