When one receives a massage in India, one feels kind of like what a raw steak being marinaded with italian dressing for dinnermust feel like. I've had 4 massages in India and they all had on thing in common: loads of thick oil. The Indian massage is essentially about rubbing loads of aruyvedic oil into the skin, not about therpuetically working on the muscles as I am so used to. I don't think these people have ever learned about muscles or anatomy.
My massage yesterday is worth noting: First, I was coated in a thick oil that reminded me of tofu cooking in sesame oil. I was rubbed down front and back and when I was thouroughly slippery, my massuese took a papaya-sized sack of herbs wrapped in a cloth and dipped it in hot oil, and then used the hot sack to massge my upper back and shoulders. This felt AMAZING and my sore muscles felt like they were finally getting some attention from the penetrating heat. Yay, muscle action!
Something about the smell of the oil mixed with the herbs in the sack was familiar to me, but i couldn't place it, a smell from childhood. My mind drifted for a few moments, and then I pinpointed that smell--Chuck E. Cheese's!! Yes, I was transported back to the Northeast Philly Chuck E. Cheese birthday partys and the little plastic ferris wheel and the pool of mildew-smelling plastic balls that i was always excited to jump into, but I always felt like I was drowing in! This oil had the EXACT scent of the cheese-grease from Chuck E Cheese pizza.
Next, I received a special treatment called Sorhdara, in which warm oil is continually poured over the forehead in a stream. i had this for about 25 minutes and it felt AMAZING as the warm oil dripped from my forehead and down the back of my head as my massuse massaged my head and tugged at my hair at the same time. This time the oil had the pizza smell mixed with peppermint.
Afterwards, i shampooed 3 times and scrubbed from head to toe 3 times, but did not succeed in getting all the oil off. I decided to just let myself marinade a little longer, and I went through the day relaxed and smelling like lunch.
