Are there pressure points that can paralyse?

Are “cross massages” just a euphemism?
Some people are conservative, and think it’s bad. Usually there is no problem these days. In fact, if a couple comes in to get a massage, they prefer the same person to treat them. A trained and professional therapist — not her or his gender — is what is most important to get the benefits of a therapeutic spa treatment.

Swedish or Ayurvedic?
To relieve stress, an Ayurvedic massage is truly relaxing and rejuvenating.

How often is the oil used for treatments like Shirodhara reused on the average?
Around two to two-and-a-half litres of oil is used per person over a period of not more than three days, after which the oil is disposed of.

What do you do if a client with visible pores, rashes, spots, or sores wants a massage?
There are various oils for various skin types and body conditions. We customise it according to the degree of skin damage or stress areas for a person.

Image: Vidyanand Kamat

Each masseur has different products for sensitive skin. How does a layperson know whether the masseur is talking sense or just trying to palm off some very expensive oil?
Use the thumb rule that natural is the best to guide you. These days so many people have enough money to spend, and newer treatments like gold facials have come up. This treatment uses a gold cream, which will contain a lot of chemicals as opposed to natural treatment like fruits.

Are there pressure points that can paralyse a person?
Therapists are educated and trained to find pressure points to relieve pain and discomfort from the body, to relax and re-energise the bodily system, not to paralyse the same. But yes, if it is not done properly people can end up in a lot of pain.

Scrubbing the skin does more harm than good. Could you recommend an alternative?
See, it’s difficult to say because each person has a different skin type and sometimes various other problems like blood pressure or aches and pains in different areas. You have to see what skin they have and depending on that the person may need a seven-day treatment or they can even have a medicated power massage mixed with the right oils.

A healthy carrot scrub, which does the work of exfoliation and also nourishes the skin, is also recommended.

Can you tell from massaging a person how stressed they are?
Yes, of course. For the more experienced therapist, recognising signs of stress becomes very easy. In fact, you can concentrate more on areas which give off signs of stress, example, shoulder and neck, lower back, etc. But it helps if the client tells us what is bothering them so we can best serve them.

(Co-ordinated by Nilofer D’Souza)


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