Your first abhyangam: what happens, step by step

Abhyangam is the therapy most of our guests try first. It is a full-body massage with warm medicated oil, done by one or two therapists over about an hour. If you have never had it, knowing what will happen makes it easier to relax.

It always begins after a consultation. The doctor chooses the oil for you, based on your age, the season and what you have told her, and notes any areas to avoid, such as a recent injury. On the day, please come with a light stomach, at least two hours after a meal.

In the therapy room, which is a wooden-floored room in the old house with a long wooden massage table, the therapist shows you where to change and gives you a disposable undergarment. Women are treated by women and men by men. You sit first on a low stool while oil is applied to the head and the therapist gently massages the scalp, shoulders and face. Then you lie on the table. The oil is warmed in a small vessel and applied in long strokes along the limbs and in circles around the joints, first lying on your back, then on each side and then face down.

Afterwards you rest for ten to fifteen minutes, then take a bath with warm water and a herbal powder that lifts the oil from the skin. Wear old, loose clothes home, because some oil stays in the hair. The doctor may suggest you avoid cold drinks and heavy food for the rest of the day.