--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "lurkernomore20002000"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Saturday's WSJ has an article about the popularity of Ayurvedic
> massage, and a clinic Chopra is opening somewhere. You know, M has
> many faults, but he is deserving to be a charter member of the New Age
> Hall of Fame.
>
> lurk
>
=========
India's New Export: Massages
With spa travel booming, the remote state of Kerala has become a
destination for its oil-drip rubdowns
By KAREN MAZUREWICH
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 5, 2005; Page P7
COCHIN, INDIA -- After a grueling 15-hour flight, Ossie Ravid was
ready for some pampering. So the Chicago lawyer checked into her hotel
here and headed straight for the spa.
[image]
A hot-oil treatment at Kumarakom Lake Resort, in Kottayam
Ms. Ravid was told to strip naked and lie across a hard wooden table.
For about an hour, a woman slathered oil along the length of Ms.
Ravid's body. The treatment was slightly more unusual than she
expected. "The whole time you're thinking, 'Hmm, is this supposed to
be happening?'" she says.
One of the trendiest treatments in the spa world these days is
ayurveda, based on a 5,000-year-old Indian tradition. The treatment,
which involves a massage and, in some cases, incorporates dietary
advice and yoga, is increasingly popular in the U.S. This weekend,
self-help author Deepak Chopra is planning to open a new ayurvedic spa
near Times Square in Manhattan. Customers can, among other things, get
warm oil dripped on their foreheads for $280. Ayurveda is even
reaching the world of skincare, with model Christy Turlington pushing
a new ayurvedic line.
[image]
But a remote state in the southwestern tip of India has a different
pitch: Why go down the street for a massage when you can fly 7,000
miles for one? Kerala is trying to get in on the spa-travel boom by
playing up its role as one of the originators of the greasy rubdown.
In recent years, several dozen upscale resorts with extensive spa
facilities have opened in the area, including the Kalari Kovilakom,
where rooms start at $414 a night, and the Kumarakom Lake Resort,
whose 14 treatments include the "Pathra podala swedam," in which the
customer is repeatedly hit with a cloth packed with herbs and butter milk.
As travel to South Asia becomes more popular with Americans, Kerala is
working its way onto the basic get-to-know-India itinerary. Places
like Delhi, Agra (with the Taj Mahal) and Mumbai are still the first
stops. But Kerala, whose beachy, laid-back feel is a stark contrast
with the country's bigger cities, is drawing a growing number of visitors.
The number of foreign travelers to Kerala was up 17% last year to more
than 345,500, according to the state's tourism authority. People from
the U.S., Britain, Germany and other countries come for some of the
same reasons that Indians have long traveled here, including overnight
backwater boat trips, rolling tea plantations, and fresh seafood.
The ayurvedic massages are still often performed just as they've
always been performed: Customers plop down on a hard wooden table, and
the masseur lathers them with round after round of warm oil that has
been infused with pungent herbs and then rubs vigorously. New Age
music and scented candles aren't part of the routine.
But as ayurveda has gone upscale, the resorts in Kerala have tried to
tweak the treatments for more-selective overseas visitors. Hotel
companies have restored colonial homes and rubber plantations and
outfitted them with top chefs, plunge pools and spa amenities such as
fluffy towels and slippers.
In the U.S., practitioners often package their massages with floral
aromas or pleasant spicy scents, while in India, they do little to
disguise the smell of mud and grass in the herbs.
Here's a look at some of the highlights and lowlights at four popular
resorts in central and southern Kerala that offer ayurvedic treatments.
* * *
COCONUT LAGOON, Kumarakom
The resort: A former rubber plantation along the edge of a lake with
cottages that have front decks, private plunge pools and hammocks.
Treatment to book: Sirodhara, which involves a continuous stream of
hot oil flowing over your forehead.
Caveat: Some guests say it's too bare-bones, citing a cement floor
that serves as the showering area.
Web site: www.cghearth.com1
* * *
KUMARAKOM LAKE RESORT, Kottayam
The resort: Sits along a lake and, unlike some other resorts, has a
mini gym.
Treatment to book: A light massage called the Pizhichil, where a
continuous stream of medicated oil covers the entire body.
Caveat: The Carpenters were piped into the restaurant when we were there.
Web site: www.klresort.com2
* * *
HOTEL BOLGATTY PALACE, Cochin
The resort: A 250-year-old palace on the edge of the Arabian Sea that
recently underwent an overhaul.
Treatment to get: We weren't that excited about any of the massages we
got.
Caveat: Our doctor was a little too vigorous, leaving us with small
bruises along the inside of our elbows, knees and wrists.
Web site: www.hotelskerala.com/ktdc/bolgattypalace.htm3
* * *
THE MALABAR HOUSE, Fort Cochin
The resort: A restored 18th-century Dutch colonial mansion that has
antique masks in many of the rooms.
Treatment to get: All that's offered is a straightforward ayurvedic
massage.
Caveat: There are no facilities for showering so it's best to book
only if you are staying at the hotel.
Web site: www.malabarhouse.com4
Write to Karen Mazurewich at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113114435126088778.html
Hyperlinks in this Article:
(1) http://www.cghearth.com
(2) http://www.klresort.com
(3) http://www.hotelskerala.com/ktdc/bolgattypalace.htm
(4) http://www.malabarhouse.com
(5) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(6) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113097618130686829.html
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