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Asked for his favorite anecdote about massage,
Harish
Johari related how one fine morning he was walking with
his friend, Andras Fricsay Kali Son, the prominent German
theater actor, along the bank of the river Ganga in Haridwar,
India . ''A man nearby had a small stand of oil bottles and
a mat,'' Johari recalls. The man didn't know English, and
Andras was helpless with Hindi, but the man wanted to give
Andras a massage,. He sat on the mat, waving his arm and tapping
his thigh, gesturing for the German visitor to come. But Andras
did not understand the gestures and thought the man was challenging
him to a bout! So Andras began preparing, telling Johari,
"Tell him to hold on. I will take off my shirt first."
Johari rapidly clarified that the poor man just wanted Andras
to lie down for a massage ! Riverside massage parlors are
just one example of how common and popular massage is in India.
Harish Johari, a seasoned practitioner (and
recipient) of massage from childhood, describes in his new
book, "Ayurvedic
Massage" (available in six languages), how integral
massage is to Indian life today. "You don't need special
clinics. Family members of all castes perform it on each other,"
Harish Johari told HINDUISM TODAY in a phone interview from
Vermont, shortly before returning home to his native India
from his yearly visit to the USA. Indian massage is actually
already present in America, he said, for the common "Swedish
massage" migrated to Europe via Persia long ago.
Ayurvedic
massage is one piece of Hinduism's complex mosaic of healing
traditions, traceable back 6,000 years to the Atharva Upaveda.
Even today, in a world vastly different from Vedic times,
they are dynamically alive, practiced by millions around the
globe. Ayurveda,
the "Science of Life," postulates fundamental principles
for the proper functioning of our bodies. Massage in ayurvedic
texts is exhaustively delineated, right down to the measurements
for oils and pastes. Its main purpose is to enhance blood
circulation and to expel toxins from the body. "Diseases
do not go near one who massages his feet before sleeping,
just as snakes do not approach eagles," one ancient text
says. It is also a rejuvenator, giving relaxation and purifying
the mind.
Massage, Johari writes, is the first friend one has from the
time of birth. Babies are massaged beginning six days after
birth. Why so young? Because babies cannot move their bodies
much. Massage increases their circulation, preventing dehydration
and skin cracking and their bodies grow quicker, with strong,
resilient skin. Harish Johari explained to HINDUISM TODAY
that "Massage for baby girls prevents facial hair. I
noticed that women in the West have to shave. But women in
India do not, because they were massaged from an early age.
I feel afraid to see some Western womens' faces with so much
hair." Other countries also massage their babies, including
Iran, Bhutan, Burma and Thailand. Growing children learn to
massage elders, and upon marriage, massage continues as a
daily routine for the couple -healing and reducing stress.
It is a cleanser for the body, which is bombarded with air
pollution, impure foods grown with pesticides and the stress
of fastpaced living.
When asked how busy people can be expected to
massage for one hour daily, Johari replied, "Do they
have a different body from us? No. They can get sick and miss
work while healing themselves. Or, they can massage a little
every day, and not get sick ! If you can't massage for 45
minutes straight, try to at least 25 minutes in the morning
and 25 minutes before bed."
In his well-crafted ayurvedic
massage book Harish Johari gives us formulas for massage
oils he has acquired from saints, ayurvedic doctors and
folk people in India, assuring us they may be used without
fear of harm. General body massage, for dryness, memory, for
cold and poor circulation, for women of differing ages, for
hair, for excess body heat and for newlyweds and couples.
Each category has a clearly written recipe of oils to use
for maximum and safe results.
Harish Johari's discussion of "The Role
of Vibrations in Massage" (he means energy, not vibrators)
is intuitive. Ayurvedic massage is a miracle of touch-energy
that is exchanged between receiver and giver. Thoughts and
feelings are transferred to the receiver's body, Harish Johari
says. In India, therefore, outside the immediate family, men
generally massage men and women massage women. This avoids
unnecessary energy waste and entanglements between the sexes.
He also gives instructions to the massager how
to raise his energy by breathing patterns; the massager should
visualize himself as a servant of the Divine, transferring
energy into the receiver.
A chapter on "practical guidance"
- from beauty massage to the therapeutic massages for specific
ailments - teaches how to relax one's hands, work with the
rhythm of one's own heartbeat, how to approach the recipient's
body, kneading joints and muscles and how to use oil. Use
of tobacco, alcohol, meat, fish, eggs or any nonvegetarian
food should be avoided by those seeking a beautiful countenance,
according to the section on beauty massage. Johari said he
can identify a meat-eater while massaging him. "He smells
bad. One who eats foods like vegetables, fruits and nuts and
has pure thoughts, smells like sandlewood."
Not to be forgotten are animals. "Especially cats and
dogs," says Harish Johari. "And cows love to have
the flap of skin under their neck massaged." He notes
guidelines for massaging animals are codified in Ayurvedic
texts.
Can real benefits only come from a professional
? "Professionals can help," says Johari, "but
not too much, because they have to massage so many people
that they get tired. But if I massage you and you massage
me and we don't massage others, then we can spend more time
massaging each other. Especially if the wife is massaging
the husband, then he is lucky. It is better than anyone else
could give. I am quite fortunate in this regard. At home,
if I go and lie down, I automatically receive a massage from
my wife, without me even asking her !"
People's lives often change after being massaged.
Johari says that some become vegetarian because they feel
better without meat in their body. "I tell people the
body can easily digest vegetarian food; non vegetarian food
is difficult. The body spends more energy digesting meat than
the energy it gains from the meat. Meat-eating also makes
one cruel. Vegetarian food is less toxic. During massage,
I explain that the toxins we are removing from the body come
from food, and vegetarianism produces less toxins."
Johari has not only written an easy to follow
instruction book on ayurvedic massage, but has included within
the book specific guidelines on purity as understood and practiced
by orthodox Hindus. You will definitely want to refer to this
text in learning and practicing massage for your family, because
it is written with high-minded guidelines for the inner and
outer well being of the giver and the receiver. And because
we can all use a rub now and then.
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