Читать книгу Indian Head Massage: Discover the power of touch - Narendra Mehta - Страница 12

Like most of my compatriots, I grew up with head massage as an integral part of my daily life. As a child, my mother would give me a head massage with coconut oil and, as I grew older, it was something to be automatically experienced every time I visited a barber. I came to England to train as a physiotherapist in the 70s but was disappointed to find that the massage element of this discipline was being neglected. I then took a course in full-body massage and, not surprisingly, was still not taught any techniques involving the head. I was dismayed to discover that massage always stopped at the neck and nobody practised head massage – not even full-body massage therapists. No one had shown them how!

I began to miss the therapeutic value of regular head massage and decided that I wanted to bring this therapy to the West. Experience had taught me that head massage could bring tremendous relief from aches and pains, not only in the head, but also in other parts of the body. Knowing this, I decided to introduce a system of massage to this country that would encompass the head and upper neck and bring relief to the many who suffer from aches and pains in those previously neglected areas.

In 1978, I decided to return to India and research head massage wherever it was practised. In centres as far apart as Calcutta and Bombay, in the cities and in the countryside, simple head massage is widespread. Barbers in barber shops perform this service for their clients, you can find it on street corners, beaches and in family homes. However, although I enjoyed being worked on, I couldn’t help feeling that there was something missing in the massage. This type of simple massage does not get to the deep-rooted source of stress. So, although there was some improvement in my well-being following these head massages, the effects were too short-lived.

During my experiments with head massage in India, I found that the methods used varied from person to person. The barbers would concentrate on my scalp, while my mother and her women friends focused on treating the hair. In addition, everyone who worked with me had his or her own individual technique, which had been handed down and developed through the generations. I decided that I would begin to formalize what I was experiencing and use the knowledge of my massage training to discover which part of my body reacted most positively to various moves. Because of my blindness, my other senses have become very finely tuned and I was able to concentrate with complete absorption on the effect the massage was having. By this means, I was able to devise a therapy that would bring the greatest relief to the multitude of problems concentrated in the head. I soon concluded that the therapy would benefit by being extended to include not only the head, but also the neck, shoulders and upper arms.

Having formalized the techniques of Indian head massage, I wanted to pass the knowledge on to others. In 1981, while I was thinking about how to introduce this idea to the public, a friend suggested that I take a stand at the Mind, Body, Spirit exhibition at Olympia in London. By the end of the exhibition, over 170 people suffering from exhibition exhaustion, headaches and work-related stress had tried it out. They felt relaxed and recharged. Some people even attended more than once.

My experience at the exhibition built up my confidence. I gained a great deal of experience in different types of hair and hair styles and I explored ways of revising my techniques to include massage that was suitable for every type of hair.

The exhibition led to a wave of publicity and numerous magazine articles. As a result, many more people became interested in learning and practising Indian head massage. This gave me the idea of arranging courses, and the more successful of these were the weekend courses. These enabled me to teach my pupils slowly and allowed time for revision. These weekend courses continued with great success up until 1995. From 1995 I introduced a course which led to a qualification to practise head massage. This included weekend instruction plus home study, case studies and an exam so that I could recommend the qualified therapists to anyone with confidence. These courses are still continuing and remain extremely popular.

Over the years at my clinic and at various exhibitions countless clients have allowed me to study the effect of my techniques in depth and to develop and expand them. One of the most important developments in my techniques was the introduction of an Ayurvedic element of chakra energy balancing and the extension of the massage element to include massage of the face and ears to enhance the overall effect.

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medical system, which some believe to be the oldest medical system in the world. It goes beyond the limits of ‘healing’, placing an emphasis on balance and the uniqueness of each individual. Within Ayurveda, as in other belief systems from around the world, the body is said to contain seven energy centres. The energy points are known by different names in different parts of the world: I shall call them chakras. The flow of energy around the body and through these centres is believed to have a great effect on a person’s well-being.

Once I had incorporated an Ayurvedic element, I found I had a powerful therapy to increase the physical, mental and subtle energy benefits of Indian head massage. I call this therapy Indian Champissage. Champissage goes beyond simple Indian head massage. It combines physical massage with a more subtle form of massage which affects a person’s energy centres. The chakras I concentrate on in my work are the three higher chakras: Sahasrara located on the crown of the head, Ajna – vision (the third eye) – located in the middle of the forehead and Vishuddha, located in the throat. In total there are seven chakras, but they do not work independently of each other. A dysfunction in any one of them will result in a knock-on effect, which will ultimately build up and spiral to the head, culminating in a feeling of stress and tension. Working on the higher chakras has a powerful effect, and can bring the energy of the whole body back into balance. This cannot be realized through simple massage and is unique to Champissage.