Hot Oil Treatment

Gretchen and Katherine:  After we survived a 5-hour wedding (that didn't include the reception which happened later that evening), it was high time for an ayurvedic massage treatment!  There are many to choose to from, though the descriptions left us wondering exactly what we would experience.  We decided to each try something called Sirodhara, which was described in the brochure as:

 

Begins with an anti-stress massage and liberal application of medicated oils on the head and body as you lie on a special wooden plank.  Then the specified medicine is made to drop gently and continuously on the forhead for an hour.  Clients will notice remarkable results making this a prefered treatment for headaches, hysteria, anxiety and stress disorders, cervical spondylosis and sleep disorders."

 

This  is the first time, we've read the description since receiving the treatment, and we realize how accurate it is.  The application of oil was so "liberal" that we practically slid off the plank at the end, and the woman wrung out liters of oil from our hair.  Gretchen was perfectly comfortable on the special wooden plank, but Katherine found it painful after about 45 minutes.  The "anti-stress" massage they gave at the beginning was much more percussive than we're used to in the States, and it took some mental adjustments to learn to enjoy the thwacking to the head.  The oil treatment to the forehead was fascinating.  A clay bowl hung over our temples, and it swung gently with a steady stream of warm oil pouring down onto us.  If it weren't such a new sensation, perhaps we would have found it more relaxing.  And it is true that we had no hysteria, anxiety, or cervical spondylosis by the end...and Katherine (famous for her difficulty sleeping) was only awakened by Gretchen's snoring.  (Please note: the unusual case of snoring was due to a head cold, which was not cured by the oil treatment).