Sitting in the Stocks

Wed, June 18th: Tuesday morning at the office I moved my neck too quickly and got the most intense kink in my neck that I’ve ever experienced. It got increasingly worse as the day went on, and by 3:00 I was researching massage places. I got a recommendation from Pradeep whose friend owns an Ayurvedic Center right around the corner from the office. We went there around 5:30 and I was seen by the Ayurvedic Doctor, a young guy who examined my neck, asked some questions, and recommended the following treatment: Myaxyl Muscle Relaxant Oil, Myaxyl Herbs -with an Ayurvedic Massage and Steam Bath optional but encouraged. Maria Luisa has had very tense shoulders for the past week as well and decided if they had appointments available she would get one as well.

Sometimes the most phenomenal experiences are those that come when you have no expectations. I’d heard of Ayurvedic massage before, and knew it had something to do with oil, but that was it. Let me do my best to describe what I experienced.

I was led into a room by two women dressed in green uniform dresses. They were friendly but shy. I was given a robe and ‘thin, flexible, cloth-like panties’ to put on. There was a changing room. Nope. A bathroom complete with shower. Hmmmm. I came out and was told to sit on a knee-high stool. One of the women stood behind me and after a 15 second pregnant pause, the purpose of the shower became clear: she poured warm oil onto my head and worked it into my hair for five minutes. 55 minutes to go.

They replaced the stool with a step ladder and helped me up onto the massage table, which merits thorough description. It was made of a gorgeous deep, red wood, and was a waist high table with a 2 inch ridge on the outside. The place to lie down was not completely flat – I think the best way to describe it is like lying on top of a beautifully crafted, smooth coffin (i.e. a slight upward curve). They started me out on my back and did a nice face massage. 50 minutes to go. The two of them then stripped the robe off of me and with a signal to each other began to massage me with synchronized, energetic, continual (literally) strokes that went the length of my arms, legs, stomach, and at times whole body. Each stroke was expertly preceded by the application of warm, scented oil until I was completely oiled up.

My mind shifted between trying to still my thoughts and enjoy it, and giving space to a David Sedaris-type commentary running through my mind. It was not a ‘calm’ experience. The wood was beautiful and smooth, but solid as a rock. The fast movements pressed boney points like elbows, wrists, hip bones, knees, ankles and tops of the feet into the wood with considerable pressure. It was funny thinking about Maria Luisa in a room right next to me and picturing her slipping and sliding all around the table with a shocked look on her face. She later confessed she was thinking the same thing and had practically laughed out loud. 35 minutes to go.

They wanted me to get on my side but my neck pain wouldn’t allow it. It was bearable to lie on my other side, so they positioned me and went to work. One of the funniest things was how they kept saying “side, side”- telling me to stay on my side. What they didn’t do was explain how I was supposed to keep my oiled body still on an upwardly curved, oiled piece of wood while they massaged me with powerful, fast strokes. The other funny moment was that they had me sit up with my legs and arms straight out in front of me, and did the massaging technique with me in that position. ML said she felt like a dog at the vet. If you’re not howling with laughter, you had to be there. And you really should experience this at some point! 10 minutes to go.

With the massage over, they sat me on a stool inside a wooden ‘cabinet’ that had a place for my head to pop out (picture old fashioned stocks), and slanted doors that closed like cellar doors. That was the steam chamber, and I sat there for about 10 minutes while they cleaned everything up and got the room ready for the next person. When they were done, I said, “ok” thinking that would signal I was ready to get out. I had probably sweated out several liters of water by that time. They said ‘ok’ back. I waited a moment, and said, ‘ok’ in a different tone of voice, to which they both said ‘ok’ back. After another moment I tried again and got the tone of voice right, because they understood I was ready to get out. Phew.

It's not over yet: one of the ladies led me into the bathroom, turned on the shower, sat me down on a stool and soaped up my back. She then left me with shampoo, soap, a towel, and warm water. It was the first hot shower I’ve had since arriving here. Even our wonderful little apartment has only cold water. So I showered and got dressed as quickly as I could, because I could hear they were waiting for me. When I came out they put some orange ayurvedic powder on my neck, earlobes, a spot on my scalp, and under my nose for me to inhale. It smelled pleasant, kind of like ‘earth.’ Would I like something to drink? Sure. In comes a red, tasteless liquid that was ‘eeps’ hot! Wasn’t expecting that. I thankfully had a hair brush with me so I tidied up, put my hair into a pony tail and came out into the waiting room. Maria Luisa emerged a moment later and we paid for the services. For me it was a whopping $30 for the entire thing (the dr. consult, medicated oil, herbs, and hour-long massage). Amazing. The massage alone would be $22.50.

The rick-shaw ride home was the bumpiest yet and it unfortunately undid any good the massage had done for my neck. I had a pretty painful night’s sleep, and the pain is so bad I stayed home from work. That's where I'm writing from now. I hope to write an update tomorrow that the pain has dissipated or started to improve, because if not I’ll need to get this checked out. I’ve never felt so much pain in my neck before, and it’s less of a side-to-side pain (although moving my neck side to side does hurt a great deal); it’s more of a severe pinch if I try to lift my head up, or God forbid back. Any diagnoses out there? Anyone want to scold me for applying heat versus ice in the 1st 24 hours?

Thanks for reading, if you’ve gotten this far. I realized as I started writing that I wanted to remember the details of that experience and wrote much more than I intended.

I miss you all!

Sarah B.