The Indian Head Massage

Its origins stem from an Indian remedial and grooming practice which had been and continues to be part of the Indian daily ritual for over 4,000 years.

The ancient Indians believed that when energy channels become blocked and the flow of positive energy is obstructed, negative energy builds up and increasingly leads to a wide array of ailments and dysfunctions such as stress, depression, poor sleeping habits, localized and remote pains and aches, hampered and sluggish blood circulation, overall poor health, as well as loss of hair or baldness. The main focus and intent of the Indian Head massage, therefore, is to open up the blockages and to allow the positive energy to flow freely through the entire body and in the process to get rid of the amassed negative energy.

Indians in times of yore, young and old and mostly women but not exclusively, sat in large groups and massaged each other’s heads. They began by applying a variety of nut and grain oils (coconut, almond, olive or sesame) which were to nourish the hair and scalp while, at the same time, the massage promoted improved circulation. Today’s modern Indians get their head massage treatments regularly in beauty salons and barber shops.

The Indian Head massage was introduced into the Western world in the early years of the 1970s by Narendra Mehta, a native of Bombay, India and an osteopath and a massage therapist. As countless techniques for the Indian Head massage were passed down through the generations, Mr. Mehta developed his own particular technique by integrating the head, neck, and shoulder and massage into a single robust therapy which promotes and elevates the body to heightened states of physical, mental and spiritual health and wellness. Mr. Mehta branded his comprehensive massage treatment as Champissage. Champi means “head massage” in Indian and it is also, by the way, the origin of the English word “shampoo.” With the help of Mr. Mehta’s promotional campaign, Champissage rapidly gained popularity in Europe and elsewhere around the world, and he summarizes his own belief which, in fact, echoes the belief of his ancestors by making the following statement out of his current home base in London: “Unfortunately, in the West, many people worry about their hair’s health only when they start to lose it. Healthy hair should be promoted from childhood with the help of regular massage.”

The body has seven chakras which are centers that regulate the flow of energy all through the body. Champissage works on the top three energy centers or chakras which are found on the crown of the head, the forehead and the throat as it aims to bring the entire body into corrected alignment and proper balance. The resulting effects are strong, silky and shiny hair, relief from stress, restful sleep patterns, increased energy and sharpened mental clarity.

The Indian Head Massage or the Champissage is performed in a quiet place where the client can sit comfortably on a chair and the massage therapist can either stand or sit directly behind him or her. The sequence of the treatment is as follows:

* The shoulders. Gently squeezing the trapezoid muscles at the base of the neck and moving outward toward the shoulders. This is repeated three times while slightly increasing the pressure.

* The neck. The neck is massaged with small circular motions, beginning at the collarbone and ending at the hairline. This is repeated three times.

The sides of the neck are then stroked with a rolling motion beginning under the jawbone and ending at the shoulders. This is repeated three times.

Avoiding the vertebrae, the back of the neck is pressed with a gliding and rotating motion from the collar bone up to the hairline and it is repeated five times.

* The head. The head is moved slowly and gently forward and backward three times.

The entire area of the scalp is massaged with rolling gentle pressure four or five times and then the scalp is rubbed briskly without causing pain for a full minute.

* The hair. Fingers are run through the hair from the forehead back three times.

* The temples. The temples are worked with small circular massaging and pressing movements three times.

* The end. Slowly stroking the entire head area from the forehead to the back for a minute and progressively making the strokes lighter and lighter.

The Sweedish Massage

The Swedish Massage, which was conceived by Henri Peter Ling, a Swedish physiologist at the University of Stockholm, was publically introduced in 1812 as a means of improving blood circulation, of relieving muscle stress and pain, of increasing flexibility and of promoting total relaxation of the body and mind.

The Swedish Massage was imported into the United States in the 1850s by Charles and George Taylor, two American brothers practicing medicine in New York who opened the first two Swedish clinics in the New World; the first in Boston, Massachusetts and the second in Washington, D. C. where Ulysses. S. Grant, a famed general during the American Civil War and the 18th President of the United States (1869 ? 1877), allegedly frequented regularly for Swedish Massage treatments.

Since its inception in the early part of the 19th century, the Swedish Massage had become one of the most widely used massage techniques in the Western world and it is the basis for a number of other Western massage therapies which include the Sports Massage, the Deep Tissue Massage and the Aromatherapy. To attain its objectives, the Swedish Massage utilizes seven basic therapeutic movements:

* Effleurage. These are long gliding and soothing strokes which are aimed toward the heart while tracing the natural curves of the body. Massage oils are often used to facilitate smooth movement and to warm the muscles.

