Your first spa visit: what to expect
From the arrival tea to the shower, so nothing surprises you.
The hours after your massage
Why we suggest water, a warm bath and a slow evening, and what the oil on your skin is doing.
Guests often ask what they should do after a treatment. Our suggestions are simple, and mostly about giving the afternoon room to settle rather than rushing back into the day.
Drink water. We serve warm tulsi or ginger tea in the courtyard after every treatment, and we suggest a few glasses of water over the evening. After an hour on a warm table you may feel thirsty or a little light-headed when you first stand up, so get up slowly and sit for a few minutes before you drive.
Leave the oil for a while. After abhyanga, some oil remains on the skin and in the hair. Many guests like to leave it for an hour or two before bathing, as is done at home in many South Indian families. When you do bathe, use warm water and a gentle cleanser, or a paste of green gram flour, which lifts the oil without drying the skin. Shampoo twice if we oiled your hair.
Keep the evening slow. A heavy meal, a long drive or a hard workout straight after a massage tends to undo the calm. A light dinner and an early night suit it better. After deep-tissue or hot stone work, some guests feel a little tenderness in the worked muscles the next day; this usually eases within a day or two. If anything feels unusual or worrying, tell us, and see a doctor if it does not settle.
