Boost your vitality
“During shirodhara, vibrations are created during the dripping, and it balances out the stress hormones by creating happy hormones, such as serotonin,” explains Dr Anjali Rajeevan, the certified ayurvedic consultant for the centre.
“After the therapy, you’ll feel refreshed and relaxed like after coming out of a deep sleep.”
Based on Wellcare Ayurveda’s website, shirodhara is capable of inducing a mental state reminiscent to that of a trance upon completion of the therapy, and that’s nothing short of true.
Coming out of the shirodhara, I found myself under a dreamlike, calm haze, as stress from earlier in the day and during the massage was effectively purged out of my system.
Prior to the above, consultation was done with Anjali, as it is a recommended step for every patron before a treatment, or series of treatments, can be decided upon.
Eventually, I was brought to the first floor of the centre, and led into one of the therapy rooms. Large and bright, a wooden massage table sat squarely in the middle of the room.
After being briefed on the procedure, and after getting stripped down, the de-stress package kicked into gear, beginning with a head massage on a chair, full body massage on the table and then the shirodhara, as warm oil was generously used throughout the 105-minute session.
The session with theSun was conducted by an ayurvedic therapist from Kerala, India, with over 10 years of experience; the entire staff, natives of Kerala, are experienced in ways of ayurveda. Therapists are also assigned accordingly to the gender of patrons.
If the idea of having your body massaged like a flatbread dough, then getting drenched in oil and having it drip on your forehead as you drift off into a state of trance does not gel with you, there are other forms of therapy offered.
Alongside shirodhara, Wellcare Ayurveda’s two other popular therapies are the herbal poultice full-body therapy and the regular massage.
“‘Podi kizhi’ is the poultice herbal massage, where we create the poultice with herbal powder. It is to get rid of any ‘vata’ (movement of air). When the ‘vata’ movement is blocked, you’ll get a lot aches and cramps. This process is basically to regulate and clear the channels of ‘vata’ so you feel better,” says Anjali.
The aforementioned three notwithstanding, there are close to 20 different therapies and packages offered by the centre, each targeting specific ailments and problems.