* Petrissage. These are movements which use strokes that lift, roll or knead soft body tissues. This process draws blood into the area and helps relax tense muscles and fascia as well as the rest of the body.

* Pinpoint Pressure. These movements are directed toward points that are knotted or hardened and painful to the touch. Pressure is directed to these points in order to break them down and release the muscle.

* Deep Friction. These are very small circular movements which press slightly below the surface of the skin and onto the muscle beneath it. These strokes relax muscles which contracted and tensed due to overuse or as a result of emotional stress at their deeper levels.

* Skin Rolling. This movement involves pinching a fold of skin and moving it forward in a rolling motion. This process lifts skin off its connective tissues to promote better blood circulation for the improvement of skin tone.

* Tapotement. This movement requires rhythmical tapping with cupped hands or with hands set in the karate-chop position. This practice awakens the body into vitality and the tingling sensation of energy and health.

* Finger Brushing. This movement is usually performed at the closing of the Swedish Massage treatment session as fingertips are lightly brushing against the surface of the skin to relax the stimulated muscles while calming the nervous system.

The most outstanding health benefits of the Swedish massage are in:

* Relaxing of tired, tense or overused muscles.
* Improving blood circulation without overburdening the heart.
* Increasing flexibility and widening the range of motion by stretching the body’s soft tissues: muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints and connective tissues.
* Stimulating the nervous system while simultaneously relaxing the nerve endings.
* Decreasing the recovery time of strained muscles by cleansing the tissues of lactic acid and uric acid as well as all other toxins and metabolic wastes.
* Bringing the skin to a healthier and more vibrant appearance of wellness.
* Helping the client achieve a feeling of connectedness and body awareness for maintaining a better posture and stance.
* Alleviating pain and any associated discomfort due to muscle tension, fractures, sprains, sciatica and stiff joints.
* Reducing emotion disstress.

Massage For Young Children

Countless studies and pediatric research have shown that massage therapy is supremely beneficial for a wide variety of conditions in young children. As a matter of fact, these studies revealed that massage therapy for young children is a crucially important supplemental treatment to conventional medicine.

However, these studies further showed that, in many cases, massage therapy on its own works better in relieving symptoms of many disturbing conditions than do medications and other standard procedures associated with Western medicine.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMA), more than twenty percent of all children, from newborns to toddlers and early school year children, are afflicted with eczema at some point in their young lives and roughly the same percentage is true for infants and young children suffering from traumatic burns. For that reason, the pain and suffering of trauma burns and eczema are counted among the most common pediatric skin conditions in the United States. Most studies bring to light the following findings:

* Young burn trauma patients who were treated with a massage therapy sessions for approximately thirty minutes before any kind of medical or nursing procedures, were more relax physically as well as mentally through the process and they, therefore, experienced less discomfort or pain.

It is important to stress here that the massage treatment was applied only to areas which were not affected by burns.

* Young children suffering from eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis) who were given massage treatments before and while being treated with skin medications such as emollients and ointments exhibited less apprehension and they were more willing to cooperate. In addition, the physical conditions of their skins dramatically improved as redness subsided, as did lichenification, scaling, excoriation and pruritus.

The therapy in these conditions ideally consists of two phases. First phase – to ensure smooth strokes during the massage treatment, the child’s body is moisturized with a dermatitis medication. Second phase – being very careful to avoid particularly sensitive areas of the body, a series of varied massage techniques is used on the child’s face, chest, stomach, legs and arms.

The Children’s Mercy Hospital of Kansas City, Missouri has been using massage therapy to alleviate chronic pain from headaches and migraines in young children and, in the process, also relieving their levels of anxiety and distress, lowering their heart rates, improving their gastrointestinal systems, promoting the release of endorphins and bringing their entire bodies to a state of calmness. And all these positive effects seem to be immediate or nearly immediate.

Applying massage therapies to infants and young children is not at all a newly discovered concept as it has been a daily practice in the Eastern and African cultures for many generations. They understood that the first sense to develop in humans is the sense of touch and that it is essential to health and wellness. Massage treatments for the young members among ancient cultures served to heal, to energize, to calm and to reinforce close bonding and the sense of trust and security.

Having been working zealously on the subject of massage for young children for the past ten or so years, Dr. Tiffany Field and her associates at the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Florida insist that, “Every child, no matter the age, should be massaged at bedtime on a regular basis.”