Right around the Yoga Shala is an Ayurveda Center that I decided to explore. I read in their brochure how illness can be created by blocked emotions and I thought maybe it could help cure my dry mouth condition. So I entered their doorway and found peaceful music and a beautiful altar inside. I was introduced to Dr. Subeesh and I described my dry mouth condition to him. I also have a lot of congestion and he seemed to be a pleasant person and he presented a treatment plan .I described my job at the hospital where I work with children who have brain tumors and I also told him about my childhood- where my father had a kennel room in his animal hospital reserved for dogs and cats that had no homes and after they were there for longer than 2 weeks, and not adopted, he had to put them to sleep- so to speak- kill them- and it was hard for me to understand and accept! I believe that when I started at the hospital job it was a trigger from those times . One of my first thoughts when I started at the hospital was a flash back to my dad’s animal hospital- when he put the dogs to sleep- and at that moment my dry mouth began.
So here I am at an Ayurveda Center, hoping for a cure. Dr. Subeesh recommended 2 weeks of daily 2 hour sessions ,And he gave me a list of medications to purchase and he drove me to the shop where I could buy them. I bought several bottles and jars ( $16.00) and brought them back to the hotel where we are staying and I tried a few of them so far. One is a tiny brown pill and when I swallowed it, it had the distinct taste of incense. The liquids were not bad- one tasted good in fact. But there is one that is a black tar like substance that definitely way over the top disgusting.
Today was my first treatment and I had no idea what to expect. Allynn and I went by motorized rickshaw-( $1.00) it is a 3 wheel taxi and Allynn sat out side the clinic while I entered.( He was listening to a book on tape) Wow- I had the most incredible ‘treatment’ ! First, I spoke with Dr. Subeesh in his office and then he rang the little bell on his desk and 2 tiny little Indian ladies appeared and he began giving them elaborate instructions of how to focus the massage on my chest, neck, throat and back; he was gesturing with his hands and speaking in Hindi. And then I followed the tiny girls thru a curtain to another land!
I was in a dark room with a big wooden massage table in front of me. There was a window with a reddish brown curtain and I could see light shining thru. A large cabinet door opened where I put my backpack and I Proceeded to undress. The 2 Women were standing right next to me.
I couldn’t help notice how small they were. I asked if I I should remove my underware and one of them said yes. I must have been giggling because they both started chuckling and said I was so cute! Well, they were cute in an adorable way. They were the size of children and suddenly one of them was giving me a hug and her head was on my chest and I felt like I was in the company of fairies and I’d been kidnapped into their world and I was going to stay! I was standing naked between them and one tied a cord around my hips and I was feeling a bit nervous. It was as if I’d been abducted by aliens and some odd ritual was about to take place! Suddenly I was transported back on our trip to Kathmandu where the little girl goddess lives as I looked again at the red curtain. I noticed a long piece of fabric in the girl’s hands- about 4 inches wide that was to become my loin cloth! She tucked one end of the fabric under the cord in front, at my waist then drew the rest of the fabric between my legs and secured it behind me- how fashionable and sexy I thought! Then I was caught in their spell and instructed to sit on a small stool between the two of them. The one in front of me maneuvered herself so she was standing between my knees and she began running her hands thru my hair. Wild, I thought- then oil ran down my neck and back and she oiled up my hair too- working her strong fingers into my scalp and I am wondering how I got here. How did this happen! And am I in a movie? Then I lay down on the big wooden table facing up and the journey was about to begin!
I was wondering where the cushion was that goes on the massage table to make it comfortable, but I am in a different world now and it was not for me to ask- I could feel the smooth wood beneath me and the wooden lip that runs around the edge . It felt massive and ancient and pretty soon I felt droplets of hot oil being sprinkled up and down my arms and chest and powerful hands were caressing my upper body and it felt heavenly and I am feeling glad that this is the 2 hour treatment I have signed up for – every day for the next 2 weeks!
Then I felt a tapping on my shoulder and I opened my eyes and in the dimly lit room I could make out a smiling fairy face asking me if the pressure is ok- and I realize she is talking about the pressure of her hands as she strokes my body. She is doing a basic Swedish massage and I said it was fine but in fact it was a bit too hard for me. I could feel my tailbone rubbing uncomfortably into the wooden table, so I squeezed my butt to ease the ache there. Suddenly I got the magic of two people massaging me Together! They were each working one of my legs and their movements were the same- they were working in tandem and I couldn’t help but wonder how they choreographed all this. They were perfectly in sinc! I was completely mesmerized and then they had me turn over onto my tummy and I felt more hot oil drizzle down my legs and butt and later on my back and arms. It was completely erotic and I could feel by now the wooden table was a wash in oil and I was slipping and sliding .I have never had 2 massage therapists working on me at the same time and it was an extraordinary luxury. I was trying to figure out what this was costing me and I thought- wow-a 2 hour massage with 2 therapists for $30.00. Unbelievable. As a certified massage therapist myself, I know the health benefits of massage but I am too cheap to indulge in it , more than once a year!
I heard a mysterious sound in the room. Was it the crackling of wood burning in the fire place? Was it water dripping? There were s lot of things about that room that were a mystery to me and I wanted to keep it that way-
Soon I was in for another treat- The massage was over and I was getting myself into the steam box! I was still completely covered in a thick sheen of oil and I was very tentative about standing up- I could see my feet going out from under me. But the 2 little girls were by my sides, encouraging me to step forward into the box! It was something I have seen in a movie- maybe on Lucy- where your body is in a wooden box and only your head is sticking out. And the box is full of steam. And I was thinking – this is the perfect thing for congestion! But how am I going to maneuver myself into it? I was sure the bottoms of my feet were oily and I knew the floor was slippery but the girls were encouraging me to walk and I stepped over the edge in into the box and I had to then turn myself around and sit my oily butt down on a stool- the top of which turns! I thought this is strange and then when I was settled down on the stool one of the tiny girls closed the front panel of the box that opens like a big door but this one had a big half circle cut out at the top- where my head goes and I felt like I was ready for the shackles and the guillotine! Then a towel was placed over my head but I could see out and I felt the hot steam moving up from the bottom of the box behind my feet and I figured that was where the odd noises I had heard earlier were coming from. I tried to breathe the steam into my nose that was creeping up thru the neck hole. I thought- well I am really sweating now- and I was feeling really slippery sitting on that stool – that turns- and I wondered what I could hold onto in the box to brace myself. It was oddly precarious and I was glad when the time was up and I was freed from the hot box, dripping with oily sweat and feeling slightly light headed. I sat on the low stool again and one of the tiny girls began the process of de- oiling me, from head to toe. She used a towel and ran it up and down my legs and arms and butt and head and hands and then she handed me a paper napkin and I wiped my eyes and face and fingers with it. Then I slowly put my clothes over my sticky body and bid farewell to my new tiny lady friends. I was sitting in the entry way and was handed a glass of warm brown water which I drank, confirmed my appointment for the next day and headed out into the sunlight to find my husband and my shoes. What an unearthly experience I had just had and I tried to put it into words for my husband as I negotiated the gritty streets of India and back to the hotel by rickshaw and to the shower!
