Those who had already
experienced the Ayurveda Chakra Dhara massage at One World Retreats
in Ubud, Bali were raving about how great the experience was. It made
me more eager to have a go at it myself.
Ayurveda is a holistic
science that dates back more than 3,000 years, making it the oldest
healing therapy in the world. Focusing on wellness prevention,
longevity and natural healing, the massage consists of dripping warm
herbal oil on the chakra points of the body in order to balance the
energy flow and purify the body, mind and spirit.
I knew the massage
involved oil, but I was startled by the amount that was poured across
my entire body. I felt like I was getting greased up for a body
building competition and could slide off the massage table with the
push of a pinky finger.
The masseuse worked me
over like a rolling pin, the oil making it easy for her to slide
across aches and pains I never even knew I had. The experience was
heavenly until she moved to my forehead and began pouring a litre of
coconut oil onto my “third eye.”
Having fine, greasy hair
is something I have to deal with on a daily basis. The grease gets
worse when I’m dripping with sweat in a hot, humid climate. So when
the coconut oil began seeping through every fine hair on my tiny
blonde head, the relaxation I was previously experiencing came to an
abrupt end, and I immediately started to panic.
“Is this hard to get out
of your hair?” I nervously asked the masseuse.
“No. Just shampoo two
times,” she replied calmly.
A few more minutes went
by, the oil still pouring onto my head like water coming out of a
tap.
“How long do you let the
oil flow?” I asked, thinking it would be over in a few minutes.
“About 10 to 15
minutes,” she replied.
My eyes widened. My body
tensed. There was no turning back. The struggles of trying to
deal with a head full of oil for the next however many days began
racing through my mind. Before my trip to Indonesia, I made
considerable effort to find a travel sized dry shampoo to fight the
grease. Now a litre of oil was being dumped on my head. I couldn’t
help but feel mad.
I was told to leave the
oil in for about 30 minutes because it’s good for your hair, but as
soon as the massage was over I raced back to my room and jumped in
the shower. After two shampoos, however, my hair was still an oil
slick and more limp and lifeless than ever. But on the flip side, it
did have a radiant shine I’ve never seen before.
The moral of the story?
Always find our what exactly you’re getting yourself into – even
if it’s something as simple as a massage. But if you don't mind
being turned into a slimy grease ball for two-and-a-half hours, then
an Ayurveda Chakra Dhara massage could very well be the best massage
you've ever had.