Roots of Gratitude by Daria Hosseinyoun

Author:Daria Hosseinyoun
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781618520739
Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser

I signed up for a ten-dollar Ayurvedic massage at the ashram, not knowing what that entailed. Luckily, I had opted out of the pancha karma, a twenty-one day complete body cleansing massage and diet that had you throwing up and using feces and oil to clean out your entire system. One simple massage would have to be enough.

I was led into a room with a wooden plank on center stage. That was to be my massage bed. The masseur pulled out a bottle of ghee, or clarified butter oil. I eased into the bed's stiffness as the warm buttery textures softened my skin as well as the plank my body rested on. The experience was intoxicating as the masseuse moved from my back and legs to my head. He shoved ghee into my ears and finally poured it on my forehead through a swinging funnel above my head, allowing it to dribble into my eyes. Despite the intense discomfort of not being able to smell, hear, or see, I held on to the belief that this would cleanse my body.

Blind and hurting, I was led to the shower where I desperately tried to get all the ghee out of every orifice of my body, but no matter how hard I tried it wouldn't come out of my eyes and ears. I left feeling like I was deteriorating. By the time I left the shower, I still had oily ears and felt more uncomfortable. By nightfall, I was vomiting and lying helplessly in bed. To make matters worse, a new roommate arrived. Not only was I sick and vulnerable, but I had to deal with the awkwardness of meeting a complete stranger, with whom I was supposed to share my personal space. Fortunately, Dariush was kind enough to watch out for me, delivering tea and food to my room between classes. It was odd because he never attended any class. He simply stayed in his room and practiced his calligraphy and setar, an ancient Persian instrument similar to a banjo or guitar.

“The classes here are not advanced enough for me,” he explained. “The moves I do are more advanced than what they show in class,” he boasted.

All those I spoke to in the ensuing days about the Ayurvedic massage explained that it makes one sick but only because the toxins are leaving the body. I doubted the veracity of this because it didn't make sense that I had to go through so much pain to detoxify myself. The feeling fortunately lasted no longer than a day and a half.

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