Ayurvedic Bodywork, Shirodhara, Abhyanga, etc (long)

[pixiemeup82]

I've been looking for posts on these things for awhile, and after not finding much I deicded to start my own thread. Please point them out if you know of other threads about this! I think it could have easily fit under "Spa Techniques" because it is becoming so popular in the spa industry, but I prefer to see these things more as Holistic Therapies, especially when paired with Ayurvedic theory and philosophy.

Abhyanga - I learned to do this at the Ayurveda Center of Hawaii where I did the Abhyangas and Swedanas for her PanchaKarma people. I really love this form of bodywork. I love the scents of traditional ayurvedic oils, I love the rhythm of the strokes, and have usually gotten a really great response when I offer this massage in my practice now. It is very different from swedish, the strokes move away from the heart, a lot oil is used and the focus is on moving the energy and lymph, rather than working on the muscles.

Shirodhara - I learned this treatment from a video recently from http://www.sacredstonehealing.com I did the homestudy course and practiced on more than 10 people who gave me short written reviews. I had seen it done at the Ayurveda Center, but never learned it there. In this treatment a warm stream of oil flows over the third eye for anywhere from 20-60 minutes. I usually do about 25-30min. The oil I use is the Shirodhara blend from Banyan Botancials, an all organic blend with consciousness stimulating herbs. I am using this set up of equipment: and I sort of like it. I am doing it "manually" meaning when the oil runs out from the top vessel, I switch out the pitchers on the bottom and pour the warm oil back into the top. It's hard not to be clumsy with this. The treatment is supposed to be very still and silent and once or twice I have banged the copper pots together (luckily with my guinea pigs!) I heat the oil to between 100-110 degrees. I use a meat thermometer to check. It's seems around 106-108 is ideal for my clients. After awhile I decided I wanted the pump so I wouldn't have to be pouring anymore with the risk of being clumsy. However, when I ordered the pump from the same company, it seems to pump too fast and I can't figure out how to adjust it. I have to email them about this. It will pump out all the oil from below and then start making a hideous noise and I have to turn it off.

When I went to Kripalu recently I got some of their Ayurvedic treatments and when I got shirodhara there the equipment was totally different so after the treatment I grilled the therapist about where I could get it. It was a pretty cool system with a heater, pump, and collection unit all integrated, and even hooking up to the table. http://www.shiroplus.com So cool! I really want to get this but I've already invested $700 in the equipment I have now. It would be hard to see spending another $600 for new stuff.

I do get quite a few clients wanting Shirodhara. Many of my existing clients who see the equipment or read my menu have their interest peaked. I also get some one time tourists coming in who get it. Normally people like to get it paired with either a 1 hour massage or 1.5 hour massage. So they don't miss out on the massage part and still get to try this cool thing. I could probably charge more than I do, but I try to keep my costs down with the oil, and clean up has gotten easier now that I've got a system down. (Clean up consists of 3 very oily large pots to clean out, and wiping down the vinyl I put on the floor for oil protection). So I charge $85 for a one hour Shiro, which includes foot and neck/face massage. My regular one hour massage is $65. A 90 min treatment inlcuding full body massage and Shiro is $120

Udvartina - I don't offer this treatment yet, but I'd really love to. I got it at Kripalu and it was so divine! They take grains (like chick pea flour) and mix it with warm/hot oil and scrub your whole body. My therapist was so awesome and the work was deep enough that it was like getting a massage and a scrub at the same time, and the scrub was not too harsh. I think grains are an ideal scrub ingredient. When I've taken some into the shower to scrub down after doing a self Abhyanga they really do wonders for the skin and feel very gentle at the same time. Anyway, this treatment was like getting your back (and everywhere else) scratched and rubbed at the same time. SO SATISFYING! But messy. She put sheets on the floor surrounding the whole table to catch the flying goo, and I had to go rinse off afterwards, even after she had done a brushing with the towel.

Oils - I use a variety of oils for my clients when I do these treatments. For people who are very adverse to oil and want it to wash out easily I use something that wouldn't be considered traditional: Soothing Touch Fragrance Free Lite. It says "Natural Ayurvedic Forumula" on the bottle, but I'm not sure how true that is. One thing that I think Ayurveda would not agree with is that it has a water dispersant in it, which they don't even specifically identify. They just say "Natural Water Dispersant." It's made with sunflower, rice bran, grapeseed, and a few other oils. It is very light on the skin and washes out easily. When people are okay with oils I have a few choices. What I think is the most traditional are the oils I get from http://www.oilbath.com TriHealth in Hawaii, they get their oils made right in Kerala and they smell amazingly divine (in my opinion!) They are also very expensive. A 5 liter bottle of the Dhanwantharam is around $110 or $120 wholesale, and then $30 to ship. So I use that sparingly, mostly in the Abhyanga, which takes between 4-8 ounces per treatment. Another oil I just bouhgt a small amount of that I really like are the Sarada oils, I have used the Tridoshi and Vata oils and the vata oil has a strong smell that I don't particularly like, while the Tridoshic I like a lot. This may be my new option for Abhyangas when the expensive stuff runs out. The other oil supplier I use is Banyan Botanicals. They are really great about having all organic oils and herbs. Their most expensive oil is $80 a gallon. Their organic sesame is $30, which is very reasonable. I use the sesame to dilute other more expensive oils, mainly I mix it with the Shirodhara oil.

Nasaya - is putting herbalized oils in the nose and I have found this a great thing to add for clients at the end of Ayurvedic treatments if they have any sinus issues. I love the Anu Thailam I get from Tri Health, which has been very successful for one client in particular and myself. It's a very strong, very spicy oil. Banyan also has a Super Nasaya oil that is more mild.

Ayurvedic Training - I am really looking towards getting some more. I have been studying it on my own for awhile. My life right now does not have room for some residential program, which I find many of them are. I plan on taking the Institute of Vedic Studies (Dr. Frawley) home study course, which comes highly regarded. This mainly teaches the theory and "life style consultant" thing which I would like to have to be able to give more appropriate body treatments to my clients. I would also like to get some more hands on training. I am in New Mexico, so I am near the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, although that school (even their short courses) seem kind of expensive, and most require more formal study than I've had. What I'm looking at right now is maybe going to Kripalu once a year for some of their 5 day courses on Ayurvedic bodywork. It is farther away, but the prices seem reasonable and include room and board, which simplifies things a bit.

Panchakarma / Poorvakarma - I'm interested in offering a modified "for cleansing and relaxation" version of these services. A package with a consultation, Shirodhara, Abyhanga, maybe something else and a sweat in a sauna or steambox (neither of which I have yet). That is what I see in the future!

I don't know if each of these topics should be given their own thread or what. I'm basically trying to gauge interest. If there's anyone who does any of these treatments, please chime it! I'd love to hear about how you do it, what equipment and oils you use, where you learned, etc.